The Young Lords

Cha Cha Jimenez (in black) photographed at the People’s Church.

By Uche Okeke

The Young Lords was a Puerto Rican activist group based in the west-end of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Although they began as a street gang, their mission is much different from what we typically understand a gang to be. Reconvened under the leadership of Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez in September of 1968, the Young Lords were dedicated to fighting segregation and gentrification in Chicago. The 1960s was a crucial time period for people of color, and the Puerto Rican community in Chicago was not immune to the racial prejudice and discriminatory practices seen all over the United States. Their response was to “empower Puerto Ricans and fight against city development plans that were destroying their communities.”^[1] Such plans were often disguised as “urban renewal” that benefitted white, wealthier members of the community, but disadvantaged and displaced people of color.

The Young Lords are most famously known for the week-long occupation of the McCormick Theological Seminary. The occupation started May 15^th, 1969 in response to “the rapid gentrification of Lincoln Park and the resulting and abrupt displacement of its largely Latino residents.”^[2] Joined by other activist organizations, the Young Lords occupied one of the administrative buildings on the campus with a demand for $601,000 and other stipulations as reparations for the school’s expansion into the community.^[3] When initially presented with these demands, the university officials refused, but after five days, 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.”^[4] This victory served to garner more support for the Young Lords and elevated their influence in the city over matters of gentrification, urban renewal, and social reform.

The Chicago government failed to support the social needs of the Puerto Rican community; Cha Cha Jimenez and the Young Lords tried to combat this failure by providing social services that could be used freely by less fortunate families in their neighborhood. One of the ways they did this was through the Armitage Avenue Methodist Church which eventually became the site of their national headquarters. At the Church, which they later renamed the “People’s Church,” they set up free breakfast for children everyday, a free health clinic, and a free day care center.^[5] In line with their mission, the Young Lords Organization recognized it was difficult for members of the Puerto Rican community to take pride in their heritage and neighborhood when basic everyday tasks and responsibilities were difficult to accomplish. Providing some of these needs allowed the Lords to boost morale in the neighborhood and make their community feel the support which the city of Chicago failed to deliver.

The people-centered campaign of the Young Lords propelled even further after they were able to establish consistent programming through the church. Their next major move was the Puerto Rican Heritage Festival thrown on August 23^rd, 1969 to celebrate their Puerto Rican history and culture. The festival, though a celebratory event, was also an act of civil disobedience as it was thrown without a permit from the city. A confrontation occurred between the police and those at the festival. It resulted in the arrest of five Young Lords and the hospitalization of four police officers.^[6] Despite the unfortunate confrontation,  hosting such an event united the Puerto Rican community and fostered an environment that celebrated who they were and all they had accomplished for themselves. It equipped them with renewed energy and continued resolve for furthering the work they had started on Chicago’s north side.