SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & ARCHIVES

Empowering Community: The in

The Young Lords Organization serves as donation included newspaper clippings, forced minorities out of neighborhoods at an important example of grassroots activism articles, promotional materials, memora- an alarming rate. “The movement opened inciting change in local communities. In- bilia, and over one hundred oral histories eyes to housing discrimination,” explained spired by the , founder José related to the Young Lords’ history. “My Jiménez. “It was a sophisticated form of seg- “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, a Grand Valley State purpose was to display many perspectives so regation that is both economic and racial.” University alumnus, transformed the Young that others can imagine for themselves what Activist groups like the Young Lords Lords from a Puerto Rican street gang took place,” said Jiménez. pushed back against the , as into a political human rights organization The collection tells a compelling story well as other issues plaguing their com- fighting to enact social reform for minori- about social justice and change agents in munities such as police brutality and the ty groups living in the neighborhoods of American history. During the early 1950s, lack of affordable healthcare. To that end, , Illinois. Puerto Rican immigrants settled in Chicago the Young Lords joined forces with similar Jiménez donated the Young Lords in looking for greater employment opportuni- groups to form the Rainbow Coalition in Lincoln Park Collection to Special Collec- ties. The city’s urban renewal plan, however, the late 1960s. Together with the Black tions and University Archives in 2014. His eliminated affordable housing options and Panthers, a primarily African-American

OFF THE SHELF 12 group, and the Young Patriots, composed of established a health clinic, white Appalachian migrants, the Rainbow free breakfast program, and Coalition sought to empower communi- daycare within the church ties to stand up for themselves politically basement to better serve the through grassroots organizing. The Rainbow needs of the community. Coalition believed that each group was Fueled by the desire to fighting for the same goals and could fight bring minority voices to the most effectively by joining together. The forefront of issues that affected Young Lords’ participation in the Coalition them, Jiménez ran for political illustrated a commitment to multi-cultural office in Chicago’s 46th ward and multi-ethnic empowerment. in 1974 on a “people first” The Young Lords also led numerous platform. Although his cam- protests and projects to combat inequality paign was unsuccessful, he did in the local community. For example, they help orchestrate an increase in seized land marked by urban renewal for voter registration among mi- a tennis club—complete with a $1,200 nority residents in the district. membership fee—to instead create a Empowering community People’s Park with playground equipment was at the heart of every ac- donated by local merchants. In November tion. The Young Lords wanted of 1968, the Young Lords staged a takeover to improve their neighborhoods, but not José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, founder of of the Armitage Avenue Methodist Church at the expense of neighborhood diversity. the Young Lords Organization and renamed it the “People’s Church”. They For them, it was all about the people whose lives were being affected by unfair social and political practices. The Young Lords collection provided the inspiration for a recent exhibition in the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons celebrating the organization’s 50th anniversary. Ultimately, Jiménez hopes the collection and exhibi- tion will inspire Grand Valley students to “become leaders in creating a better world.” The collection is open to the public, and can be viewed at Special Collections and University Archives in Seidman House on the Allendale Campus. Oral histories are available in our digital collections.

To explore oral histories in the Young Lords Collection: https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu. edu/collections/show/24

OFF THE SHELF 13