East L.A., 1968: ‘Walkout!' The day high school students helped ignite the Chicano power movement


In 1968 Mexican students organized one of the largest high school walkouts in U.S. history, demanding better education and equal treatment. There efforts proved successful and lead to administrative changes. “A year after the walkouts, UCLA’s enrollment of Mexican Americans soared from 100 to 1,900. Over the decades, college enrollment increased from 2% to 25% nationwide. Chicano studies programs were founded at colleges and universities across the nation. More Mexican Americans also entered the ranks of vice principals and principals in the Los Angeles Unified School District."

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