Brown Berets

Group Origins

The origins of the organization exemplify the progressive politicization of youth in the era of the 1960s as they began to see a need for more direct action approaches to challenge institutional racism. Initially, a group of young Mexican Americans who were emerging leaders in their communities called themselves “Young Citizens for Community Action” (YCCA). As these young people addressed the issue of school reform and political representation of the Mexican American community, they renamed themselves “Young Chicanos for Community Action,” signifying a shift toward self-identification and self-assertion rather than the assimilationist paradigm of the “young citizen.” At the same time, increasing experiences of police brutality in the East Los Angeles community and the harassment of young people who frequented the La Piranya Coffeehouse called for more direct action approaches.

The Brown Beret organization originated in East Los Angeles, where the chapter was central to key events in the Los Angeles activities of the Chicano Movement. Among these events, the East Los Angeles chapter participated in the East Los Angeles high school student walkouts of 1968, when thousands of Mexican American youth protested the lack of a quality education. The Brown Berets were also instrumental in the development of the National Chicano Moratorium Committee (NCMC), as they joined Rosalio Muñoz, a leader in the antiwar effort, to organize the largest minority-based antiwar march in the United States, held on August 29, 1970. Many of these activities were reported in the organization's newspaper, La Causa, which centrally featured local events and involvements but also discussed chapter activities [Page 209]across the United States. Finally, this chapter founded the East Los Angeles Free Clinic, a successful effort to provide medical services to the local community.

While the East Los Angeles chapter was a major actor in the Chicano movement, it was not long after its founding that many young men and women donned the Brown Beret, referencing the Black Panther Party and the revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and proclaimed their role as protectors of the community throughout the Southwest and in some parts of the Midwest, such as Minnesota and Wisconsin. Most chapters of the Brown Berets identified with the slogan “La Causa” and were part of the National Brown Beret organization. There were some variations of the slogan during this time, reflecting local political cultures as well as larger ideological positions and differences. In Texas, some chapters of the organization developed in close affiliation with the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) to emphasize the need for brotherhood. In California, chapters of the organization adopted the slogan “Aztlán,” in recognition of their more internationalist concerns. In general, the organization often represented its natural constituency as male youth and members of local gangs but counted among its members Vietnam veterans, college students, high school students, and women.

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