**The Red Guard Party** was a [Maoist](Maoism "wikilink") and
[anti-racist](Anti-Racism "wikilink") group consisting of Chinese
Americans formed in San Francisco,
[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink") in February
[1969](Revolutions_of_1967_-_1975 "wikilink"), naming the group after
the [Red Guards](Red_Guards_\(China\) "wikilink") of [Chinese Cultural
Revolution](Cultural_Revolution_\(China\) "wikilink").

## Background

The US had a lot of discrimination towards Asian minorities - especially
Chinese people - throughout its history.

## Origins

The Red Guard formation resulted from several societal and economic
pressures combined in the late 1960s. During that time, the [Black
Panther Party](Black_Panther_Party "wikilink") had already gained
significant media and community attention for their militaristic actions
and struggles for self-determination and third world solidarity, and for
the opposing governmental oppression. San Francisco's Chinatown was
plagued with poverty and overcrowding, with a steady supply of
immigrants joining the numbers. Chinatown offered few job opportunities
and there were health concerns as the area suffered some of highest
rates of tuberculosis in the country. For those who were healthy and did
not turn to violence, the pool halls of the town existed as one of the
few recreational amenities available.

The popularity of the pool halls helped to develop the youth community
of Chinatown. Leway pool hall was an iconic recreation center for the
Red Guard party.<sup>\[2\]</sup> In the halls of Leway, youth were able
to discuss openly revolutionary ideas and their disdain for the
government that had contributed to their social injustice. Alex Hing,
though not a founding member, provided leadership to the Red Guards.
Under the [Students for a Democratic
Society](Students_for_a_Democratic_Society "wikilink"), Hing learned
many leadership skills which he utilized in helping form the Red Guard.
While advocating for Ethnic Studies at local community college, he read
works promoted by the Black Panther Party including the Red Book and
writings of Malcolm X.<sup>\[3\]</sup> The frustrated youth of Chinatown
drew the attention of the Black Panther Party leaders Bobby Seale and
David Hilliard. These leaders invited the youth to study their core
ideology. With strong leaders such as Hing and the influence by the
Black Panther Party, the Red Guard was formed in the Leway pool hall in
February 1969 to improve the conditions of Chinatown and Asian
Americans.

## Ideology

In 1969 when the Red Guard was formed, they mirrored themselves in many
ways after the Black Panther Party. They favored militaristic garb which
was adorned with a Mao jacket to show ties to their roots of the Red
Guard in China. They also conducted themselves as a military
organization, described by a former member as an "army" even. This
closely tied with the success and iconic nature of the Black Panther
Party. The Red Guard even adopted their own ten point plan which was
influenced by the Black Panther Party; however, it specifically targeted
Chinatown and the transgressions of the United States government against
Asians and Asians living in United States. The ten point plan consisted
of demands of the government based upon their power as street youth and
human dignity. The ten point plan was as follows:

1.  We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our

people, the Yellow Community. We believe that Yellow people will not be
free until we are able to determine our destiny.

1.  We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings. We believe

that if the white landlord will not give decent housing to our Yellow
community, then the housing and the land should be made into
cooperatives so that our community, with government aid, can build and
make decent housing for its people.

1.  We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of

this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our
true history and our role in the present-day society. We believe in an
educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of self. If
a man does not have knowledge of himself and his position in society and
the world, then he has little chance to relate to anything else.

1.  We want all Yellow men to be exempt from military service, believe

that Yellow people should not be forced to fight in the military service
to defend a racist government that does not protect us. We will not
fight and kill people of color in the world who, like Yellow people, are
being victimized by the white racist government of America. We will
protect ourselves from the force and of the racist military, by whatever
means necessary.

1.  We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of Yellow

people. We believe we can end police brutality in our Yellow community
by organizing self-defense groups that are dedicated to defending our
Yellow community from police oppression and brutality. The Second
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States gives a right to bear
arms. We, therefore, believe that all Yellow people should arm
themselves for self-defense.

1.  We want freedom for all Yellow men held in federal, state, county

and city prisons and jails. We believe that all Yellow people should be
released from the many jails and prisons because they have not received
a fair and impartial trial.

1.  We want all Yellow People when brought to trial to be tried in court

by a jury of their peer group or people from their Yellow communities,
as defined by the Constitution of the United States. We believe that the
courts should follow the United States Constitution so that Yellow
people will receive fair trials. The 14th Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution gives a man a right to be tried by his peer group. A peer
is a person from a similar economic, social, religious, geographical,
environmental, historical and racial background. To do this the court
will be forced to select a jury from the Yellow community from which the
Yellow defendant came. We have been, and are being tried by juries that
have no understanding of the "average reasoning man of the Yellow
community."

1.  We want adequate and free medical facilities available for the

people in the Yellow community. We know that Chinatown has the highest
density area next to Manhattan. It also has the highest TB and sickness
rate in the nation.

1.  We want full employment for our people. We believe that the federal

government is responsible and obligated to give every man employment or
a guaranteed income. We believe that if the white American businessman
will not give full employment, then the means of production should be
taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the
people of the community can organize and employ all its people and give
a high standard of living. There are thousands of immigrants coming into
Chinatown every year and it is almost impossible for them to find
gainful employment.

1.  We demand that the United States government recognize the People's
    Republic of China. We believe that Mao Tse-Tung

is the true leader of the Chinese people; not Chiang Kai-shek. The
government of the United States is now preparing for war against the
Chinese People's Republic and against the Chinese people. The racist
government of the United States has proven that it will put only peoples
of color in concentration camps, Japanese were placed in concentration
camps; therefore, it is logical that the next people that will be going
are the Chinese people; because the United States is gearing its war
time industrial complex for war against China." The demands that
followed required affordable housing. This demand was founded upon the
dense population of Chinatown that was over populated meanwhile having a
constant influx of immigrants. This influx and poor conditions combined
with few employment opportunities caused a significant concern for the
youth in the Red Guard. The organization also demanded that "all Yellow
men be exempt from military service" based on the historic racial
discrimination and violence within the U.S. Also, they demanded trial by
jury for Asian Americans by Asian Americans as it was impossible to
separate any racial prejudices of any other jury who could not even be
deemed peers due to the stark differences in social and political
background. Sparked by the struggle with the tuberculosis center, they
also demanded fair and free medical facilities for their community.

## Actions and decline

While many aspects of their political platform were not addressed, they
experienced several successes. The Red Guard focused many of their
efforts specifically on the Chinatown community. This is evident in the
language of the ten point plan, but was also seen through their actions.
The Red Guard tailored community service programs, such as breakfasts
the Black Panther Party provided and changed it to a Sunday brunch for
the elderly, reflecting their distinct cultural values and unique
requirements as a community. The tuberculosis center was also kept open
for Chinatown and they also led petitions in an effort to save the
historic International Hotel. As their founding would suggest with a
title such as the Red Guard Party,<sup>\[4\]</sup> the political group
was focused on gaining attention to the Asian American struggle and
remaining critical of the U.S government.

The Red Guard was attributed with a brief span due to their focus on
paramilitary force. They viewed themselves as an "army" rather than a
political organization and were dealt with as such which their founding
name would suggest (3). They also failed to inspire and include members
other than mainly male youth. Failure to incorporate the middle class
served to dissolve their party as their efforts was not carried by the
entirety of their community.

## Endnotes

1.  A

major aspect of the community for Chinatown was founded in the pool
halls. Specifically Leway, a pool hall founded from a community raffle
focused on using the proceeds of the business for youth benefit, was the
political hub of the youth involved in the Red Guard. With a meeting
place and a strong community, the roots of the Red Guard Party
originated in the halls of Leway, but also served to be a focal point
for police brutality.

1.  Alex Hing, a significant and founding member of the Red Guard Party,

was involved in the effort for ethnic minority's studies in the college
curriculum. As a student of UC Berkeley he dropped out and focused on
pushing the Asian American agenda for minority studies. Alex Hing also
was a follower of Mao ideology which influenced the Red Guard's own
political platform as well as the Red Guard having to read Mao's Red
Book.

1.  The Red Guard party was originally proposed to be the Red Dragons;

however, under Bobby Seale's recommendation they went with the Red Guard
as a way of combatting the stigma against communism. As Bobby Seale was
quoted saying, "freak fucking people out", the founding of the party
with such a controversial name symbolized the Red Guard's abrasive
nature that may have helped lead to their dissolution.