 Initially consisting of students from Columbia University, the group worked in conjunction with residents of New York City’s Chinatown to address the community’s needs for healthcare reform, draft counseling, and childcare.The group expanded nationally with the Red Guard Party in San Francisco in 1972 to create a national organisation.The organization established itself in New York's Chinatown in late 1969 and is named after the peasant group that fought against foreign intrusion and influence in China in 1898 during the beginning of the Boxer Rebellion, which officially began in 1900.