LA Demonstrations During the Chicano Movement
The Chicano Movement sparked many passions for various young Chicanos/as growing up in the 1960s. Plagued with history of racism and discrimination in their country of birth, numerous Chicanos/as fought for equality and access to resources in order to better their livelihoods not only for them, but also for future generations of Chicanos. Los Angeles is home to various different Latino communities but one thing that united them was the resilience to oppression and making their voices be heard. Throughout the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and above, we've seen demonstrations take place at UCLA with the Chicano/a Studies Program where students protested to make the program turn into an actual department, protests and walkouts in schools located in East LA during 1968, and early roots of the movement stemming from the Pachuco riots of the 1940s.
In addition, the Chicano Movement posters/demonstrations were effective tools of communication, organization, and mobilization during a period of social and political turmoil towards the Chicano community. The posters/demonstrations continue to be important historic records of the movement for social and civil rights by Mexican Americans in the United States. These posters/demonstrations raised awareness expressing the demands and statements of the Chicano community, helping people unite and foster a sense of togetherness. Thus, leaving a long-lasting impact in regard to social and political change of Mexican American activism.
There were many important figures that influenced the East LA Chicano movement. Rosalio Muñoz was the co-chair of the Chicano Moratorium committee, and helped to organize the East Los Angeles Chicano Moratorium protest on August 29, 1970. This protest was extremely important to the Chicano movement because it was a demonstration with more than 20,000 Chicanos participating and protesting the Vietnam War and the rates at which Chicano soldiers were dying in the war. Another important figure was Ruben Salazar, a reporter for the LA Times that was covering the Chicano movement and writing about the struggles that the Chicano communities were facing. Salazar was killed by police during the Chicano Moratorium, but his death inspired many in the Chicano community to speak out against the injustices that they were facing.
