Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Young Lords were a Chicago street gang that emerged in the 1960s in the neighborhoods of Lincoln Park. The Chicago Young Lords were the sons and daughters of the first Puerto Rican immigrants and are credited with beginning a grassroots Latino movement in the United States. In 1966 the Young Lords became involved in the Division Street Riots, resulting from strained relations between the Chicago Police Department and the Puerto Rican community. In 1967, after serving a brief jail term, Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez, one of the seven founding members of the Young Lords, sought to transform the street gang into an organization committed to human rights and the liberation of Puerto Rico. The Young Lords was reconstituted into the Young Lords Organization (YLO) and began forming into regional ministries. This organizational effort was an attempt to create a Puerto Rican equivalent of the Black Panthers by which Jimenez had been greatly influenced. On June 7, 1969, the Black Panthers announced formation of the Rainbow Coalition in collaboration with the YLO and the Young Patriots Organization, a group of politically conscious poor white youths. Inspired by the Chicago Young Lords, a group of young people established a chapter in New York City in July 1969 and subsequent branches in Philadelphia, Bridgeport, Newark, Boston, and Puerto Rico, and expanded into a national movement in pursuit ... log in or subscribe to read full text