SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Chicago has lost a local hero. Jose Jimenez, affectionately known as Cha Cha Jimenez, was an activist and defender of the city's Puerto Rican communities. In the 1960s, Cha Cha Jiménez transformed the Young Lords from a street gang into an activist organization that fought for affordable housing, healthcare, education and food. He later teamed up with the Black Panther Party to found the original Rainbow Coalition, a name that the Reverend Jesse Jackson, of course, later adopted for his own group.
Jose Jimenez died last week at the age of 76 after a series of health complications. Good friend of his, Jacqueline Lazu, joins us now. She's a professor of Spanish and Latin American studies at DePaul University in Chicago. Professor Lazu, thanks so much for being with us.
JACQUELINE LAZU: Thank you for having me.
SIMON: I, as you know, had the honor of meeting him a few times many years ago, and I refer to him as Cha Cha - that OK?
LAZU: Yeah. That's what we all refer to him as (laughter).
SIMON: Yeah. And because he loved to dance, as a matter of fact. How did he turn the Young Lords from a street gang into a political organization?
LAZU: I think he had a gift, in many ways, to bring people together across differences, Then there was a series of events that started to politicize a person who was already very aware of the systemic circumstances. And so then he became aware that he had the capacity to be able to lead people in a unique way, and I think that he really - he embraced that.
SIMON: Can you tell us what the personal events that helped transform his life were?
LAZU: I think it was 1968. He was arrested on, I think it was drug charges, and he spent 30 days in jail at Cook County. And during that time, he was watching, you know, some of the events of the Democratic National Convention. Migrants, immigrants were being brought into the jail, not able to speak English, incapable of defending themselves, so he started doing, like, translation work for the people that were being brought into the jail. He started talking to other incarcerated individuals who were very politicized and shared literature - Malcolm X, MLK. You know, literature by the Black Panther Party, Thomas Merton.
SIMON: Father Thomas Merton, yeah.
LAZU: Which, of course, resonated with him deeply 'cause he was very Catholic, and, in fact, he wanted to be a priest at one point in his life. So there was always this deep sense of care that was really embedded in his political ideology, and that always informed him deeply, as did Malcolm X, right? Like - so this idea that you could start one way and become something different or transcend your circumstances. And when he came out of that time in jail, inequality suddenly just were so highlighted for him, and he had a context for understanding that.
SIMON: What did the Young Lords try to do?
LAZU: The primary belief of the Young Lords is one that still resonates with young people, which is the independence of Puerto Rico. Self-determination for Puerto Rico, self-determination for all poor and oppressed people - people of color, above all. And then, of course, there were goals within that - for example, urban renewal and gentrification. Police brutality, racism. Discrimination in housing, discrimination in the workplace. Access to affordable health care, legal aid, child care, the ability of women to be politically engaged.
And then, you know, just the moral responsibility of institutions that are supposed to be representing the people. You know, that's why they did things like the takeover of the McCormick Seminary in 1969. Takeover of the People's Church. All of this was really embedded in this idea that these institutions, they kind of have to put their money where their mouth is.
SIMON: What was Cha Cha Jimenez like in person?
LAZU: He really was a person who stepped into leadership and understood people in their full humanity. And so everyone felt like they were both working for him and also a good friend (laughter). He was obviously very charismatic. He never had to raise his voice to be assertive (laughter). Almost everything was said with a chuckle (laughter) like I just did. He had a great sense of humor, but at the same time, just always wrapped it up with the order of business. His greatest love was the people, and that was always very evident.
SIMON: Jacqueline Lazu is a professor at DePaul University in Chicago and good friend to the late Jose Cha Cha Jimenez. Thanks so much for being with us.
LAZU: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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