User talk:Cha-ChaJimenez

Early Years

Jose (Cha-Cha)Jimenez,is one of seven founders of the Young Lords gang,and the founder of the Young Lords as a polictical movement.He was born in Caguas,Puerto Rico on August 8,1948.His mother's name is Eugenia Rodriguez Flores, a housewife and factory worker and Antonio Jimenez,a Tomatero(tomatoe picker)and a Chicago meat packer for Armour Foods. The Young Lords originated as a street gang in Lincoln Park,a near northside Chicago neighborhood.Orlando Davila recruited the founders of the gang in 1959.Cha-Cha Jimenez became President of the gang in 1964,after several others.

Young Lords Fold

The Young Lords seized to exist as an organized gang in 1967.Some married,were active in Vietnam,succumbed to drugs,or were incarcerated for car thefts,burglaries,armed robberies,drug sales,stabbings and shootings,and other of the usual,gang related offenses.

Community Organizing

Pat Devine and Dick Vision,both of the Concerned Citizens of Lincoln Park were asking Cha-Cha to come and bring Puerto Ricans to the Department of Urban Renewal Council Meetings.Lincoln Park was being developed,with only the voices of about 15 upper class white persons,themselves being led like lambs by city department heads and outside developers. Jimenez went to every street corner,every snack shop,and every bar where the gangs hung out.He remained determined even after being ridiculed and threatened and after having to engage in fist fights to defend his honor. Cha-Cha did walk into the meeting with about 60 youth.The urban renewal meeting was then abruptly adjourned after Jimenez informed the council that they could not meet until there was "Black,Latino,and Poor White representation."The offices and hall were then completely thrashed. Two days later Jimenez was picked up for questioning.He did not cooperate and susequently was arrested on two old warrants for Disorderly Conduct.

Original actions

The Young Lords held protest demonstrations in front of several mafia owned and polictically tied real estate offices.Three of them were located on one short city block between Freemont and Bissell streets,on Armitage.They sat in at Augustana and Grant Hospitals demanding that they attend to referrals that were being sent from a Young Lords free clinic(Emeterio Betances Free Health Clinic).350 persons camped out on vacant land at the corner of Halsted and Armitage to halt the construction of an indoor tennis court, with a proposed membership of $1000@year,where Puerto Ricans once lived.Cha-Cha and the Young Lords joined welfare recipients,Obed Lopez and Lado(Latin American Defense Organization),and asked Chairman Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers, and Preacherman and the Young Patriots.Together they demonstrated and shut down twice,the Wicker Park Welfare Offices.Their demands were for a Union and for a more dignified service. An architect,Howard Alan was hired by the Young Lords to draw up their own plans for affordable housing.Mayor Daley's housing committee rejected it and chose the Hartford Construction Company.This was done even though, it was submitted by the Poor People's Coalition of Lincoln Park and by Ira Bach,the former head of Urban Renewal. With limited resources and no funds from foundations nor city agencies,the Young Lords approached an empty Armitage Ave.United Methodist Church where they had hung out in front of their closed doors.They asked the church to allow them to rent space so they could put a Free Breakfast for Children Program,a Free Health Clinic,a Cultural Center,and a Free Day Care Center to be run like a coop.The majority of the small congregation objected and the Young Lords seized the church. Cha-Cha Jimenez and Preacherman of the Young Patriots joined the call of Chairman Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party and together they called for a founding of a national Rainbow Coalition. Meetings were also being held with various institutions to get them to invest in affordable housing that could house the displaced poor.Mckormick Theological Seminary refused to cooperate and to demonstrate that they meant business,the Young Lords seized their corporate offices building.It was held for one week until all the demands were met:650,000 to be invested in low income housing,$25,000 for the LADO clinic,and $25,OOO to open up a People's Law Office to service the community and also, the many court cases being handed by State's Attorney Hanrahan to the Young Lords.

Repression

Repression was stiff.Jimenez was indicted 18 times within a 6 week period,in January of 1969.Anyone wearing a Young Lord Button was "Stopped and Frisked."Police from squad cars yelled out obscenities at the Young Lords as they drove by using their megaphones.Clearly the Police was attempting to provoke confrontations.Patronage or city hall machine employees also spread campaign style rumour campaigns, to demonize and discredit the Young Lord efforts at community building.The Red Squad was parked aross from the Church,every day,24 hours a day photographing anyone entering and leaving the church.Congressional meetings were also organized to investigate how they could get rid of the Young Lords members.The Justce Department did not hide who they were and literally hung out in front of the Church.Gang Intelligence Unit paid the Cobra Stones gang to provoke fights with the Young Lords.This was admitted voluntarily by the Cobra Stones who were friends of Yong Lord members. The Commancheros were a new gang that moved into a building right next to the People's Church and began to pressure People for money.Later, It was learned that the Commancheros had testified in a congressional session that was investigating the Young Lords.Family members and friends were also visited and terrorized by F.B.I.agents as part of a Cointelpro.