Red Guard Party

Political party in the United States The Red Guard Party was a Chinese-American youth organization formed in February 1969. It was named after the Red Guards of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Origins The Red Guard formation resulted from several societal and economic pressures combined in the late 1960s. During that time, the Black Panther Party 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. In the halls of Leway, youth were able to discuss openly revolutionary ide