East LA Blowouts of 1968
Because of the unfair educational treatment brought by their teachers in public schools, Chicano/a students decided to revolt together in order to create awareness about their educational experience in these schools with ambitious goals to be taken seriously as students rather than as "savages" or "animals" like what society thought them to be. So beginning March 1,1968, over 15,000 Chicano/a students, faculty, and community members from LAUSD decided to walk out from 7 different high schools with them being: Belmont, Garfield, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Wilson, and Venice High Schools. The reasons for these walkouts were due to the treatment these students were getting in schools which included being recommend to take vocational courses rather than pursuing college and taking advanced academic courses, the humiliation Chicano/a students would receive from teachers if they spoke Spanish which consisted of being spanked with a wooden paddle in front of the class, and also the racism they were getting from society as they were reaching a breaking point. Other reasons for the walkouts happening were also to create awareness about the 60% high school dropout rate for Chicano/a students and the lack of representation in school curriculum and faculty with a small percentage of teachers and administrators being Chicano/a.
Backed by the Brown Berets and Mexican-American social studies teacher Sal Castro who was teaching at Lincoln High School, the walkouts lasted from March 1-8 and students were determined to meet some of their demands with LAUSD which consisted of hiring more Chicanos/as as teachers and administrators in these schools, including bilingual education and the inclusion of Mexican-American culture and history in the school curriculum. All three parties drew inspiration from the Watts Riots of 1965 in Los Angeles which was a racial conflict between a majority White filled LAPD and Black residents. Knowing the importance of culture and understanding the unfair educational treatment Chicano/a students were receiving compared to their White classmates, Sal Castro knew it was important to make a call to action and sponsor the walkout because without a teacher backing the complaints from students then it's possible that these walkouts could have gone nowhere. The Brown Berets were a social-justice organization founded by Chicano youth during the late 1960s. Drawing inspiration from the Black Panther movement around the same time of its inception, Chicano/a students knew it was important for them to represent their community in the same way members of the Black Panther party were doing. In similar fashion to the Black Panther party, the Brown Berets focused on social justice issues, the lack of resources towards the Latino community such as healthcare inequality, and also police brutality-- eventually being labeled as "radical" by the US Government and LAPD just like their sister organization.
While the immediate outcomes were negative and resulted in the arrests of the 13 organizers of the walkouts, including Sal Castro for "disturbing the peace", the lasting effects and legacy proved otherwise. The movement influenced Chicano/a organizations and clubs across college campuses and to this day, the East LA Walkouts of 1968 is still considered as the largest student protest in student history and this is proof that when the community comes together, change can happen. Sal Castro was later reinstated by the school after being fired for his involvement and arrest and this is more proof that unity within the community is important because it was the parents that pushed for his reinstatement. Although the entire list of demands the students presented were not met, the change in educational treatment was significant and can be still seen today with more Latino/a students attending universities. In conclusion, the East LA walkouts demonstrated resilience, unity, and change--without this dedication, who knows how the school system would look today.
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.