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How three unlikely groups worked together to achieve interracial solidarity

The original Rainbow Coalition NPR/DailyHerald hide caption

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How three unlikely groups worked together to achieve interracial solidarity

In this episode we turn to late 1960s Chicago, when three unlikely groups came together to form a coalition based on interracial solidarity. It's hard to imagine this kind of collaboration today, but we dove into how a group of Black radicals, Confederate flag-waving white Southerners, and street-gang-turned-activist Puerto Ricans found common ground.

How three unlikely groups worked together to achieve interracial solidarity

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What Hiram Maristany Saw Looking Through The Lens At El Barrio

"Hydrant: In the Air," 1963 — "It's significant because it shows us. We were not allowed to go to the public pools. So we opened our hydrant and we cooled ourselves off. But when I saw it and photographed it I made it more than just poor people turning on a hydrant. I'm very proud of that image. And it says a lot to my community. Hopefully when you look at my image you don't see poor people." Hiram Maristany/ Smithsonian American Art Museum hide caption

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Hiram Maristany/ Smithsonian American Art Museum

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What Hiram Maristany Saw Looking Through The Lens At El Barrio

Photographer Hiram Maristany has spent more than 50 years documenting the Puerto Rican community in New York City's East Harlem neighborhood — through poverty, beauty and gentrification.

Once Outlaws, Young Lords Find A Museum Home For Radical Roots

Johanna Fernández, co-curator of a new exhibition about the Young Lords, points to pages of the group's newspaper on display at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Hansi Lo Wang/NPR hide caption

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Hansi Lo Wang/NPR

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Once Outlaws, Young Lords Find A Museum Home For Radical Roots

Inspired by the Black Panthers, the Young Lords were formed in New York City by a group of Puerto Rican youth in 1969. Their history is now on display in a new exhibition.

Once Outlaws, Young Lords Find A Museum Home For Radical Roots

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