Rafael Cancel-Miranda video interview and biography
Young Lords (Organization)
Puerto Ricans--United States
Civil Rights--United States--History
Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Mexican Americans--Personal narratives
Social justice
Community activists--Illinois--Chicago
Mexican Americans--Illinois--Chicago--Social conditions
Race relations
Social conflict
Cultural identity
Black Panther Party. Illinois Chapter
Oral history of Rafael Cancel-Miranda, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 11/19/2013 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Cancel-Miranda, Rafael
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
Alfredo Calixto video interview and transcript
Puerto Ricans--Personal narratives
Urban renewal--Illinois--Chicago
Youth--Illinois--Chicago
Alfredo “Freddy” Calixto and his family were among the first Puerto Rican families to move to Chicago in the early 1950s. Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Mr. Calixto lived through the displacement of Puerto Rican families from La Clark to the Lincoln Park Neighborhood where he grew up. Mr. Calixto describes struggling with discrimination in Lincoln Park and how these early experiences inspired him to commit himself to advocating for Latino youth.
Calixto, Alfredo
Elaine Brown video interview and transcript
Oral history of Elaine Brown, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 5/10/2013 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Brown, Elaine
Billy “Che” Brooks video interview and transcript
African Americans--Personal narratives
Hampton, Fred, 1948-1969
Billy “Che” Brooks is Deputy Minister of Education of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) and Director of YouthLAB@1521 through the Better Boys Foundation. In 1969, Mr. Brooks was very close to Chairman Fred Hampton who was the main spokesman of the Black Panther Party in Illinois. As one of the primary leaders of the BPP, Mr. Brooks was under constant, daily harassment by the Chicago Red Squad and Gang Intelligence Unit. He also worked closely with the Young Lords through the Rainbow Coalition.
Brooks, Billy
John Boelter video interview and transcript
Personal narratives
John Boelter was one of the Chicago Teachers Union members on strike in September 1968 at Waller High School, known today by its new name, Lincoln Park High. Today he is a Professor of Biology at Chicago State University. In 1968, a prominent Young Lord, Ralph “Spaghetti” Rivera returned from Puerto Rico and subleased a room from Dr. Boelter. Mr. Rivera, who grew up in Lakeview, wanted to be closer to the Young Lords who were then hanging out in front of the Armitage Avenue United Methodist Church which later to become the People’s Church, on the corner of Dayton Street and Armitage Avenue. In Puerto Rico, Mr. Rivera had been hanging out with M.P.I. (Movimiento Pro Independencia) and F.U.P.I. (Federacion Universitaria Pro Independencia) their student auxiliary, at University of Puerto Rico campus in Rio Piedras. He was going through a political transformation. Upon arriving in Chicago, Mr. Rivera soon discovered that his Young Lords colleagues were also going through a transformation. They had been reorganized once again by Mr. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez and the members were struggling with each other on whether to remain apolitical as just a gang or to become a human rights movement. Mr. Rivera joined in fully to help Mr. Jiménez, and they together designed the original Young Lords button that read, “Tengo Puerto Rico En Mi Corazón ( I have Puerto Rico in my heart) with a green map of Puerto Rico in the center, and a brown arm and fist holding a rifle. The initials YLO, which stood for “Young Lords Organization,” was at the bottom. They had added organization to their name, to make it clear that they were now involved in a class struggle, fighting for Latinos, the poor, and for Puerto Rican self-determination. Mr. Rivera became one of the Young Lords’ first P.E. (political education) class teachers, as these sessions were being held in the different homes of members including. LP Records of speeches by Malcom X, Fidel Castro, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, Mao Tse Tung’s Little Red Book, the National Question, Panther films, and Saul Alinsky strategies were being used as tools for study. It was in Mr. Boelter’s and Mr. Rivera’s house where Chicago Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton and the Panthers first arrived on Dayton and Armitage. They were led from the corner to the house to meet Dr. Boelter, Mr. Rivera, Mr. Jiménez, and the Young Lords. The Black Panthers broke bread and drank Wild Irish Rose (Fred Hampton did not drink or use drugs) on ice, smoked some weed, and joked a little, cementing a relationship that has lasted to this day. On a different day within a few weeks at the same location, it was informally agreed to join together with the Young Patriots. BPP Field Marshall Bob Lee was working with them. The three groups, who were already major players within their own communities, became the original members of the alliance known as the Rainbow Coalition. This was followed by several press conferences announcing the Rainbow Coalition, including one where Congressman Bobby Rush, appears in a photo with the Young Lords, Young Patriots and other Black Panthers but where Mr. Jiménez and Mr. Hampton were unable to be present. The Rainbow Coalition was strongly woven together to the credit of the organizations that took part in it. They all were committed and followed the same vanguard ideology of the BPP. But it is significant to note that the Rainbow Coalition was more symbolic than a structured organization. It was the mass way for all the grassroots organizations to find common ground and to join together for support of each other’s struggles, and it soon spread to other movements and groups like Rising Up Angry, the Intercommunal Survival Committees, Red Guard, Brown Berets, S.D.S. and many other groups in many cities. After the Young Lords went underground and the Puerto Rican and low income residents of Lincoln Park were completely removed by Mayor Richard J. Daley and his patronage machine, Dr. Boelter moved south to Morgan Park. Dr. Boelter also joined the Progressive Labor Party. The Progressive Labor Party had left the Communist Party years before, because their belief was that “they want to skip the Dictatorship of the Proletariat and go right into utopia.” They are against racism and respect workers, but do not want to cling on to leaders or unions, preferring to organize the masses. They have been accused of “catering more to the petty bourgeoisie and the aristocracy of labor.” Then they rejected the Black Panthers and Young Lords use of Nationalism as an important step. They also had become part of S.D.S. and by 1969 were their largest faction. Dr. Boelter today is still a member. These political discussions on all sides were part of the Lincoln Park era in the late 60s and 70s.
Boelter, John
Sijisfredo Avilés video interview and transcript
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Draft resisters--United States
Puerto Rico--Autonomy and independence movements
Sijisfredo Avilés is the first Puerto Rican in Chicago to publicly oppose the Vietnam War draft during the middle 1960s. He quietly served three years in jail for refusing induction in 1968. Born in Puerto Rico, Mr. Avilés’ family moved to Chicago in the early 1950s, settling around Chicago Avenue and Noble Avenue, just west of Ogden Avenue and downtown. Mr. Avilés has been a lifelong advocate for the poor, Latino self-determination, and human rights and worked closely with the Young Lords.
Avilés, Sijisfredo
Vicente “Panama” Alba video interview and transcript, interview 2
Panamanians--Personal narratives
Vicente “Panama” Alba is a Young Lord who was born in Panama, immigrated to New York City in 1961, and now lives in Puerto Rico. He worked many years as an organizer with Local 108 (L.I.U.N.A.) of the AFL/CIO, advocating for immigrant and undocumented workers in the solid waste and recycling industry. During the Attica Rebellion, September 9, 1971, he supported the inmates in their negotiations. Mr. Alba has been involved in two takeovers of the Statue of Liberty, first supporting the occupation and the planting of the Puerto Rican flag on the Statue as part of a campaign to free the Puerto Rican Nationalist prisoners and the second in support of the struggle of the people of Vieques. A fervent admirer of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Mr. Alba continues to advocate for self-determination for Puerto Rico and has been involved with the Nationalists and other parties, including several community organizing campaigns to free political prisoners, including Oscar López.
Alba, Vicente
Vicente “Panama” Alba video interview and transcript, interview 1
Vicente “Panama” Alba is a Young Lord who was born in Panama, immigrated to New York City in 1961, and now lives in Puerto Rico. He worked many years as an organizer with Local 108 (L.I.U.N.A.) of the AFL/CIO, advocating for immigrant and undocumented workers in the solid waste and recycling industry. During the Attica Rebellion, September 9, 1971, he supported the inmates in their negotiations. Mr. Alba has been involved in two takeovers of the Statue of Liberty, first supporting the occupation and the planting of the Puerto Rican flag on the Statue as part of a campaign to free the Puerto Rican Nationalist prisoners and the second in support of the struggle of the people of Vieques. A fervent admirer of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Mr. Alba continues to advocate for self- determination for Puerto Rico and has been involved with the Nationalists and other parties, including several community organizing campaigns to free political prisoners, including Oscar López.
Howard Alan video interview and transcript
Interview of Howard Alan on August 22, 2012 by José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez. In the video, a man in glasses sits in front of a bookshelf and speaks to the interviewer who is off camera. Howard Alan is an architect who specializes in organic architecture, passive and active solar and alternative energy conservation. He grew up in Chicago and first learned architecture in high school before going on to attend the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California. In 1969, Mr. Alan invited and brought the world renowned architect, Buckminster Fuller, to the People’s Church to meet with Mr. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez and the Young Lords. The Young Lords and the Poor People’s Coalition of Lincoln Park (which Mr. Jiménez was also their president) hired Mr. Alan to draw up plans for a multi-unit, affordable housing complex, as a concrete cooperative alternative to Daley’s Master Plan; a plan which was displacing Latinos and the poor from across Chicago’s near-downtown and lakefront neighborhoods.
Alan, Howard
Audio Transcription Center (transcriber)
Cathy Adorno-Centeno video interview and transcript
Interview of Cathy Adorno-Centeno on August 24, 2012 by José "Cha-Cha" Jiménez and Melanie Shell-Weiss (identified in the transcript as "F1"). In the video, a Latina woman sits facing the camera and speaks to the interviewer who is off camera. Cathy Adorno-Centeno is the daughter of Angie Navedo-Rizzo, a Young Lord who also founded “Mothers and Others,” a sub-group within the Young Lords that organized around women’s rights issues. Born in Chicago, Ms. Adorno-Centeno describes growing up surrounded by Young Lords and in a home that was a central gathering for pot luck family dinners for members of the organization and their supporters. Following the brutal death of her Young Lord father Jose “Pancho” Lind, Ms. Adorno-Centeno and her brothers and mother went underground; staying at a rented farm near Tomah, Wisconsin that would become the Young Lords’ Training Camp. Her most vivid childhood memories are of the warmth and support she enjoyed as a member of the Young Lords community. It included block parties, farmworker pickets, demonstrations and social events held near or in the Young Lords headquarters on Wilton and Grace streets. She also spent time at Rico’s Club (which her mother owned) and enjoyed company for the Sunday pasta dinners in her home.
Adorno-Centeno, Cathy
Luis Acosta video interview and transcript
Oral history of Luis Acosta, interviewed by Jose “Cha-Cha” Jimenez on October 25, 2012 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park. In the video, a Latino man in a dark sweater sits in front of a bookshelf facing the camera, while speaking to the interviewer who is off camera.
Acosta, Luis
Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65)
Wyoming. Yellowstone National Park, 1933
Moving images
Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park
Geysers
Yellowstone National Park is located primarily in Wyoming, but extends into parts of Montana and Idaho. Established as a National Park on March 1, 1872, it was the first national park in the world. It is known for its large variety of wildlife and its collection of geysers and hot springs. Features include Lakeshore Geyser, Fishing Cone Lake, Twin Geysers, Mud Volcano, Liberty Cap at Mammoth Hot Springs, Jupiter Terrace, and Riverside, Giant, Grotto, Castle, Beehive, and Giantess Geysers. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus while on a trip in 1933. [26:18]
Angus, Donald James (D.J.)
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401
Utah
Zion National Park (Utah)
Zion Canyon National Park is located near Springdale, Utah. In 1909 President Taft designated the area a national monument to protect the canyon under the name of Mukuntuweap National Monument. In 1918, the name was changed to Zion, and in 1919 the monument became a National Park. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus while on a trip in 1932. [4:50]
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
Canyons
Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southwestern Utah. The area became a National Monument in 1923 and was designated a National Park in 1928. The canyon features include hoodoos, tall, thin spires of rock, within an amphitheatre-like structure. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus while on a trip in 1932. [1:13]
North Carolina and Tennessee. Smoky Mountains, 1934
Tennessee
North Carolina
Dams
Little Tennessee River (Ga.-Tenn.)
Mills
Waterwheels
Smoky Mountains (Tennessee, North Carolina). Film includes unidentified locales in the Smoky Mountains, and includes waterwheels in Tennessee and the Cheoah Dam and power plant on the Little Tennessee River in Graham and Swain counties, North Carolina.
New York and Canada. Niagara Falls, 1931
New York
Niagara Falls (N.Y.)
Waterfalls
Canada
Niagara Falls from above and below the Canadian Falls, and from above and below the American Falls.
New Mexico
Taos (N.M.)
Drive through Taos and Cimmaron, New Mexico. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus while on a trip in 1932. [2:14]
Navajo Indians
Indians of North America
Sweatbaths
Navajo sweathouse. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus while on a trip in 1932. [0:10]
Bandelier National Monument (N.M.)
Frijoles Canyon (N.M.)
Cliff-dwellings
Pueblo architecture
Bandelier National Monument is located in Sandoval, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe Counties in New Mexico. It was designated a national monument in 1916. One of its principal features is Frijoles Canyon, containing ancestral pueblo homes and petroglyphs. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus while on a trip in 1932. [3:23]
Chaco Canyon (N.M.)
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington. On March 11, 1907 Chaco Canyon was declared a national monument. In 1987, it was designated a World Heritage Site. The park preserves the culture of the Ancient Pueblo people. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus while on a trip in 1932. [7:29]
Michigan
Grand Haven (Mich.)
Boats and boating
Ships in the snow in Grand Haven, Michigan. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus in 1930s. [4:44]
Newaygo (Mich.)
Oxbow Dam, also known as Hardy Dam, in Newaygo County, Michigan. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus in 1930s. [0:14]
Michigan, Lake
View of the lakeshore in winter in Grand Haven, Michigan. Includes footage shot during a storm. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus in 1933. [4:08]
View of Lake Michigan in Grand Haven, Michigan. 16mm film shot by D.J. Angus in 1930s. [0:35]