The Young Lords Party (1969-1976)

The Young Lords Party (originally the Young Lords Organization) was founded in Chicago in 1968 by José "Cha Cha" Jiménez as a Puerto Rican counterpart to the Black Panther Party. In 1969, a New York chapter was established that quickly became the organization's center of gravity, led by figures including Felipe Luciano, Pablo "Yoruba" Guzmán, Juan González, Denise Oliver-Vélez, and Iris Morales.

Key Actions:

• Garbage Offensive (1969): When the New York Sanitation Department neglected garbage collection in East Harlem, the Young Lords swept the streets themselves, then piled the garbage in the middle of Third Avenue and set it ablaze, forcing the city to provide service.

• Church Occupation (1969-70): The Young Lords occupied the First Spanish United Methodist Church in East Harlem for 11 days, using it to run a free breakfast program, health clinic, clothing drive, and day care center.

• Lincoln Hospital Takeover (1970): The Young Lords occupied Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx for 12 hours to protest the decrepit conditions and inadequate care provided to the predominantly Puerto Rican and Black community. This action contributed to the eventual construction of a new Lincoln Hospital.

• Lead Poisoning Testing: The Young Lords conducted door-to-door lead poisoning testing in tenement buildings, discovering epidemic levels of lead exposure among children.

• TB Testing: They set up tuberculosis testing programs in East Harlem after discovering high rates of the disease were going untreated.

13-Point Program: The Young Lords' political platform demanded:
1. Self-determination for Puerto Rico
2. Self-determination for all Latinos
3. Liberation of all Third World people
4. A socialist society
5-13. Various demands for community control, equality, and justice

The organization was heavily infiltrated and disrupted by the FBI's COINTELPRO program. By 1976, it had largely dissolved, but its legacy endured in the community organizations, healthcare initiatives, and political consciousness it left behind.