At 1:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, members of the Northern Nevada Brown Berets began serving hot holiday meals for local people in need. The Brown Berets are a grassroots community organization with chapters nationwide, born out of the Chicano Movement that began in the 1960s in East Los Angeles and recently revived.
The local group served turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, pie and more at the dead end of E. Commercial Row near Sutro St., providing the meals in to-go containers with plastic cutlery, a napkin, and a couple pieces of candy as a sweet final touch. Across from the cafeteria-style serving line a cluster of tables and chairs encouraged people to sit and talk with others while enjoying the meal.
According to the event organizer and Brown Beret Capitana Leti Ramirez, the person to person connection and community building can be as important as nourishment of the warm meal, especially on a holiday where some people lack family to celebrate with.
Ramirez and the other berets spent time in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving walking along the river and visiting with unhoused individuals and letting them know about the holiday meal.
The event had a relaxed and joyful atmosphere despite the chilly temperatures and cloudy skies, with an upbeat mix of music and laughter filling the air along with the smell of turkey, gravy and the kerosene burners keeping everything hot.
Capitana Ramirez was everywhere at once, texting people directions, showing people to the start of the food line, snapping photos, and chatting with everyone, making sure that all were welcomed and had what they needed.
The Brown Berets were founded in 1966 originally under the name Young Chicanos for Community Action, in response to discrimination in education and police brutality against Latinos and people of color.
The YCCA rebranded as the Brown Berets in reference to the brown beret hat worn by one of the founding members and the group's military-style structure.
By 1972, the Brown Berets had 27 chapters throughout California and the west, and were publishing a newspaper called La Causa. Early on, they established the El Barrio Free Clinic which provided medical services to East L.A. residents at no cost.
The organization has always emphasized all people’s right to self-determination and community defense against aggression. Brown Berets stand with and fight for all oppressed peoples of the world, centered in the Chicano tradition. As stated on the Northern Nevada chapter’s Facebook page, the Brown Berets “are dedicated to preserving the past, protecting the present, and creating a future throughout the barrios of Aztlán.”
Central to the Chicano Movement in the struggle for civil rights is Aztlán, or the indigeneity of Chicanos to Aztlán, the ancestral home of the Aztecs, generally thought to include California, Nevada and much of the southwest United States, lands ceded to the US after defeating Mexico in a war for territory in 1868.
The autonomous local chapter of the Brown Berets focuses on direct action and mutual aid throughout Northern Nevada, organizing donation drives for food and school supplies, community education events, and direct assistance to those in need. They also take part in a weekly online Brown Berets education session on Thursday evenings covering topics ranging from basic legal protections, firearm safety, community organizing, mutual aid and more. For more information, contact the organization by email at northern.nv.berets@outlook.com