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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e6838aa4d06c81277201caf813361160.pdf
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Young Lords
In Lincoln Park
Interviewee: Benedicto Jiménez
Interviewers: José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez
Location: Grand Valley State University Special Collections
Date: 6/2/2012
Biography and Description
Benedicto Jiménez is the son of Toribia Rodríguez and Miguel Jiménez. His father, Miguel, is the oldest
of Gregorio Jiménez’s sons, but is the only son from Gregorio’s first wife. For Mr. Benedicto Jiménez, the
importance of family and neighborhood ties became especially clear once he was in Chicago. There,
Puerto Ricans faced the same hardships and so sought each other out and were glad to know that they
were related in some way. Instead of asking what one thought about the weather, the conversation
would be about, “what town in Puerto Rico are you from and what are all your last names.” They would
research on and on until they could prove that they were related, or at the very least that they were
close friends of close friends, or from a nearby town. Initially, Mr. Jiménez wanted to become a priest.
Instead he became a different type of father and raised a wonderful, stable family in Aurora, Illinois. He
also lived in Lincoln Park for a couple of years on Seminary Street near Armitage, close to Eugenia
Rodríguez, who he would frequently visit, who lived at 2117 North Bissell Street. Rather than returning
to Chicago, Mr. Jiménez moved closer to Aurora, Illinois because he was desperately looking for work
and with the help of other relatives and friends worked at the honguera of West Chicago. The honguera
produced mushrooms and other vegetables for the Campbell Soup Company. Mr. Jiménez worked there
for many years and since he is well educated and fluent in English, he was asked to translate many
times. For this help the company bosses would relate more to him but this never translated into more
�pay or a better job. In those days of the 1960s and 1970s jobs were not given by skill but by national
origin and by race. He says that the honguera was 50/50, about 200 Mejicanos and 200 Puerto Ricans,
who lived in the dormitories of the migrant camp, by signed contract. The company would pay for their
trip from Puerto Rico or Mexico and the employee would work to at least he made enough to reimburse
the company. Mr. Jiménez describes long days and work weeks in an enclosed, unlit room because the
mushrooms are grown in the dark. He could talk to them but could not see who he worked next to
during that day. It was there that he was reintroduced to Don Teo Arroyo, whose wife Gina cooked at
the camp for the men. They too were from Barrio San Salvador of Caguas and would help Latinos, later
becoming the ones to begin organizing the community for Aurora’s first Puerto Rican Day parades. Since
West Chicago was a small town, when the migrant workers decided to settle down with their families,
they often would move to Chicago or settle in Aurora. Significant Mexican and Puerto Rican
communities have grown in both places.
�
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dc4c2aaf462d2e7bb2afa7c315b8f810.mp4
9f344c940d52ac570e5a9443b7bb1f40
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Young Lords in Lincoln Park Collection
Subject
The topic of the resource
Young Lords (Organization)
Puerto Ricans--United States
Civil Rights--United States--History
Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Personal narratives
Social justice
Community activists--Illinois--Chicago
Description
An account of the resource
Collection of oral history interviews and digitized materials documenting the history of the Young Lords Organization in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Interviews were conducted by Young Lords' founder, José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, and documents were digitized from Mr. Jiménez' archives.
The Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection grows out of the ongoing struggle for fair housing, self-determination, and human rights that was launched by Mr. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, founder of the Young Lords Movement. This project is dedicated to documenting the history of the displacement of Puerto Ricans, Mejicanos, other Latinos, and the poor from Lincoln Park, as well as the history of the Young Lords nationwide.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jiménez, José, 1948-
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/491">Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65)</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04-25
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
video/mp4
application/pdf
Language
A language of the resource
eng
spa
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Moving Image
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RHC-65
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
2012-2017
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Título
Spanish language Title entry
Benedicto Jiménez vídeo entrevista y biografía
Sujetos
Spanish language Subject terms
Young Lords (Organización)
Puertorriqueños--Estados Unidos
Derechos civiles--Estados Unidos--Historia
Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Puertorriqueños--Relatos personales
Idioma español--Relatos personales
Justicia social
Activistas comunitarios--Illinois--Chicago
Puertorriqueños--Illinois--Chicago--Condiciones sociales
Puertorriqueños--Illinois--Chicago--Vida social y costumbres
Trabajadores migratorios agrícolas--Illinois--Chicago
Source
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/491">Young Lords in Lincoln Park (RHC-65)</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RHC-65_Jimenez_Benedicto
Title
A name given to the resource
Benedicto Jiménez video interview and biography
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jiménez, Benedicto
Description
An account of the resource
Benedicto Jiménez is the son of Toribia Rodríguez and Miguel Jiménez. For Mr. Benedicto Jiménez, the importance of family and neighborhood ties became especially clear once he was in Chicago. There, Puerto Ricans faced the same hardships and so sought each other out and were glad to know that they were related in some way. Instead of asking what one thought about the weather, the conversation would be about, “what town in Puerto Rico are you from and what are all your last names.” Mr. Jiménez moved closer to Aurora, Illinois because he was desperately looking for work and with the help of other relatives and friends worked at the honguera of West Chicago. The honguera produced mushrooms and other vegetables for the Campbell Soup Company. Mr. Jiménez worked there for many years and since he is well educated and fluent in English, he was asked to translate. His help never translated into more pay or a better job. In those days of the 1960s and 1970s jobs were not given by skill but by national origin and by race. He says that the honguera was 50/50, about 200 Mejicanos and 200 Puerto Ricans, who lived in the dormitories of the migrant camp, by signed contract. Mr. Jiménez describes long days and work weeks in an enclosed, unlit room because the mushrooms are grown in the dark. He was reintroduced to Don Teo Arroyo, whose wife Gina cooked at the camp for the men. They began organizing the community for Aurora’s first Puerto Rican Day parades.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jiménez, José, 1948-
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Subject
The topic of the resource
Young Lords (Organization)
Puerto Ricans--United States
Civil Rights--United States--History
Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Puerto Ricans--Personal narratives
Spanish language--Personal narratives
Social justice
Community activists--Illinois--Chicago
Puerto Ricans--Illinois--Chicago--Social conditions
Puerto Ricans--Illinois--Chicago--Social life and customs
Migrant agricultural laborers--Illinois--Chicago
Language
A language of the resource
spa
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Moving Image
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
video/mp4
application/pdf
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2012-06-02