Ramón Rodriguez video interview and biography
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--Social life and customs
Youth--Puerto Rico
Ramón Rodríguez is a semi-retired school teacher who lives in the Lao Frío section of San Salvador, overlooking the home of his father Dimas Rodríguez Flores. He first met his cousin, José “Cha- Cha” Jiménez in 1963 when Mr. Jiménez was forcibly deported to Puerto Rico. Mr. Jiménez, who was 14- years-old at that time, pleaded with his parents to send him to Sheraton, a juvenile prison where he would have remained until the age of 21, instead of being sent to Puerto Rico where he was born but had no understanding of life there. In Puerto Rico, Mr. Rodríguez and his older brother Juan became close to Mr. Jiménez. They also tried to dissuade Mr. Jiménez from forming a branch of the Young Lords in Puerto Rico because Mr. Rodríguez and his brothers were already leaders and did not want anything to do with a Chicago type gang in the barrio of San Salvador. Mr. Rodríguez recalls what San Salvador was like in those days. This was a stable area and family influence and networks were strong. Drugs did not start to enter -- not even in rural areas of Puerto Rico – until much later. The only thing that closely resembled a gang was the Titeres de La Plaza. These young men sat on the many boulders near the banana leaves, across from the store of Don Félix García, and got into petty mischief. Ultimately Mr. Rodríguez and others compromised and agree to call their group, Jovenes Nobles. Of course Mr. Jiménez remained a Titere because that bunch included many other cousins, and they were located in La Plaza, closer to where he was living with his grandparents, Tino and Don Goyo. The Jovenes Nobles set up a recreation clubhouse for their young members. They began fundraising and someone donated a baby pig to raffle. The members traveled from house-to-house and hilltop-to-hilltop in the tropical sun to sell the tickets. On the day of the raffle, Mr. Rodríguez’s mother won the ticket. The Jovenes Nobles had to endure the gossip, but they kept the money and they ate the pig.Mr. Rodríguez also describes his move from San Salvador to Aurora, Illinois. In this interview, he bravely talks about the brief substance abuse problem he battled and the ways he hopes young people today might learn from his experiences. Today he once again lives in San Salvador. He remains a strong family person and is a well-respected leader.
Rodriguez, Ramón
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
Juan Rodríguez video interview and biography
Chicago (Ill.)--Politics and government--1951-
Puerto Ricans--Illinois--Chicago--Social life and customs
Juan Rodríguez was a member and leader of the Jovenes Nobles social club in San Salvador, Puerto Rico, where he was born and raised. Mr. Rodríguez later followed other family members to Aurora, Illinois where he worked for many years at the Caterpillar Plant on Montgomery Road. Later, Mr. Rodríguez heard about the organizing work of the Young Lords in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. By that time his relatives from the Jiménez family had also come to Aurora, moving from Lincoln Park and Wicker Park. Mr. Rodríguez and his brother Ramón would visit their home regularly, and assisted with organizing the parades.
Rodríguez, Juan
Eugenia Rodríguez video interview and biography, interview 4
Urban renewal--Illinois--Chicago
Eugenia Rodríguez is the mother of José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez. She is the youngest of 13 children and was born in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico to Juan Rodríguez and Victoria Flores. They then moved to the Morena section of the barrio of San Salvador, Caguas, Puerto Rico. When she was just a child her mother became sick and so Ms. Rodríguez was sent to be raised by her older sister, Toribia. But Toribia also had her own family to raise, so her father decided to send her to live in a Catholic orphanage until she was 15-years-old. She never attended formal school but did learn how to read and write. When Ms. Rodríguez left the orphanage, she returned to live with Toribia. There she met Antonio Jiménez, the younger brother of Toribia’s husband, who would become her husband. In 1949, Ms. Rodríguez traveled to New York and then to Boston. In early 1951 the family moved to La Clark in Chicago.
Rodríguez, Eugenia
Eugenia Rodríguez video interview and biography, interview 3
Eugenia Rodríguez is the mother of José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez. She is the youngest of 13 children and was born in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico to Juan Rodríguez and Victoria Flores. They then moved to the Morena section of the barrio of San Salvador, Caguas, Puerto Rico. When she was just a child her mother became sick and so Ms. Rodríguez was sent to be raised by her older sister, Toribia. But Toribia also had her own family to raise, so Ms. Rodríguez’s father decided to send her to live in a Catholic orphanage until she was 15-years-old. She never attended formal school but did learn how to read and write. When Ms. Rodríguez left the orphanage, she returned to live with Toribia. There she met Antonio Jiménez, the younger brother of Toribia’s husband, who would become her husband. In 1949, Ms. Rodríguez traveled to New York and then to Boston. In early 1951 the family moved to La Clark in Chicago.
Eugenia Rodríguez video interview and biography, interview 2
Eugenia Rodríguez video interview and biography, interview 1
David Rodriguez video interview and transcript
Mexican Americans--Personal narratives
Mexican Americans--Illinois--Chicago--Social conditions
Race relations
Social conflict
Cultural identity
Black Panther Party. Illinois Chapter
Oral history of David Rodriguez, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 5/12/2012 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Rodriguez, David
Antonio “Maloco” Jiménez Rodríguez video interview and biography
Gangs--Illinois--Chicago
Veterans--personal narratives
Antonio “Maloco” Jiménez Rodríguez has no qualms about admitting that he was the Vice-President of the notorious Hacha Viejas, or Old Hatchets, of the 1950s and 1960s in Chicago. He was a World War II veteran with a lot of heart.
Rodríguez, Antonio
Angel “Sal” del Rivero video interview and transcript, interview 2
Mexican Americans--Illinois--Chicago--Social life and customs
Veterans--Personal narratives
Angel “Sal” del Rivero was born in Mexico. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he lived in Lincoln Park on Dayton Street. Later his family moved to the Lakeview Neighborhood near Wrigley Field. Mr. Rivero became one of the original members of the Young Lords in 1959. While the Young Lords were transforming themselves into a human rights movement, Mr. Rivero was serving in the U.S. military. When he came out most Young Lords were opposed to the Vietnam War, although many Young Lords also served on the front lines in that war. Mr. Rivero at first resented those who opposed the war. But after Young Lord Manuel Ramos was killed by an off duty policeman, the entire Young Lords group reunited themselves for human rights.
Rivero, Angel del
Angel “Sal” del Rivero video interview and transcript, interview 1
William Quiles video interview and biography
William Quiles is the brother-in-law of José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez and has been married to Juana “Jenny” Jiménez for over 40 years. They live in Camuy, Puerto Rico where they are surrounded by Mr. Quiles’s many brothers and sisters. Prior to moving to Camuy, Mr. Quiles and Ms. Jiménez met in Aurora, Illinois where they lived for many years, raising their four children, Margie, Joey, Danny, and Sandy. Mr. Quiles has long been active in local softball teams and bowling leagues and worked in the factories. He is well know and respected in both the Aurora and Camuy communities. In Puerto Rico, Mr. Quiles works in construction and built his own cement home. For many years he also worked on the cattle farm of a close friend. Several of his brothers have been active with the Puerto Rican Independence Party.
Quiles, William
Modesto Rivera video interview and transcript
Modesto Rivera is a Young Lord raised in the La Clark neighborhood, Lincoln Park, and with the Hillbillies of Chicago’s uptown. Mr. Rivera was a strong community organizer and door-to-door precinct worker. He has worked in many political campaigns, including the Jiménez for Alderman Campaign (1973-1975), Helen Schiller’s Aldermanic Campaign, and the Harold Washington Campaign. During the Washington Campaign, Mr. Rivera worked alongside David Mojica and José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, and participated in organizing the first Latino rally held by the Young Lords, in support of electing the first African American mayor in Chicago’s history. Mr. Rivera also worked for the City of Chicago and continues to be active in his community.
Rivera, Modesto
Dylcia Noemi Pagán interview and transcript
Personal narratives
Dylcia Pagán was born to Puerto Rican parents in 1946 at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, New York City and raised in East Harlem. She became a child star, performing every week on NBC’s “Children’s Hour.” After losing her parents at the age of 20, she became an activist, participating in voter registration drives and working for the Community Development Agency (CDA) evaluating poverty programs throughout the City of New York. In 1969, Ms. Pagán decided to attend Brooklyn College where she co-founded the Puerto Rican Student Union that resulted in the formation of a student-controlled Puerto Rican Studies Department that is still in existence today. She continued a long career in media, becoming the first Puerto Rican woman television producer in New York City. Ms. Pagán has worked as a producer, writer, and filmmaker, developing investigative documentaries and children’s program on nearly every major television network. She also worked as the English editor for the city’s first bilingual daily newspaper, El Tiempo, and authored a popular daily column in that same paper.In 1978, Ms. Pagán was subpoenaed by a Grand Jury to testify in connection with the arrest of her companion, William Morales. At the time, she was three months pregnant with her son, Guillermo, and she refused to testify. Sometime in 1979 she went underground with her son. She was arrested in 1980, charged with seditious conspiracy for fighting for the independence of Puerto Rico, and was sentenced to 63 years in prison. She was released from prison on September 10, 1999 after a long campaign in the United States, Puerto Rico, and internationally pressured President Bill Clinton to give she and nine of her co-defendants a Presidential Conditional Clemency. She lives and works in Puerto Rico.
Pagán, Dylcia
Carmen Tirado Reyes inerview and biography
Puerto Rico--Autonomy and independence movements
Carmen Tirado Reyes is married to Marcelo Jiménez, a proud Hacha Vieja, and uncle of José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez. In the 1940s they moved to Barrio Mula in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, where “Tio Gabriel,” as he was called, had purchased a large farm, hired workers, and raised his many children. When work was slow, those children and workers came to Chicago, settling in La Clark in the late 1940s and early 1950s. One of Ms. Reyes’s sons became a leader of the Latin Kings. Ms. Reyes now lives in Puerto Rico.
Reyes, Carmen
Ricardo Rebollar video interview and transcript
Jimenez, Jose, 1948-
Ricardo Rebollar is from one of the first Mexican families to live in Lincoln Park, settling around Sheffield and Clybourn Streets and remaining there more than 30 years. Mr. Rebollar attended school with Young Lords founder José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez. Mr. Rebollar was of the few Latinos in the school and in his class and they became very close friends. He recalls the days that Lincoln Park turned more Puerto Rican and Latino and describes how he felt safe when he walked the area of Lincoln Park because the Young Lords. Mr. Rebollar first became a law enforcement officer and later became a teacher for the Chicago school system. He currently teaches science at Joliet West High School in Illinois.
Rebollar, Ricardo
Carmen Rance video interview and transcript
When Carmen F. Rance’s family first came to Chicago from Puerto Rico, she lived at the Water Hotel then moved to Lincoln Park where she grew up. She joined the Young Lords through the Breakfast for Children Program. Her family owned a large apartment building on the corner of Clifton and Armitage Avenue where many other Puerto Rican families lived. Her family was active with Council Number 9 of the Caballeros de San Juan and Damas de María, at St. Teresa’s Church. Today Ms. Rance works as a case manager and has been a lay leader in the San Lucas United Church of Christ for many years.
Rance, Carmen
Marie Merrill Ramirez interview and transcript
Marie Merrill Ramirez is a long-time community activist from the Milwaukee chapter of the Young Lords. She was actively involved with many neighborhood issues both on the north and south sides of the city, focusing especially on supporting of bi-lingual education efforts. She now lives in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico where she continues to advocate for Puerto Rican self-determination.
Ramirez, Marie
Gamaliel Ramirez interview and transcript
Latin Kings--Illinois--Chicago
Arts, Puerto Rican--Illinois--Chicago
Gamaliel Ramirez was born in 1949 in South Bronx, New York to recently arrived immigrant parents. Their family moved to Chicago in 1955. Although Mr. Ramirez was never a member, he hung around with the Latin Kings and with the Young Lords. Mr. Ramirez became one of the pioneers of the Chicago-based Latino Art Movement and has exhibited his paintings nationally and internationally. Mr. Ramirez also led the painting of murals at the Young Lords office, both outside and inside.
Ramirez, Gamaliel
Sandra Quiles video interview and transcript
Oral history of Sandra Quiles, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 11/21/2012 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Quiles, Sandra
John “Oppress” Preston video interview and transcript
John “Oppress” Preston was a leading member of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP). His role within the party was to set up and distribute the BPP newspaper throughout the state of Illinois. Though the BPP started in Oakland, California in 1966, it was not until April 25, 1967 that they published their first official newspaper. By 1969 the newspaper had a nationwide distribution of about 250,000 copies. In Illinois, distribution climbed up to about 80,000 copies.Mr. Preston describes what a major operation it was to set up and distribute the paper. Many times the newspaper was used as part of Political Education or “P.E.” classes. It was automatically given to new members to sell. The Black Panthers were about being out and active in the community as well as educating the People. The office was primarily used as a place to stop over to eat with others from the community or to report in; very quickly members were back on the streets selling papers and talking with the People.The BPP Newspaper was used as a tool for discussion on the many corners where it was sold. In this way it also provided visibility, as individuals would wave or drive by honking their horns. The newspaper also provided guidance to the Young Lords and to the many other organizations that were connected in one way or the other to the Black Panthers. The Young Lords began to put out their own bilingual newspaper which was then distributed in Latino areas along with several other organizations. Although it was improving, it still lacked in the sophistication of the work done by Mr. Preston. He delivered the newspaper to the various branches and chapters in Illinois cities; they, in turn, would distribute it to their assigned geographical area. There was an accounting for each and every newspaper because the paper also provided income for the BPP chapters.
Preston, John
Ted Pearson video interview and transcript
Ted Pearson is a long-time resident of Lincoln Park who has been active within the progressive movement all his life. Early on in 1968 and 1969 he would come by the Young Lord’s People’s Church to offer his support for the Young Lords and their programs. For most of the Young Lords who had just stepped out of gang violence in Chicago, it was their first time ever being involved in protests, demonstrations, or sit-in occupations of institutions. It was a difficult beginning for the Young Lords, who lacked role models and reference points. Some people were even afraid of their unrefined meager appearance, though they were creative and dressed in their best with what they had. Nevertheless, the Young Lords did not originate from a middle class movement. They did not even resemble a student movement at first. It was only later when they began to grow that students and others joined them. Back then there was pride to say you were “Lumpen.” Mr. Pearson and others like him stood for working people, and he hated discrimination and racism then and now. He was one of several who did not judge, but related, relaxed, and took the time to talk and get to know the original members of the Young Lords. It was easy to notice that he genuinely cared for the plight of the poor, and in turn for him to realize that the Young Lords were not evil but were his friends. They were odd looking but they shared the same values. He was also strong on the need to fight racism. Mr. Pearson co-chaired the Chicago branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. His mother had been active in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. She was a strong supporter of a movement called, “The Right of a Black Family to live in a White Community.” This movement was led by Carl Braden and was put forth during the Red Scare of the 1950s, when the House Un-American Activities Committee was hunting for communists, in all parts of government and the country. Mr. Pearson has supported many democratic causes since before the 1960s. They include the Young Lords and Black Panthers, Voter Registration Drives, Immigrant Rights, The Committee to Defend the Bill Of Rights, Harold Washington for Mayor, the Obama Campaign, and the Lincoln Park Neighbors United for Peace Against the War in Iraq. This was a grassroots group of neighbors who came together to speak out in a unified voice against the war. They believe in using peaceful non-violent solutions, to promote social justice, conserve the environment and protect civil and human rights.
Pearson, Ted
Felícitas Nuñez interview and transcript
Felícitas Nuñez lives in Bermuda Dunes, California. She and Delia Ravelo are co-founders of Teatro de Las Chicanas. The concept began when women of Movimiento Estudíantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) brought their mothers to a university setting. There they organized a “Seminario de Chicanas” so that the mothers could understand what their daughters were going through. They wrote and performed “Chicana Goes to College.” And as a result of the audience’s positive response, Ms. Nuñez and Ms. Ravelo formed the Teatro de Las Chicanas. In the beginning years the core group consisted of just Ms. Ravelo and Ms. Nuñez, but many young women participated in the Teatro. Though working in San Diego, they were influenced by the leftist political ideals of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. They also united with the objectives of the Chicano Movement which included, among other things, social justice, bilingual education, and unionization. It also went further to address women’s equality. Several of the plays written and performed by the Teatro as well as the memories of their core members have been published in Teatro Chicana: A Collective Memoir and Selected Plays (2008). Most of the women who joined the Teatro came from farming towns throughout California and most of them were the first of their families to attend college. Around the early part of June 1969, Ms. Nuñez traveled to Chicago and met with the Young Lords who were transforming themselves from a local Puerto Rican gang into a human rights movement. One month earlier, the Young Lords had occupied the administration building of McCormick Theological Seminary (today on the campus of DePaul University) with 350 neighborhood residents and held it for an entire week. The Young Lords won all their demands, including $50,000 seed money for two free health clinics, $25,000 to open up the People’s Law Office which still operates today, and $650,000 to be invested by the seminary in low-income housing. One week earlier, the Young Lords had occupied a huge United Methodist Church on Dayton and Armitage, which they were in the process of transforming to become the Young Lords National Headquarters. The church would also house their Free Community Day Care Center, Free Dental and Health Clinic, and Free Breakfast for Children Program. All these programs were modeled after the Black Panther Party programs, of which the Young Lords had recently also connected via Fred Hampton’s Rainbow Coalition that Field Marshall Bobby Lee had also helped to broker. After the take-over of the church, the Young Lords quickly made amends. They did not want to disrupt any church service. When asked by the press if the Young Lords were going to allow the church to hold service, Mr. Jiménez quickly responded, “that it was not really a take over as the doors were now open to everyone, and that he and other Young Lords were planning on attending the services, being led by Rev. Bruce Johnson.” Some members of the congregation left but the Young Lords started meetings with the rest of the congregation, and together they designed the People’s Church symbol and produced a button that showed chains being broken. The Young Lords were cleaning up the church and adding needed paint when Ms. Nuñez arrived and volunteered to organize a group of muralists. Inside the church, Ron Clark and others were painting a mural of Puerto Rican history in the gymnasium. Outside, Ms. Nuñez’s group painted the Young Lords symbol of ”Tengo Puerto Rico En Mi Corazón” or “I have Puerto Rico in my Heart.” This lettering was in purple, with a green map of Puerto Rico, and a brown fist holding a rifle. (It had been designed by Ralph “Spaghetti” Rivera and Mr. Jiménez. The first buttons were printed at the Green Duc Button Company at Lake Street and Halsted). Other murals that Ms. Nuñez and her volunteers painted on the church walls were images of Adelita, Emiliano Zapata, Lolita Lebrón, and Don Pedro Albizu Campos. Someone else, probably Ron Clark, painted Che Guevara by the side entrance to the office, with the lettering “Young Lords National Headquarters.” These wonderful murals could not be overlooked in Lincoln Park. Not only were they featured in the news, but Lincoln Park residents would drive by and stop in to see the various programs and activities, making People’s Church the center of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. By then most Puerto Ricans had been forced out of Lincoln Park and there was also plenty of room for others to join the Young Lords Movement. Hispanos representing all Latino nations joined the Young Lords, including members of other minorities, middle class individuals, workers, the very poor, and students. The Lincoln Park Poor People’s Coalition was formed and Mr. Jiménez was voted president. The Northside Cooperative Ministry, of which Rev. Bruce Johnson was a prominent member, was also established during this period, and it supported the Poor People’s Coalition and the Young Lords. Just sixty days before Mark Clark and Fred Hampton were shot to death, assassinated in a predawn raid led by State’s attorney Edward Hanrahan, Rev. Bruce Johnson and his wife Eugenia were also discovered in their beds stabbed multiple times, in a cold case that remains unsolved. The Eulogy was given at the church with Young Lords fully participating, providing security and traffic control. There was also a spontaneous march through the Lincoln Park Community where Rev. Bruce Johnson worked with the poor. Ms. Nuñez left Chicago unaware of the impact she had made in the Puerto Rican community and in Lincoln Park. The Teatro Chicana did participate in the impromptu Lincoln Park Camp in Michigan in the 2000 and the Young Lords 40th Anniversary celebration in Chicago in 2008.
Nuñez, Felícitas
Luis Neris video interview and transcript
Oral history of Luis Neris, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 12/14/2012 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Neris, Luis
Robert E. Lee video interview and transcript
Bob Lee or Robert E. Lee grew up in the “forest” near Jasper, TX. His family worked on a cotton plantation. One of his brothers Franco became a county commissioner of the 5th Ward of Houston for over 30 years. In 1969 Bob Lee became a Deputy Field Marshall for the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. His worked included Uptown where he started working with the Young Patriots Organization and the Young Lords.
Lee, Robert