José "Cha Cha" Jiménez

CTL-E-2887 · Person · activist · 1960s–2025

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

Puerto Rican Chicago community organizer and activist; founder of the Young Lords and architect of Chicago's original Rainbow Coalition. Born in Puerto Rico, he moved with his family to Lincoln Park, was elected president of the Young Lords in 1964, transformed it into a political organization in 1968, and on April 4, 1969 co-led the formation of the Rainbow Coalition with Fred Hampton and William "Preacherman" Fesperman. Died at age 76 in January 2025.

The record

• Also known as: Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, Cha Cha Jimenez, Cha-Cha Jiménez

Relationships

• Fred Hampton — collaborated with
  Jiménez and Hampton met in February 1969, were arrested together at the Wicker Park Welfare Office protest, and co-led the Rainbow Coalition.
• Young Lords Organization — affiliated with
  José "Cha Cha" Jiménez was founder and chairman (leader) of the Young Lords Organization.

Referenced by

• Rainbow Coalition (Chicago, 1969) — led by → this record
• Young Lords Organization — led by → this record

Sources

• Congressional Record — Honoring José "Cha Cha" Jiménez (Vol. 171, H308) (primary source)
• Portside — José 'Cha Cha' Jiménez obituary (2025)
• Oxygen — "What Was The Rainbow Coalition, As Seen In 'Judas And The Black Messiah?'"
• Wikipedia — Rainbow Coalition (Fred Hampton)

Record CTL-E-2887 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 4 sources (1 primary) · 4 mapped relationships · CTL research: RELP-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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