Rest in Peace José “Cha Cha” Jimenez
Fighting against gentrification and for neighborhood empowerment were just two of the issues that occupied the attention of José “Cha Cha” Jimenez, founder and chairman of the Young Lords. Cha Cha was born on August 8, 1948, and lived until January 10, 2025. Today, January 16th, his family laid him to rest.
We express our condolences to his family and close friends and celebrate his life by sharing with you an interview that we did of Cha Cha on August 28, 2018, after our event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Democratic Convention.
In this interview, you can hear Cha Cha talk about the formation of the Young Lords and how it shifted from a street gang to a political organization and social movement. You can also hear him describe many issues they tackled and the alliances that they formed.
Feel free to check out the video of the full event as well as interviews of other participants in the panel discussion that we held on 2018, including Billy “Che” Brooks, Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Mary Scot-Boria, and Don Rose.
Cha Cha, you left your mark on history and we thank you.
