The Young Lords Speak

Rooted in a Chicago-based street gang, the Young Lords grew into one of the most dynamic revolutionary community organizations of the late 1960s and early ’70s.

In their field jackets and signature purple berets, using militant tactics like building takeovers and mass education, the Young Lords mobilized their community for liberation and against gentrification, poverty, racism, and police brutality. Forging a Rainbow Coalition with Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords expanded from their Chicago headquarters into the Puerto Rican and Latino barrios of New York City and elsewhere, demanding an end to the US occupation of Puerto Rico and self-determination for oppressed communities everywhere.

tells the story of Chicago’s Young Lords in their own words through articles, essays, interviews, and speeches.

Author Biography

Jacqueline Lazis a professor of Spanish and Latin American studies at DePaul University and the author of numerous scholarly articles on the Young Lords in Chicago.

(19482025) was one of the founders and leaders of the Young Lords in Chicago. As an infant, he moved with his family from Puerto Rico to a migrant work camp near Boston before settling in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. State repression, along with the police murders of Black Panther leaders, forced Cha Cha underground. He eventually returned to Chicago to continue his political and organizing work.