The Young Lords Movement for Social Justice
Chicago Branch
José "Cha-Chao" Jiménez and how he started it all...
Born on August 8, 1948 in Caguas, Puerto Rico, José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez and his family moved to the United States when he was a baby (University of Virginia, n.d.). He moved from New York City to Chicago where he and his family lived in one of the first Puerto Rican neighborhoods: La Clark. During the 1960s, many Puerto Ricans were displaced from these neighborhoods due to urban renewal programs. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez and others established a mostly Puerto Rican gang, known as the Young Lords, in order to respond to this. One renewal program called for the movement of Puerto Ricans out of Lincoln Park which was another neighborhood in which many Puerto Ricans settled after migrating to the United States after World War II. “Within these barrios, Puerto Ricans became vulnerable to discrimination, police brutality, lack of employment and education, and gentrification” (Library of Congress, n.d.). Jiménez fought against this segregation, but began to disassociate himself from the rising drug and gang culture.
Because Jiménez still had a passion for fighting against the discrimination towards the Puerto Rican community, he rebranded the street-gang to the Young Lords Organization in 1968 (YLO). He was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Pedro Albízu Campos to take part in community activism after he served a 60-day sentence in Cook County Jail on drug charges (Library of Congress, n.d.). To spread the ideas of the group, they created a newspaper to inform others about their mission and to gain support. Part of the Young Lords Organization was to “empower Puerto Ricans and fight against city development plans that were destroying their communities” (Okeke, n.d.). These renewal plans often deceived people of color and displaced them while only benefiting wealthy white people. One way in which the YLO members challenged the gentrification of Lincoln Park was by breaking the realty companies’ windows who started renovating these properties (Library of Congress, n.d.). This was just the beginning of the Young Lords Organization taking action against the discrimination of the Latino community.
Young Lords
&
The Black Panthers
A major turning point in the YLO was the death of Manuel Ramos. He was murdered by an off duty officer, James Lamb, who claimed he was acting in self defense, which was never proven to be true (Library of Congress, n.d.). After he received no repercussions for the incident, The Young Lords and the Black Panther Party joined together to fight back against the police brutality. On April 12, 1970, the groups conducted a large protest and marched around the Federal Building and the Daley Center. The members of both groups held signs which encouraged unity within the community, but they also opposed the violence of the Chicago Police Department (Coffman, n.d.).“Jiménez created the Rainbow Coalition, which connected other Latinx and Black political organizations together in the fight against systemic inequalities rooted in White supremacy” (University of Virginia, n.d.). Because these two powerful groups in Chicago joined forces, they were able to advocate for both African American and the Puerto Rican communities. They were stronger together.
Community Support
Not only did the Young Lords fight against police brutality, but they also supported the community in other ways. "Cha Cha" Jimenez and the Young Lords attempted to provide social services to those less fortunate families in the neighborhood. One of their most well known protests of the Young Lords is when they occupied the McCormick Theological Seminary for a week in order to rebel against the ongoing gentrification of Lincoln Park (Library of Congress, n.d.). Although their demands were not immediately met, “the Young Lords ended their occupation with a pledge of nearly $700,000 (and institutional support) for the creation of a low-income housing development, a children’s center, and a Puerto Rican cultural center” (Okeke, n.d.). This type of community activism continued, and the Young Lords were also victorious in the Armitage Avenue Methodist Church four day sit-in after their request to convert the church into a daycare was denied. They were successful and renamed it the “People’s Church” which would eventually be their national headquarters. In this church, they provided daily free breakfast for children, free day care and health clinic, as well as a Puerto Rican cultural center (Library of Congress, n.d.). The Young Lords stepped up and provided resources for their community even when the government was unwilling and often worked against them.
