The Young Lords and Black Panther Party’s Civic Model
After World War II, Puerto Rican migrants who settled on the North Side of Chicago dealt with many of the same problems as the Black residents on Chicago’s West Side. Their neighborhoods were some of the most impoverished in the city. They also faced the pressures of gentrification as their neighborhood, Lincoln Park, was located near the city center and considered prime real estate for redevelopment.
José ”Cha Cha” Jiménez, the leader of the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican street gang, was impressed by the Black Panther Party of Chicago. After serving time in prison, Jiménez helped transform the Young Lords into a community-based organization dedicated to providing essential services to local residents.
The Young Lords developed their own 13-Point Program, which called for:
- the right to self-determination for all Latinos and the liberation of all people in developing countries
- an end to racism
- a more inclusive education for Spanish-speaking children
- equality for women
- freedom for political prisoners
Following the lead of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords also established free breakfast programs, childcare, and health clinics.
José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez in front of the Armitage Methodist Church (“People’s Church”), circa 1969.
In 1969, the Young Lords gained notoriety and support when they occupied the McCormick Theological Seminary’s administration building for a week to protest its purchase of several properties in Lincoln Park. The Young Lords opposed the gentrification of their neighborhood and the displacement of Lincoln Park’s largely Latino residents. They demanded that the seminary pay $601,000 in reparations. The seminary eventually pledged $700,000 for the development of low-income housing, a children’s center, and a Puerto Rican cultural center.
