Los Angeles, CA — An event commemorating the 50-year anniversary of the East L.A. Chicano walkouts was held at the Benjamin Franklin Library on March 3, 2018. Organized by adult librarian Patty Alvarado and Centro CSO, dozens attended the historic commemoration. Among those in attendance were Sal Castro’s son Gilbert Castro. Sal Castro was a Chicano public-school teacher who helped organized the walkouts.

On the panel were four Chicanos involved in the first student walkouts: Vicky Castro, Margarita “Mita” Cuaron, John Ortiz and Carlos Montes. The panel addressed repression, spying and intimidation leading up to the walkouts, and in the aftermath. Moderated by Sol Marquez of Centro CSO, the panel caused the audience to at times laugh, cry and gasp.

“After being jailed and away from school for over 12 days, when I returned to my high school at Garfield High some of my teachers said I’d organized the walkouts just so I could smoke dope,” said Mita Cuaron. “But the truth is we had our demands, and we were tired of the racism and the discrimination against us for just being Chicanos. I was only a sophomore at the time and I had never been in trouble with the law. I quickly learned the hard lessons of what it’s like to be Chicano.”

“Many of the pictures you see today of the walkouts and Chicano Movement were actually taken by undercover cops and sheriffs,” said Carlos Montes holding up one such photograph in his hands as he spoke. “The Chicano movement, like the Black liberation movement was heavily surveilled and posed a threat against the U.S. system.”

The walkouts led to many victories, including making Chicano history an elective, the ability to speak Spanish without being punished, less discrimination, and more Chicano teachers and staff at their public schools. However, many in the audience expressed the need to do more to support public education and to continue the fight for Chicano liberation.

#LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #teachers #walkout #Chicano #Antiracism #LosAngelas

Tampa, FL – On Jan. 20, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a nationwide student walkout in protest of President Trump’s inauguration, his racist, xenophobic agenda, and his cabinet choices of millionaires and billionaires. His choices so far promise a four years filled with more war, deportations, the privatization of education, union-busting and threats to the rights of women and LGBTQ people. In over 25 cities around the country, SDS chapters led walkouts of classes and marched under the slogans: “Stop Trump’s Agenda! Education For All! Sanctuary For All!”

These walkouts all differed in size, chants and speakers, but they shared common themes of peace, education, equality and protection from bigotry. SDS members in Chicago, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City pulled hundreds of students out of class and led them to join thousands of protesters in the streets, from 1000 in Salt Lake City to 6000 in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, on large campuses with new SDS chapters, students did the same. They rang in the new year with walkouts and made speeches denouncing President Trump and his agenda of inequality.

At Arizona State University (ASU), SDS members walked out for the preservation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), for protection from deportations for undocumented people, and for ‘direct democracy,’ or the end of the electoral college. According to Fallon Leyba, a leading member of ASU SDS, the protest featured a number of Brown Beret members, undocumented students who rely on DACA to go to school, and mothers of undocumented youth. A group of angry white supremacist counter-protesters attempted to ruin their event, but SDS members and the protest attendees chanted over them, marched and then beat open a Trump-shaped piñata.

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, SDS members at Florida International University (FIU SDS), held their first protest ever, where students also demanded a sanctuary campus. They rallied for four hours and gave speeches about how their campus should protect not only undocumented students but students of all genders, sexual orientations and nationalities. Michelle Perez-Helago, the founder of FIU SDS, then went on to state that the event “was a milestone” in their efforts to get enough members to be officially recognized as a student organization on FIU’s campus.

At the University of New Orleans at Lafayette, yet another SDS chapter held their first event on Jan. 20. Their members called for students to empower themselves through walkouts, demonstrations and other examples of non-compliance with administration, police, and agents of Wall Street. One Lafayette SDS member, Michael Benoit, said, “This right here is what moves history, not Trump, not Obama, not anyone too high to face the people. It is right to rebel, and today we begin a fight for the people of the U.S. against Trump and his policies. If we struggle, we will win.”

Lauren Broussard, the founder of Lafayette SDS, spoke in her speech about the failure of investor-driven politicians to solve the problems of students and oppressed people. The answer, she says, lies not in the ballot box, but in the hearts of the people themselves. “Trump is a symptom of a system that has failed us,” Lauren said. “I know this seems small, but every movement starts somewhere. If we unite and persist, we can grow and make real change.”

#TampaFl #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #PeoplesStruggles #walkout #DonaldTrump

Tampa, FL – On Jan. 20, 200 students and faculty at the University of South Florida (USF) walked out of their classes to show their anger for the inauguration of Donald Trump. Donald Trump has made it clear that his presidency will be dominated by anti-immigrant, islamophobic, misogynistic, and pro-war policies. The students and faculty that participated in the walkout and rally wanted to send the united message that they will stand against Trump’s bigoted agenda, and with all those affected by it.

The walk-out occurred at 1 p.m. and then the students and faculty gathered in front of Cooper Hall for the rally. The organizers of the event, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), began the protest with chants such as “Trump says go back, we say fight back,” which referenced Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. These chants were followed by speeches from both students and Associate Professor of History Brian Connolly.

In her speech, Jessica Rauckis of Tampa Bay SDS said, “Trump’s agenda is harmful to numerous sections of our population, most notably Muslims, Latinos, African Americans and LGBTQIA+ folk. Trump's policies also embolden hate groups and encourage hate crimes. Many of these crimes will be directed towards students of these targeted groups.”

Rauckis’s statement was proven correct as the event proceeded. Although there was a large group of progressive students, a crowd of pro-Trump students had also gathered around the rally. They attempted to interrupt and end the event by blocking SDS’ banner and signs with their own, and by shouting pro-Trump chants.

As the rally progressed, the Trump supporters became more agitated. Tampa Bay SDS member and emcee of the event, Noah Peretz, was detained after he was assaulted by one of the agitated Trump supporters. While the police took Peretz, in handcuffs, back to his room on campus and threatened to arrest him if he returned to the protest, the Trump supporter was allowed to be on the sidelines of the rally without handcuffs or similar threats. Peretz was not arrested, but he was punished further.

“The police detained both of us but they referred me to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities where I will be processed for ‘disrupting class’ for using a megaphone. This is a clear act of political repression,” said Peretz.

Despite the disruptions by the Trump supporters and the police, the last speech was given by Tampa Bay SDS member Danya Zituni. Zituni urged students to join SDS and stated that, “It is essential that we as students continue to put pressure on our university administrations to not collaborate with deportations, Muslim registries, or any other form of racist targeting or discrimination. If we organize, we can defeat Trump’s agenda!”

SDS ended the event with the chant, “Trump’s agenda isn’t ours – organize for people power.”

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #SDS #walkout #J20

Minneapolis, MN – Students from at least 12 Minneapolis and suburban high schools walked out of school, Jan. 20. at noon to protest the current wave of immigration raids and deportations happening around the country. After walking out, the students converged at Martin Luther King Park in south Minneapolis for food and an open mic where students spoke about their experience with family members and friends being deported. Students then left the park and marched down major Minneapolis streets including Nicollet Avenue and Lake Street.

Students participated from high schools including Washburn, Southwest, South, Roosevelt, El Colegio, Hiawatha, Cristo Rey, Kennedy, Richfield and others. Several cars full of students even came to join the protest from Northfield, more than an hour away from Minneapolis.

The walkout was initiated by high school students who saw an injustice happening and decided to take the initiative. One of the organizers, Julio Martinez, said, “We protest because we want to stop deportations. We’re standing up for our rights, and we want other young people know to speak up when something is wrong, to stand up for their rights.”

Samantha Compean Morales, another student organizer, said, “We are doing this walkout to show solidarity with the families that are being ripped away from each other by ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. Obama, the deporter-in-chief, approved of having ICE agents deport people who crossed the border after May 2014. Sadly, a huge percentage of people taken during the raids are women and children, that fled Central American countries. They came to the U.S. to escape from drugs, war and corruption happening in their home countries. They are seeking better job opportunities, a better future and a better education not only for themselves but also for their families.”

Community members and college students were also present in support of the youth-driven event. Community activist Marco Cruz Blanco, who marched with the students said, “We are here to uplift the voices of our youth and to remind ourselves that the struggle is transgenerational and therefore it’s crucial to invest in brown youth.”

#MinneapolisMN #ICE #ImmigrationRaids #walkout

Seattle teachers participated in a one-day walkout strike on May 19. Teachers on the eastern side of Washington state are participating today, May 21. While it is illegal for public school teachers to strike, hundreds of brave teachers, along with other school employees, will be walking off the job to demand that their schools be funded, and that budget cuts against them end now. Fight Back! interviewed Chuck Saari, a public school teacher in the city of Kennewick who is striking today.

Fight Back!: Why are you participating in the strike/walk-out?

Chuck Saari: Washington ranks 47th in class size. A voter-approved initiative would reduce class sizes, but the state legislature has said they will not do it. This is violating the will of the people.

The state supreme court has ruled in the McCleary decision that the state is not fully funding education, which is their paramount duty according to the state constitution.

A voter approved COLA [cost of living adjustment] has been denied to teachers for the last six years. This was approved by 65% of voters.

Newly added federal and state testing requires students to miss weeks of instruction. Republicans in the state legislature want to tie teachers’ evaluations to the test scores.

The cost of health care increases yearly yet the state has not increased their allocation in years. Teachers do not have ‘Cadillac’ health care plans and the Republicans would like to replace the current health care system with a new one that requires startup costs and more state employees to manage.

Around 50 school districts have walked out so far in the state.

Fight Back!: How was it decided that you all would strike?

Saari: We had a meeting of the local teachers union. 81% of teachers voted in favor of the one-day walkout.

#SeattleWA #PeoplesStruggles #walkout #PublicSectorUnions #TeachersUnion #Washington #TeachersUnions

Los Angeles, CA – A mural commemorating the historic 1968 East LA Chicano high school walkouts was dedicated here, at Lincoln High School, March 25. The mural was created by Lincoln High School students who are part of the Behind the Heights Art Team.

“We are raising awareness in our community through the arts. We made a mural about the walkouts. We did it on a wall next to our school so everyone could see it,” said one of the students who helped do the mural.

Among those in attendance was veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes, who helped lead the 1968 walkouts.

#LosAngelesCA #ChicanoLatino #walkout #CarlosMontes #history #Art #ChicanoMovement #LincolnHighSchool

Hialeah, FL – In coordination with other Walmart workers across the nation, fourteen Walmart workers walked out of their workplace in Hialeah, Florida on Monday, November 25, 2013. They were joined by a group of around 50 demonstrators rallying in solidarity with the workers.

Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) is gearing up for larger walk outs planned for Black Friday on November 29. Last year, about 300 workers walked out, and this year 1,500 workers are expected to participate. This activity marks the first organized labor resistance to Walmart’s employment practices.

Workers are demanding wages of $25,000 a year, full time positions for those who want them, and an end to retaliation against striking workers.

OUR Walmart points out that the Walton family heirs own more wealth than the bottom 40% of Americans put together. To demonstrate their frustration with income inequality, demonstrators in Hialeah broke open a golden Walton turkey.

Energy was high as workers and supporters chanted, “Who’s Walmart? Our Walmart!”

Supporters can join demonstrations on Black Friday in their area by searching the action network list of events: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/black-friday-near-you

#HialeahFL #walkout #workersRights #WalmartStrike #OURWalmart #workerStrikes

Thousands of union workers, faculty, undergrads and graduate students across the University of California system stood up and said “no more!” to the severe budget cuts, layoffs, furloughs and tuition hikes. On Sept. 24, they stood up and walked out. The UC faculty initiated the walkout. The United Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) union called a one-day unfair labor practices strike. All ten of the UC campuses saw protests. UCLA saw 1000 students walkout and sit-in at the administration offices, demanding, and winning, a meeting with the chancellor to discuss grievances. At UC-Berkeley over 5000 took the streets, shutting down busy intersections. Students at UC-Santa Cruz occupied a campus building to protest the cuts.

As the U.S. government stumbles over itself to bail out the billionaires who caused the economic crisis, the broad masses of the people are left out. Already we have seen working and poor people lead struggles that have exposed some of the sharpest contradictions of the crisis. From the movement to save the home of Rosemary Williams in Minneapolis, to the Republic Windows and Doors factory occupation and the SK Tools strike for healthcare in Chicago, people are fighting back. Rightfully, the students, workers and faculty in California are joining this call for a people’s bailout in demanding that state budgets not be balanced on the backs of their jobs or their right to an education.

The students and workers who walked out, sat in and fought back throughout the UC system have a done a great thing. They are showing the way forward, especially for the student movement. And the way forward is struggle.

The student movement made its biggest gains in the period during and following the Civil Rights Movement, first in smashing school segregation and then advancing further as oppressed nationality students such as the Third World Liberation Front fought huge struggles to win university programs like ethnic studies to teach the history of racism and national oppression in the United States. Likewise, women’s studies, queer studies and similar programs were fought for and built by students.

Now these programs are faced, in many places, with the chopping block. Many scholarships that are supposed to help working people attend college are being completely eliminated. These programs must be defended. Students, workers and oppressed people on campuses across the country must raise the slogan “chop from the top.” Every cut that the ruling class and their flunkies succeed in pushing forward further elevates the universities as something unattainable to working people and slams the door on oppressed nationalities.

The chants of the students at the rallies in California were advanced and correct: “No cuts, no fees, education should be free!” Others are rightfully calling for “Money for education, not war and occupation,” saying clearly that the trillions of dollars being sunk into the U.S.’s wars and interventions could be better spent on people’s needs here at home. Now the student movement needs to advance, moving beyond a struggle for ‘accessible’ education, and into a struggle for the right to an education, instead of the current system that, despite the gains that have been made, still privileges the rich.

The student movement needs to take the lead, building on the momentum of the UC protests, and spread the struggle for the right to an education throughout the country like a prairie fire. Ultimately, we need socialism. We need to tear down the ‘ivory tower’ and make the public universities serve the people.

Josh Sykes is a member of the National Executive Committee and co-chair of the Student Commission of Freedom Road Socialist Organization

#California #CA #Editorials #walkout #UniversityOfCalifornia #UCBerkeley #furlough #UnitedProfessionalAndTechnicalEmployees #UPTE

Los Angeles, CA – The fall quarter started off with a bang across the University of California system, Sept. 24 as thousands of workers, faculty, undergrads and graduate students walked out of work and class to protest severe budget cuts, layoffs, furloughs and tuition hikes.

At the UCLA campus, the faculty and student walkout was combined with a one-day unfair labor practices strike by United Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), which represents thousands of workers across the University of California system. Other campus workers and supporters joined them at the picket lines.

At noon, all of these groups came together for a rally at Bruin Plaza, which had as many as 1000 people at its peak. “They say furlough, we say hell no!” was a popular chant, as was “Whose university? Our university!”

Speakers included union members, graduate and undergraduate students and professors. UCLA’s student government, graduate student association and several academic departments formally endorsed the event.

Susan Li, External Vice President of the student government, spoke about the rising cost of education at UCLA: “Since my freshman year the cost of education at UC has risen from $6141 in 2006-2007, to $8266 this year – that’s a whopping $2125 increase in just four years. Now is that right? And what’s worse is the projected 32% increase this fall for next year, which will raise our tuition to $10,302. And that doesn't include books or living expenses!”

Protesters didn't hesitate to connect the UC budget crisis with other issues, either.

“The federal government found the money to bail out Wall Street, to bail out the banks, to bail out the auto industry – but where’s the money to bail out public health care? Where’s the money to bail out public education?” asked a graduate student speaker. Each mention of a bailout was met with resounding booing from the crowd. “There’s no bailout for us – because it’s a higher priority for the government to spend billions and billions of dollars for imperialist wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Then crowd took up the chant: “No cuts! No war! The cuts are for the war!”

Other speakers talked about how the cuts on campus impacted students of color and immigrant students by eliminating resources they relied upon, from grants to ethnic studies programs. “UC regents, we say racists!” the crowd chanted.

At the conclusion of the rally, hundreds of protesters marched across campus to Murphy Hall, where top campus administrators, including the chancellor, have their offices. A group of students demanded entry in order to meet with Chancellor Block and present their demands. When told that the chancellor wasn’t in, a group of about 60 students staged a spontaneous sit-in until he agreed to schedule a meeting on Oct. 5 to discuss the cuts.

On other UC campuses, similar events took place – all ten of the UC campuses saw some level of protest. At UC-Berkeley over 5000 marched from campus into the city streets, closing off intersections. Students at UC-Santa Cruz have launched an occupation of a campus building to protest the cuts.

#LosAngelesCA #EconomicCrisis #walkout #UCLA #UniversityOfCalifornia

Premiering March 18, Walkout is a powerful film created by HBO on the Chicano student walkouts that shook Los Angeles in 1968. Directed by Edward James Olmos, the film is an inspiring depiction of one of the most important episodes in the Chicano national movement.

Carlos Montes, a veteran Chicano activist who helped lead the 1968 walkouts, is portrayed in the film and gives it high marks, stating, “This film is important because it shows that Chicanos have a long history of struggle for self-determination. This film shows the struggle for equality in education and against the racist system. It shows an organized mass movement can create social change and revolution.”

#California #ImmigrantRights #Movies #ChicanoLatino #walkout #CarlosMontes

Walkout is the new HBO film about the famous East Los Angeles school walkouts in March, 1968. Thousands of Chicano students stayed away from school over two weeks to protest the racist school conditions, high dropout rate, overcrowded conditions, lack of books etc. The demands were for bilingual education, Chicano studies, hiring of Chicano teachers and administrators, better facilities, new schools, an end to the high dropout rate, an end to tracking students into the manual arts and in support of more college prep classes. The walkouts resulted in many victories and reforms to the Los Angeles school district.

Among others, actors in Walkout will portray Carlos Montes and David Sanchez, leaders of the Brown Berets who helped lead the East L.A. walkouts. Both became part of the legal case known as the East L.A. 13, who were indicted by a secret grand jury for conspiracy to disrupt the school system. The famous attorney Oscar Acosta challenged the indictment on the basis of the grand jury being discriminatory, since it excluded Chicanos, and that the indictment was a violation of the right to protest.

The movie’s director is James Edward Olmos, a Chicano actor who played El Pachuco in Luis Valdez’s play Zoot Suit, Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver and the lead role in American Me, which was about the Mexican mafia. Moctezuma Esparza, also one of the East L.A. 13, is the executive producer. He produced the movies Selena, Milagro Bean Field War and The Ballad of Gregoria Cortez.

The HBO movie will be released in February of 2006. It has created a lot of excitement in the East Los Angeles Chicano community, with many student and parents playing extras in the mass demonstrations. Many of the original East L.A. 13 will also be in the movie playing the role of parents, since they are now older.

#California #CA #News #ChicanoLatino #walkout #CarlosMontes #BrownBerets #EastLA13

Fight Back! interviewed Carlos Montes, one of the founders and former Minister of Information of the Brown Berets National Office in East Los Angeles from 1967 to 1970. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Brown Berets emerged as one of the most powerful and militant organizations in the Chicano liberation movement. Like the Black Panther Party, the Brown Berets were hit hard by government repression. This interview brings out a part of our history that is rarely taught in schools and some lessons for today’s activists from our movement’s past.

Fight Back!: Who were the Brown Berets?

Carlos Montes: We were a group of young Chicano revolutionaries from the barrios of the Southwest fighting for the self-determination of our people. We organized in our barrios, published the newspaper La Causa, ran a free clinic and fought against police brutality as well as against the U.S. war in Vietnam.

We evolved from a youth group – from Young Citizens for Community Action, to Young Chicanos for Community Action to the Brown Berets. We evolved from civic participation and assimilation to revolutionary nationalism. The brown beret was a symbol of the pride in our culture, race and history. It also symbolized our anger and militancy and fight against the long history of injustice against the Chican@ people in the U.S., especially the Southwest. We claimed the Southwest as Aztlan, the original homeland of the indigenous Aztec ancestors and founders of Mexico City, Tenochtitlan. We were from poor working class families growing up with the racism and police abuse.

Fight Back!: Why did you join?

Carlos Montes: My family came to L.A. from Juarez, Mexico in 1956. I grew up in the barrios of South L.A. and East L.A. and experienced the racist conditions in the schools, police abuse, drugs, and the poor living conditions. This led me to get involved in the first Chicano student group, the Mexican American Student Association (MASA), at East L.A. College in 1967 which saw using education as the solution to injustice. I was also working as a youth center director and came across Young Chicanos for Community Action and La Raza newspaper, which were starting to voice opposition to the racist conditions in the barrio. I was drawn to the more active and direct action approach of Young Chicanos for Community Action, which became the Brown Berets in late 1967.

Fight Back!: What kind of community organizing did you do?

Carlos Montes: We first took on the issue of police brutality. The East L.A. sheriffs were notorious for their brutality, especially against Chicano youth, which I experienced cruising Whittier Boulevard on the weekends with hundreds of other youth. We were the first to lead a protest at the East L.A. sheriffs station to protest the killing of youth at the station in 1967. We also started working with the car clubs in East L.A. to defend them against police abuse. We opened a local cultural center in East L.A., The Piranya Coffee House, where we held youth meetings and cultural programs. It became one of the meeting places for the Brown Berets.

We also started working on the problems of the bad school conditions and the racist educational system. Our schools were old and in bad condition, with high drop out, or push out, rates and racist administrators and teachers. Over time, we started agitating for bilingual education, better school conditions, Chicano studies and more Chicano teachers. We attended community, school and youth meetings to raise demands for better educational and school conditions. This finally led to the historic East L.A. Blowouts in March of 1968, where thousands of high school Chicano youth walked out of the four predominantly Chicano high schools in the Eastside over a two week period.

The Brown Berets were the first to run in to the high schools, yelling, “Walk out! Walk out!” To get the blowouts started, me and James Vigil (a k a Mangas Coloradas) ran into Lincoln High School on the first day to kick off the walkouts. We then went on to Roosevelt High School and the other schools.

We also supported the land movement in New Mexico of the Chicano small farmers and ranchers. They fought to recover the land stolen by the rich Anglo ranchers and the U.S. federal government. We supported the United Farm Workers’ struggle for union recognition and better working conditions. We marched with the first Rainbow Coalition in the Poor Peoples Campaign in Washington D.C. in the summer of 1968. We were at the first historic Chicano Youth Liberation conference, where the Plan Espiritaul de Aztlan was formulated in Denver, Colorado. We also organized the first Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War in December 1969. This led to the historic national Chicano Moratorium march and rally against the Vietnam war on Aug. 29, 1970, where over 20,000 Chicanos protested the high casualty rate of Chicanos in Vietnam and demanded self-determination at home in the Southwest. ‘Raza si! Guerra no!’

Fight Back!: What were major successes?

Carlos Montes: We exposed police brutality. Back then, some people tried to deny it existed. We were part of building the Chicano movement for self-determination, which raised the slogan of Chicano Power. It also started the movement for cultural awareness and pride in our Chicano history in the Southwest and Mexico, and our culture and language.

The blowouts were historic because it was the fist wave of mass actions by Chicanos in the urban barrios of the late 1960s. We eventually won bilingual education, Chicano studies, better school conditions and Chicano teachers and administrators. The mass anti-war demonstrations were part of the movement that eventually forced Nixon to pull out of Vietnam. We also opened the doors for affirmative action in higher education and political representation.

Fight Back!: How did the political views of the Brown Berets develop?

Carlos Montes: We started out with civic involvement and education as the road to equality, but soon learned that only real revolutionary change and political power by poor working people would gain real equality and freedom. We evolved from civic duty, work within the system, to self-determination, revolutionary nationalism and international solidarity with the liberation movements of Latin America, Africa and Asia – like the Vietnamese, the Congolese and Cubans fighting for freedom from U.S. domination.

Fight Back!: How did they see the world?

Carlos Montes: We believed in self-determination for Chicanos. The Brown Berets’ thirteen-point political program talked about self-determination as having political and economic control over our lives. It called for a return of our land, release of prisoners, jobs, education, housing, an end to the destruction of the environment by the capitalists, open borders, solidarity with all revolutionary peoples engaged in the struggle for self-determination. And we denounced the U.S. system of capitalism and imperialism.

Fight Back!: Did they work with groups in the Black community?

Carlos Montes: Yes, we supported and formed alliances with Black groups such as the Black Panther Party. We supported them when the police attacked them. We also set up similar programs like the East L.A. Free Clinic and free breakfast programs. We also were part of the first Rainbow Coalition when we joined the Poor Peoples Campaign in the summer of 1968. The Rev. Martin Luther King had struggled within the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to include the Chicano militant groups in the march on Washington, such as the Crusade for Justice, from Colorado; Alliance of Free City States, from New Mexico and the Brown Berets.

Fight Back!: What happened to the Brown Berets?

Carlos Montes: The Brown Berets grew to have about fourteen chapters throughout the Southwest, with East L.A. being the National Office. After the initial organizing efforts, the Los Angeles Police Department and sheriffs sent undercover officers to infiltrate the Brown Berets. The police infiltrators spied and acted as agent provocateurs, with the purpose of arresting the leadership and disrupting the organization. The police used secret grand jury indictments to try to jail and tie up the leadership in court trials. The top-down military structure of the group did not allow for the development of new leadership, or the leadership and development of the women who did a lot of the internal work. The Brown Berets continued ‘till about 1972, when they were disbanded. By then, the Prime Minister David Sanchez had degenerated into staging publicity stunts and running a one-man egomaniac undemocratic group.

Fight Back!: What are the lessons for today?

Carlos Montes: Building a mass militant movement to the stop the U.S. war drive, for social change and for revolution is key. Also rebuilding grassroots militant organizations in the community that fight for self-determination, social justice and liberation – not just for reforms. We need an organization that includes the participation of the entire family and that values and promotes the leadership of women.

To talk with Carlos Montes contact him at the Centro CSO (323) 221-4000

#LosAngelesCA #Interviews #ChicanoLatino #walkout #CarlosMontes #BrownBerets #LaCausa

Chapel Hill, NC – Over 120 students rallied against John Ashcroft at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill campus Sept. 12, disrupting his speech. Ashcroft was Attorney General under Bush. He is responsible for the repressive PATRIOT Act, legislative attacks on women's reproductive rights and policies aimed at criminalizing immigrant workers.

Students for a Democratic Society called for the demonstration early in the week. As word got around campus that Ashcroft was coming to speak and that a protest was being organized, other student groups planned their own response. Meghan Morris, from Feminist Students United, explained why they protested, “John Ashcroft represents a lot of the racism, homophobia and sexism in the U.S. today. He opposes abortion and same-sex marriage; he is behind the most egregious assaults on our civil liberties in recent years, especially since Sept. 11. He epitomizes everything about the policies that hurt so many people – except rich white men like himself.”

The rally kicked off with students chanting for an end to the 'war on terror' and the occupation of Iraq. With megaphone in hand, students made speeches denouncing Ashcroft while passers-by stopped to see what was going on. Student activist Mohanned Mallah condemned Ashcroft's racist attacks on Arab-Americans in the aftermath of Sept. 11. He said, “I am not a terrorist – I am Arab! I came over to the U.S. from Palestine when I was five years old. It's policies that John Ashcroft and the Bush administration make that have kept me from getting my citizenship – or even my permanent residence. I'm not even a green card holder. I would like to go home and see my family in Jordan, but I wouldn't be allowed back into the country, so I've been stuck in the United States for the past fifteen years.”

When Ashcroft's talk began, the protesters streamed into the auditorium. Each time Ashcroft spoke on the occupation of Iraq and the 'war on terror,' students disrupted his speech, standing up to expose his lies. Ashcroft became increasingly frustrated and arrogant towards his challengers. Things came to a head when 60 students at the front of the auditorium stood up and led a coordinated walkout. This led to a new rally outside, louder than before, demanding that Ashcroft leave. The rally swelled to 120 protesters, who could be heard clearly from inside the auditorium. Later, the demonstrators spotted Ashcroft exiting the building and chased after him chanting, “Fascist go home!”

A debate is now raging on campus over the protesters' tactics. Some say that the protest “hurt the credibility of the student body,” and was a “disgrace.” Others counter that the protesters did a good thing in opposing Ashcroft, arguing that war criminals should be confronted any time they set foot on campus. Eastern Carolina University student Jacek Teller, of Iraq Veterans Against the War, summed up his message to students this way, “Don't buy into the drumbeat for war, don't rally around the flag thinking it's going to provide you security, because it's not. If you do that, you're just part of the system of manufactured consent for these war crimes.”

#ChapelHillNC #AntiwarMovement #News #walkout #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #FeministStudentsUnited #JohnAshcroft

Asheville, NC – Over 150 students, community activists and members of the Coalition for College Access (C4CA) gathered on the campus quad for a walkout and rally, raising the demand “Education for all!” at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA), March 31.

The rally was one of many actions across the state to support education for all people, not just persons born in the U.S. It opposed North Carolina legislation barring undocumented immigrants from attending community colleges. Seven campuses across North Carolina participated in similar coordinated actions around this issue. During the week of March 21, C4CA members on UNCA’s campus tabled, held “Immigration Realities” workshops, and showed the movie, Walkout, about the beginning of the Chicano student movement. The buildup culminated March 31, Caesar Chavez Day, when students met up on the quad for the walkout and rally shouting, “Sí se puede!”

The C4CA formed on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus May 2008 and is held together by a belief that all academically qualified students should have access to higher education. The statewide action came on the heels of the C4CA’s Summit held at UNCA on January 31.

“What we were looking to do is come up with some tangible ideas to fight for college access this time around,” said Alikhan Salehi, a member of C4CA and one of the organizer’s of the Summit. “The immigration issue is very divisive. When you talk to people about the importance of a college education, you can find a common ground with folks regardless of their background. Not allowing people to get an education creates a sub-class of citizens that doesn’t help society. People are forced to be second-class citizens.” The Summit included a “Student Realities Workshop,” a walkout/rally planning crew meeting and filmed testimonials on how college access has affected people present.

The Associated Student Government recently voted up Resolution 19, called “An Act Encouraging the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Community College System to restore Universal College Access.”

“This gives us a foothold, but really helps us in name only,” remarked Salehi, who is also a member of the student government at UNC-Asheville. “It’s a good place to start, but we have a long way to go.”

The walkout and rally were a great success. People came together to rally around the issue of education rights for undocumented immigrants and other oppressed nationalities. Speakers addressed the need for comprehensive immigration reform, accessible education and multinational unity.

Gabi Lemus, co-president of the UNCA campus group HOLA (Hispanic Outreach for Learning and Awareness) had this to say about the rally: “The purpose of having the walkout and the rally was to show our support for college access for all and specifically for community colleges in North Carolina to reopen their doors to undocumented students. We firmly believe that higher education is a basic human right that must not be denied to anyone. Having a rally provided us with the opportunity to express this belief and gave us a chance to attenuate misconceptions about the issue of college access in hopes of gaining even more support from our campus community and peers.”

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