The Young Lords Organization was originally formed in Chicago in 1968 by Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez, who reorganized his Puerto Rican street gang into a political and civil rights group. Jimenez drew inspiration from the Black Panther Party and modeled the Young Lords after it. The YLO sought self-determination for Puerto Ricans, created a 13-point program, and fought to alleviate the effects of poverty and unequal treatment by the po-lice through direct action campaigns and education. They also worked to gain members in barrios across the United States, and on July 26, 1969, the New York branch of the YLO was established. The New York YLO broke from the national organization the next year, becoming the Young Lords Party. In 1972, they would again change their name to the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Workers’ Organization, at which point they ceased operations in New York. By 1976, after continued opposition by COINTELPRO, the PRRWO formally disbanded.