LAUSD recalls 1968 Chicano student walkout
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- In 1968 thousands of Chicano students in Los Angeles walked out of their classrooms in protest - demanding educational equality.
Tuesday on the 50th anniversary of the walkout the Los Angeles Unified School District board of education staged a reenactment of the board meeting that was held after the walkout.
"They looked at us as criminals- instead of looking at us as someone who wanted to bring about change," recalled former county supervisor Gloria Molina.
Current students read the demands of protesters in 1968. They included restrictions on corporal punishment and textbooks that depicted the role of Mexican-Americans in U.S. society.
Those who lived through those times recounted the turmoil and brutality that came in the wake of the walkouts.
Organizers say this is an important part of Los Angeles history that cannot be forgotten - to show us how far we have come and how far we still have to go.
