"Student Power" 1968 Roosevelt High School Walkout
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media/Parents of Roosevelt.jpg
2023-05-18T13:16:13-07:00
Roosevelt High School Walkouts
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In 1968, Roosevelt High School became one of five centers for Chicanx demonstration. Students and community members came together to protest an unjust, racist education. In an analysis of protestors’ signs and testimonies from the day, it is clear that those involved understood that this movement for equality and representation in the school system was integral in the broader movement for Chicanx liberation.
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2023-06-01T13:39:05-07:00
As thousands of students staged a walkout at five high schools across East L.A. to demand better educational opportunities, the firing of racist faculty, and a more inclusive curriculum, among others, the entire nation watched. Among these five schools were Wilson, Garfield, Lincoln, Belmont, and finally Roosevelt High School, the primary focus of this page. These high schools served an area with a predominantly Chicanx population and also had high dropout rates compared to national averages. With large classroom sizes and poorly funded facilities, Chicanx students were placed in a system that granted them little opportunity for higher education. Many of these same frustrations were shared at Camp Hess Kramer, a Jewish camp that held leadership programs for Chicanx students of East L.A. schools, and many of these students would practice social activism and create the foundation for the demonstrations that occurred in 1968 (Sahagún). One of these participants was Sal Castro, a teacher who worked at Lincoln High School. Castro was an instrumental figure in the demonstration, as he helped students first take their concerns to the school board, and then when those were ignored, helped organize a walkout (Mejía-Rentas).
The walkouts at Roosevelt occurred on March 6, 1968, however they were preceded by other walkouts at Wilson and Garfield High Schools just days before (Mejía-Rentas). This provided the school’s administrations some time to prepare, restricting students’ access to the outside and calling the police. Members of the Brown Beret, a prominent militant Chicanx group, came to defend students against police intimidation. Overall, the walkout demonstrations endured for several days, despite significant resistance from police and school administration. The Los Angeles Board of Education met with community members and students in the days following the demonstration, and refused all of their requests, citing that there was no room in the budget (Mejía-Rentas). While no immediate changes were made to the structure of the school system, many have maintained that this event was largely significant in the fight for Mexican American liberties in the country. It represented the determination and willingness on the part of Chicanx activists to directly clash with authorities to fight for what they believed in. It was also a demonstration of the power that the community held, mobilizing thousands in just a few short days.
In reviewing images from the 1968 demonstration at Roosevelt High School, what stuck out to me the most were protestors’ signs, most especially those that portrayed messages of solidarity. While many of them feature criticisms of the school district and educational demands, there were also a striking number of them that referenced other fights in the Chicanx political movement. Written on many of the signs was the phrase, ‘Boycott Grapes’ or ‘Boycott Lettuce’. These phrases come from the fight to establish protections and rights for farm workers, a movement pushed forth by Chicano activists such as Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.
Mejías-Rentas, Antonio. “How 1968 East L.A. Student Walkouts Ignited the Chicano Movement.” History.Com, www.history.com/news/east-los-angeles-chicano-student-walkouts-1968. Accessed 30 May 2023.
Sahagún, Louis. “East L.A., 1968: ‘walkout!’ the Day High School Students Helped Ignite the Chicano Power Movement.” Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2018, www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-1968-east-la-walkouts-20180301 htmlstory.html#:~:text=It%20was%20just%20past%20noon%20on%20a%20sunny,teachers%20who%20were%20poorly%20trained%2C%20indifferent%20or%20racist. -
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2023-05-18T13:16:12-07:00
East LA Blowouts of 1968
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The East LA Blowouts were a series of walkouts conducted by high school students backed by the Brown Berets in order to create awareness towards the discrimination and racism Chicano students were receiving by their teachers and admin.
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2023-06-06T11:12:18-07:00
The 19th century was filled with a lot of racism and discrimination to anyone who was not of White skin. Throughout the 19th century, Latinos have been put down due to the color of their skin and the language they spoke which was Spanish. In Oxnard, many Mexican American children were prohibited from attending school with White children and this was an early form of discrimination in educational spaces. Eventually, integration would happen but with the cost of increased racism not only from students but also from teachers and administrators. In schools, Chicano/a students were punished if they were caught speaking Spanish, usually resulting in being humiliated in class in front of other students.
Because of these cruel punishments and unfair treatment, Chicano/a students determined it was best to get together and start an organized protest to demonstrate their frustration with LAUSD board members. While they were peacefully voicing their opinions, many board members and media classified these students as "radical" and "unfit" to be in society due to the attention they were making. Maybe they were classified as radical because of the demonstrations they were doing such as sleeping inside the board meeting room and also due to them organizing with the Brown Berets a Chicano group that many media members compared them to the Black Panther Movement Party.
Although Chicano/a students were protesting, they were not protesting for the fun of it but rather to create changes to the educational system. Some goals that these students had were to include Chicano/a Studies courses in the K-12 curriculum, to hire more Chicano/a teachers, and to stop the discrimination and racism they were receiving from their teachers. As students, they had rights to voice their displeasure with the school system because it was not right for them to be the target of hate when their only desire was to complete school and become successful but unfortunately not having a support system can severely impact their potential to become scholars. Eventually the East LA blowouts would influence different movements around college campuses which was a sign of progress.
Consider adding a paragraph on influential figures from the movement such as Sal Castro, info about Brown Berets, etc... Go more in depth with the goals that these Chicano Students had.