founding of El Centro de la Raza, now one of Seattle's most prominent civil rights organizations. In 1970, the Seattle chapter supported the United Farm Workers movement with a Harvest for Peace, gathering food, clothing, and money for Christmas baskets for Yakima Valley's Chicano farm workers. The group also organized a grape boycott. In 1970, the Yakima Brown Berets chapter brought Cesar Chavez to the lower Yakima Valley. It also coordinated a five-mile march to the welfare office in Yakima to protest the abuse of the Chicanos by officials. Women in the movement Although the Brown Berets was a male-dominated organization, women members established and operated essential community institutions such as the Barrio Free Clinic, which TELACU later institutionalized. One of the internal problems for the Brown Berets was sexism towards the women of the movement, arising from a culture of machismo. Machismo posits a patriarch heading a family and does not allow for female-headed families or other variations in family structure. It also maintains that a woman's purpose is a domestic life taking care of children and cleaning. The movement's men tended to view female Brown Berets as subservient and unequal, relegating the women to clerical duties, cooking, and cleaning. In 1968, Gloria Arellanes became the first and only female prime minister of the Brown Berets but recalled being "shut out of decision-making processes." However, Arellanes used her power within her chapter to create support and solidarity between the women of the movement. Eventually, these women left the East Los Angeles Brown Berets; Arellanes believes this contributed to the organization's downfall. Despite the presence of sexism, the Chicana movement in the Brown Berets did empower women initially. It allowed them to express their anger towards the United States government in a way that could make a positive change. For example, many Mexican female activists took pride in their political agendas. They felt it linked each organization because of their shared common history of the working class and activism. The Brown Berets brought out women such as the poet and activist Viola Correa. Her bilingual poem titled "La Nueva Chicana" impacted the cultural revolution and empowered the movement's women: Collaborations and influences The Brown Berets took inspiration from the greater Black Power Movement in terms of self-defense and racial-pride. They were specifically modeled after the Black Panther Party and communicated with the Black Panthers in Los Angeles. That connection directed