In the 1960s, Young Lords emerged as a political organization in Chicago. While in prison, Jose "Cha Cha" Jimenez met Fred Hampton and other Black Panther Party members. They discussed the exploitation and oppression of Latino/as, African Americans and poor people in the United States. Cha Cha took what he learned to the Young Lords, at the time, a well-known Chicago street gang, and transformed the Young Lords into an organization committed to human rights and the liberation of Puerto Rico.

The Young Lords believed that institutions in the community should be accountable to the people that they were established to serve.  Neglect and unresponsiveness led the Young Lords to take direct action to bring attention to the deplorable economic, social and political conditions existing in poor Latino/a communities across the United States.

By 1976, the Young Lords Party had disintegrated as a result of government and police repression and political infighting. The organization ceased to exist, but the principles it stood for remain.