Although Estervina Jiménez has never lived in Chicago herself, her life has been deeply connected to the city. Born and raised in Barrio San Salvador of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Ms. Jiménez’s husband, Cordero, traveled back and forth to Chicago’s La…

Carlos Vazquez is from Detroit, Michigan but he was born in Mexico and his family is from Ciudad Juárez on the border with Texas. Mr. Vasquez’s family settled in Detroit in the 1940s and 1950s. Mr. Vasquez is a musician who has played in several…

Rebecca “Buffy” Vance was friends with “Stony,” who was a white southerner and one of the main Young Lords from the Wieland branch of the group before they became human rights activists for Latinos and the poor. Stony was about 17-years-old then…

Oral history of Vincent Vaca, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 5/8/2013 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.

Oral history of Linda Turner, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.

Ricci Trinidad grew up in Lincoln Park. He describes his memories of the neighborhood, including the work of his parents, Pablo Trinidad Resto and Cristina “Nine” Jiménez. Doña Nine, as Mr. Trinidad’s mother was called, was a businesswoman. Early on…

Carmen Trinidad’s family arrived in Lincoln Park in the 1950s. She was one of only a few Puerto Rican families to attend St. Michael’s Church in those days, although the neighborhood had already become heavily Puerto Rican. She recalls her father’s,…

Hy Thurman arrived in Chicago when he was seventeen years old from a small farming town in eastern Tennessee. Mr. Thurman co-founded the Young Patriots. In 1969, the Young Patriots became part of the original Rainbow Coalition, along with the Young…

America Sorrentini was born in Puerto Rico. She moved first to Boston and then to Chicago, arriving in the 1970s. Ms. Sorentini's parents were prominent organizers and activists in the struggle for Puerto Rican self-determination, working primarily…

Oral history of Minerva Solla, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez on 10/23/2016 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.

Oral history of Lacey Smith, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 12/14/2012 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.

Oral history of Lacey Smith, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 10/19/2012 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.