Examples of Mutual Aid

Mutual aid has played a transformative role in communities throughout history. The following examples illustrate how mutual aid initiatives have empowered people, challenged systemic injustice, and inspired lasting change.

Black Panther Party’s Survival Programs (1960s–1970s)

One of the most well-known mutual aid efforts, the Black Panther Party’s community programs were designed as a form of "survival pending revolution." In 1969, they launched the Free Breakfast for Children program in Oakland, California, which quickly expanded nationwide. They also established free medical clinics, a free ambulance service, legal aid, transportation for seniors, and even a school with a curriculum centered on liberation and self-determination.

These programs addressed urgent needs in Black communities that were being neglected by the government, such as hunger and lack of healthcare. However, they did more than just provide services—they were also deeply political. At the breakfast programs, for example, children and their families not only received food but also participated in discussions about the systemic causes of poverty and racism. This helped dismantle stigma, break isolation, and encourage people to work together for change.

Lesson: Mutual aid can be a powerful tool for political organizing. By addressing immediate needs, it creates pathways for deeper engagement in movements for systemic change. The success of the Black Panther programs also highlights how mutual aid can be seen as a threat to those in power. The U.S. government responded with hostility—J. Edgar Hoover, then-director of the FBI, labeled the Free Breakfast Program as one of the biggest threats to national security because it built strong community ties and political consciousness. Authorities sabotaged programs through raids and destruction of food supplies, while also attempting to co-opt the initiative by implementing their own school breakfast programs without the political education component.

Young Lords and Community Health Organizing (Late 1960s)

The Young Lords, a Puerto Rican and Latino activist group in Chicago and New York, also used mutual aid to address pressing community needs while advancing a political vision. In East Harlem, they noticed that city sanitation trucks rarely picked up garbage in Latino neighborhoods. In response, they organized community members to clean the streets and then piled the uncollected trash in major intersections to force the city to take action. This direct action, later known as the "Garbage Offensive," was both a public health intervention and a form of protest.

Beyond sanitation efforts, the Young Lords took over an underutilized local hospital to demand better healthcare services and set up community-led initiatives such as free tuberculosis testing. They also ran free breakfast programs and liberation schools, following the model of the Black Panther Party.

Lesson: Effective mutual aid begins with addressing the needs that people themselves identify. By providing tangible benefits—such as cleaner streets and accessible healthcare—the Young Lords built trust and credibility within the community. Their work also demonstrated that mutual aid should not be isolated from broader struggles. Each program was linked to demands for systemic change, ensuring that their efforts were not simply short-term relief but steps toward long-term justice.

Indigenous Mutual Aid Traditions

Long before the term "mutual aid" was popularized, Indigenous communities around the world practiced collective care as a way of life. Many Native American and First Nations communities have long traditions of communal resource-sharing, where food, shelter, childcare, and healing were provided collectively rather than through hierarchical systems of charity.

During colonization, these systems were deliberately disrupted by settlers, who sought to impose economic dependence by destroying Indigenous food sources and communal living structures. Despite these attacks, Indigenous mutual aid has persisted as an essential means of survival and resistance. Today, many Indigenous-led mutual aid projects continue this legacy, focusing on food sovereignty, land stewardship, and traditional medicine.

Lesson: Mutual aid is not a new concept—it is a deeply rooted human practice, particularly among communities that have resisted colonialism and exploitation. Looking to these longstanding traditions can provide valuable guidance for modern mutual aid efforts.

Hong Kong Protest Movement’s COVID-19 Response (2020)

In 2019, Hong Kong saw mass protests for democracy. When COVID-19 struck in early 2020, the movement shifted its energy toward pandemic response, as public distrust in the government’s handling of the crisis was high.

Activists quickly organized mutual aid efforts, including an online platform to track COVID-19 cases and combat misinformation. Volunteers produced and distributed free masks when they were in short supply and ensured that elderly and low-income residents had access to protective equipment. They also set up hand sanitizer stations in crowded areas and replenished them regularly.

These actions were carried out despite government restrictions, including a ban on public mask-wearing, which had been introduced to suppress protest anonymity. When the government refused to close the border to mainland China early in the pandemic, healthcare workers went on strike, and activists applied pressure through protests, eventually forcing officials to change their approach.

Lesson: Mutual aid and direct action are not separate; they can reinforce each other. By simultaneously providing care (such as distributing masks) and applying pressure on authorities (through strikes and protests), the movement was able to both protect the community and push for systemic changes. This model shows how mutual aid can function as part of broader strategies for resistance and self-defense.

COVID-19 Mutual Aid and 2020 U.S. Protests

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, mutual aid networks rapidly emerged across the U.S. and other countries. With government responses lagging, communities organized to provide food, medicine, and essential supplies to those in need. Neighbors connected through social media and local networks to assist people in quarantine, support elderly residents, and share resources.

That same year, following the police murder of George Floyd, mass protests erupted against racial injustice. The mutual aid infrastructure developed during the pandemic became a crucial support system for activists. Volunteers provided free water, food, masks, and medical aid to protesters, while legal support networks raised millions of dollars for bail funds. Protest sites, such as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in Seattle, became spaces of mutual aid where people distributed food, clothing, and medical care freely.

Lesson: Mutual aid significantly increases a movement’s capacity for sustained action. Protests were able to continue for weeks because communities had built systems of support that provided for activists’ basic needs.