The Young Lords Organization grew from a gang of young Puerto Ricans in the streets of Chicago to one of the most dynamic revolutionary community organizations of the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

They used militant tactics like building takeovers, mass education, and political alliances with the Black Panther Party to demand an end to the US occupation of Puerto Rico and self-determination for oppressed communities. With Chicago as the base for their National Headquarters, the Young Lords built chapters in the Puerto Rican and Latino barrios of New York City and elsewhere.

The streets of Chicago were a battleground during the Democratic National Convention of 1968. Images of young radicals, pulverized and bloodied by Mayor Richard J. Daley’s police, played out on national TV. Less than a month later, a group of young Puerto Ricans gathered in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood to found the Young Lords Organization. In their field jackets and signature purple berets, the Young Lords mobilized their community for liberation and against gentrification, poverty, racism, and police brutality. Together with Fred Hampton and the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords helped to found the original Rainbow Coalition.

With a foreword by YLO founder José "Cha Cha" Jiménez, just before his passing, The Young Lords Speak gathers the inspiring story of Chicago's Young Lords in their own words through original newspaper articles, essays, interviews, and speeches.