Anaya Nolan
In March 1968, thousands of Chicano students in East Los Angeles walked out of their high schools and middle schools to protest against decades of inferior and discriminatory education. The students were concerned about the quality of their education, including underfunding, understaffing, large class sizes, and a lack of Spanish language resources. They were also forbidden from speaking Spanish and were often steered towards vocational careers instead of college. This movement, which involved around 22,000 students across seven schools, was identified as the first major mass protest against racism undertaken by Mexican-Americans in the history of the United States.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | March 1968 |
| Number of students | 22,000 |
| Number of schools | 7 |
| Location | East Los Angeles |
| Reason | Discrimination, substandard conditions, underfunding, understaffing, crumbling school buildings, large class sizes, scarce Spanish language resources, discouragement from seeking higher education, ignoring Mexican American history, forbidding Chicano students from speaking Spanish |
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What You'll Learn
Discrimination and substandard conditions in schools
In March 1968, thousands of Chicano students walked out of their East Los Angeles high schools and middle schools to protest decades of inferior and discriminatory education in the so-called "Mexican Schools". The students were protesting against substandard conditions at their schools, which included underfunding, understaffing, crumbling school buildings, large class sizes, and a scarcity of Spanish language resources. Chicano students were forbidden from speaking Spanish and were often steered towards vocational careers instead of college. The East Los Angeles Walkouts, also known as Chicano Blowouts, were a series of 1968 protests by Chicano students against unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools. The students who organised and carried out the protests were primarily concerned with the quality of their education. This movement, which involved thousands of students in the Los Angeles area, was identified as "the first major mass protest against racism undertaken by Mexican-Americans in the history of the United States". The East L.A. "Blowout" represented the first major involvement of urban students in the growing Chicano civil rights movement.
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Underfunding and understaffing
The East Los Angeles Walkouts, also known as the Chicano Blowouts, were a series of protests by Chicano students against unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools. The first walkout occurred on March 5, 1968, and involved thousands of students across seven schools in East L.A. The students were protesting against underfunding, understaffing, and discrimination in their schools.
The schools in East L.A. were situated in a majority Mexican American area of the city, and as a result, suffered from a lack of resources and investment. The dropout rate in some East L.A. high schools neared 60%, and the school buildings were in a state of disrepair. Class sizes were large, and Spanish language resources were scarce. The students felt that their teachers and administrators did not care about their success and often discouraged them from seeking higher education.
The Chicano students were also forbidden from speaking Spanish and were often steered towards vocational careers instead of college. This was despite the fact that the school district largely ignored Mexican American history. The students felt that their education was inferior and discriminatory, and that they were not being prepared for the future.
The East L.A. Walkouts represented the first major involvement of urban students in the growing Chicano civil rights movement. The protests were led by Sal Castro, a courageous and charismatic Mexican American teacher who encouraged the students to make their grievances public. The resulting blowouts sparked the beginning of the urban Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the largest and most widespread civil rights protests by Mexican Americans in U.S. history.
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Open discrimination
In March 1968, thousands of Chicano students walked out of their East Los Angeles high schools and middle schools to protest decades of inferior and discriminatory education in the so-called "Mexican Schools". The students were protesting against substandard conditions at their schools, including underfunding, understaffing, crumbling school buildings, large class sizes, and a scarcity of Spanish language resources. They also faced open discrimination, with Chicano students forbidden from speaking Spanish and often steered towards vocational careers instead of college. The dropout rate in some East L.A. high schools neared 60 per cent, and students felt their teachers and administrators did not care about helping them succeed, often discouraging them from seeking higher education.
The East Los Angeles Walkouts, also known as the Chicano Blowouts, were a series of 1968 protests by Chicano students against unequal conditions in the Los Angeles Unified School District high schools. The students who organised and carried out the protests were primarily concerned with the quality of their education. This movement, which involved thousands of students in the Los Angeles area, was identified as "the first major mass protest against racism undertaken by Mexican-Americans in the history of the United States". The day before the walkouts began, Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover sent out a memo to local law enforcement to place top priority on "political intelligence work to prevent the development of nationalist movements in minority communities".
The Chicano Blowouts sparked the beginning of the urban Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the largest and most widespread civil rights protests by Mexican Americans in U.S. history. The walkouts represented the first major involvement of urban students in the growing Chicano civil rights movement. Across the country, students were protesting for African American civil rights and against the Vietnam War. These struggles were linked, as Carlos Montes, a former student at Garfield High and an organiser of the 1968 walkouts, explained: "I almost dropped out [when] the vice principal called me to the office to sign up for the Selective Service System, when I was 18. I started becoming angry."
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Students steered towards vocational careers instead of college
In March 1968, thousands of Chicano students walked out of their East Los Angeles high schools and middle schools to protest against decades of inferior and discriminatory education in the so-called "Mexican Schools". The students were steered towards vocational careers instead of college and were forbidden from speaking Spanish. The dropout rate in some East L.A. high schools neared 60 per cent; school buildings were crumbling; class sizes were large; and Spanish language resources were scarce. Students felt their teachers and administrators did not care about helping them succeed, often discouraging them from seeking higher education.
The East Los Angeles Walkouts, or Chicano Blowouts, were a series of 1968 protests by Chicano students against unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools. The first walkout occurred on March 5, 1968. The students who organised and carried out the protests were primarily concerned with the quality of their education. This movement, which involved thousands of students in the Los Angeles area, was identified as "the first major mass protest against racism undertaken by Mexican-Americans in the history of the United States". The day before the walkouts began, Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover sent out a memo to local law enforcement to place top priority on "political intelligence work to prevent the development of nationalist movements in minority communities".
The resulting blowouts sparked the beginning of the urban Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the largest and most widespread civil rights protests by Mexican Americans in US history. Across the country, students were protesting for African American civil rights and against the Vietnam War. These struggles were linked.
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Students forbidden from speaking Spanish
In March 1968, thousands of Chicano students walked out of their East Los Angeles high schools and middle schools to protest against decades of inferior and discriminatory education in the so-called "Mexican Schools". The students were forbidden from speaking Spanish and were often steered towards vocational careers instead of college. The dropout rate in some East L.A. high schools neared 60 per cent, school buildings were crumbling, class sizes were large, and Spanish language resources were scarce. The students felt their teachers and administrators did not care about helping them succeed, often discouraging them from seeking higher education. The East L.A. walkouts were the first major mass protest against racism undertaken by Mexican-Americans in the history of the United States. They sparked the beginning of the urban Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the largest and most widespread civil rights protests by Mexican Americans in US history.
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Frequently asked questions
Chicano students did not break any laws during the 1968 walkouts. They were protesting against the laws that were in place at the time, which discriminated against Mexican Americans.
The 1968 walkouts, also known as the East Los Angeles Walkouts or Chicano Blowouts, were a series of protests by Chicano students against unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools.
Chicano students protested against decades of inferior and discriminatory education in the so-called "Mexican Schools". They were concerned about the quality of their education, with issues including underfunding, understaffing, large class sizes, and a lack of Spanish language resources. They also protested against the fact that Chicano students were forbidden from speaking Spanish and were often steered towards vocational careers instead of college.
