Rainbow Coalition (Fred Hampton)

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

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, busing to prisons, daycare centers, clothing, ambulance services, among many other efforts.