Rainbow Coalition (Fred Hampton)

The Rainbow Coalition was a socialist political organization that united various marginalized groups in Chicago. Under leadership of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party (ILBPP), the Rainbow Coalition built a political alliance between the Young Patriots Organization (YPO), the Young Lords Organization (YLO), and other community groups and street gangs. It was the first of several 20th-century black-led organizations to use the "rainbow coalition" concept.

The Rainbow Coalition's ideology centered on class solidarity, uniting poor and working-class people across racial lines against shared oppression. It emphasized using direct action to pressure local government into achieving tangible improvements, with objectives including reducing unemployment, improving public education, and counteracting gentrification. Members of the Rainbow Coalition also sponsored a wide range of service programs at reduced or no costs to their respective communities, such as breakfasts for children, health clinics, bussing to prisons, daycare centers, clothing, ambulance services, among many other efforts.