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This piece was produced in partnership with听听

Before there were Dreamers, thousands of young Latinos marched out of their East Los Angeles classrooms half a century ago for their right to be educated.

鈥淚 was never told I was college material or capable of aspiring for something better,鈥� said Bobby Verdugo, one of the leaders of the 1968 Chicano student movement known as 鈥淲alkouts or Blowouts.鈥�

鈥淒reamers are being marginalized today. They are being treated like they don鈥檛 belong here, like they are not wanted. That鈥檚 how we felt 50 years ago,鈥� Verdugo said.

March 1 marks the 50th anniversary of what has been called the nation鈥檚 first major mass protest against racism by Mexican-Americans. More than 15,000 students from Roosevelt, Wilson, Garfield, Lincoln, and Belmont high schools walked out of their classrooms to challenge the inequalities in Los Angeles public schools. Fifty years later, their bold action has reaped educational gains for Latinos, but they haven鈥檛 come fast enough, advocates say.

Verdugo went to Lincoln High, but like the majority of his peers, he didn鈥檛 graduate. In those days, 60 percent of Chicano or Mexican-American students dropped out of high school. Few who did graduate went on to college. Teachers and administrators didn鈥檛 have high expectations for Latino students, said Verdugo, who obtained his high school diploma in 2016, 48 years later.

Latino students in 1968 had no textbooks reflecting their history or their culture. They had to refrain from speaking Spanish at school. Teachers and school leaders didn鈥檛 look like them. Classrooms were overcrowded. They had no pathway to college nor the opportunity to take all the classes needed to get there.

Today鈥檚 Latino students, who make up three-quarters of LA Unified, have access to all classes required for entrance into the state鈥檚 public universities, known as A-G courses. They can study in bilingual programs and take ethnic studies courses that teach about their culture and history.听Many more are graduating and attending college. But their academic achievement and college graduation rates still lag their peers鈥�.

Persistent Low Achievement

There鈥檚 not a single county in California where a majority of Latino students are proficient in math or English language arts, according to听, released last fall by Education Trust鈥擶est. Statewide, Latino students鈥� test scores听, to only 17 percent proficient in math and 26 percent in English.

In听LA Unified听last year,听听showed almost no growth on state tests and remained below the district鈥檚 average. Only 24 percent were proficient in math and 34 percent in English.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not there yet. There are gaps in opportunity, there are gaps in achievement, in performance, and those have rooted in the institutional racism and classism that our young people fought against back then,鈥� said M贸nica Garc铆a, president of LA Unified鈥檚 school board and only the third Latina to serve on the board.

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Garc铆a, who calls herself a 鈥減roud East LA Chicana,鈥� says her work in education for the past 25 years has been a result of the movement鈥檚 demand for access to quality schools. She believes no one is satisfied with the pace of change and that there鈥檚 still much work to be done.

鈥淲e have seen progress. It has taken too long, but it is happening.鈥�

Garc铆a said standardized tests are important, but they don鈥檛 measure the whole experience of Latino students in their classrooms. 鈥淭his is not an excuse, we鈥檙e not yet satisfied. While we now have the A-G curriculum, we need decentralization in the district so we can better support this student population. Build the curriculum, the program around Latinos.鈥�

She said the fact that California ranks so low in the nation in terms of per-pupil spending is not helping efforts to improve education for the state鈥檚 Latino students. In 1968, California was fifth in the nation; now it ranks between听, depending on the measurement.

Nationally, the high school dropout rate reached a record low of 6 percent in 2016, but among Latinos it was 10 percent. In LA Unified, Latinos鈥� dropout rate last year was 14 percent, and of those who听, only听听were college- and career-ready.

Latino students in college continue to be underrepresented at public universities in California, where more than half of high school graduates are Latino. At the University of California system, 1 in 3 is a Latino, but more than 1 in 5 reported not feeling respected on campus, according to听

Across the nation, the number of Latinos graduating from college is听. In 2016, 47 percent of Latino high school graduates ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college, but just 15 percent of Latinos have graduated from college, according to the听. In comparison, about听听of whites completed college.

What’s Been Gained

The leaders of the Walkouts took their demands to LA Unified鈥檚 board of education at a special meeting on March 11, 1968. More than 1,400 students were present to hear their pleas refused. Five decades later, however, much of what they fought for has come to fruition.

The students demanded听courses that reflected Mexican-American history and culture, bilingual education, and more teachers, counselors, and administrators of Mexican-American heritage.

Students now come to schools where many more adults look like and relate to them. This year in LA Unified, 37 percent of teachers are Latinos, as well as 43 percent of school administrators and 38 percent of district officials. But as a state, California, which has the nation鈥檚 largest Latino student population, also has the biggest Latino teacher-student gap, according to a听听released last week by the Center for American Progress.

Garc铆a pointed to the Latinos now leading in LA Unified as well as the investments made to build new schools and modernize old campuses like Roosevelt High School, which is getting $173-million听.

Garc铆a said the Los Angeles school district has gone from a place where students 50 years ago had to fight to demand their culture and identity be treated with dignity, to a district that now听, supports immigrant families through its 鈥�,鈥� and offers ethnic studies. And that may become a statewide requirement by the 2021-22 school year under a new听听introduced this month: each school district and charter school in California would have to offer 鈥渟tandards-based ethnic studies curriculum鈥� in grades 9-12.

鈥淭his district today understands that it serves Mexican-American children, children of immigrants, people from all over the world. We embrace diversity, bilingual education, and we听advocate for our children,鈥� Garc脥a said. 鈥淲e have moved from having Latino students tracked away from college because of the color of their skin or their last name to having a system where every student can be college-ready and career-prepared.鈥�

Verdugo believes education for Latinos has gotten better for the most part. 鈥淲e have young Latinos who are striving more vigorously for a better life. They see going to college as a real possibility. More Latinos are going and graduating from college, but the numbers are still poor,鈥� said Verdugo, who dedicates his time to empowering Latino youth in East LA.

He sees many similarities with the Dreamers鈥� resistance movement now.

鈥淲e were being put down, we were being dehumanized. 鈥� That鈥檚 how we felt 50 years ago even though I was born here and my parents were born here.鈥�

The Dreamers 鈥渁re admirable, they go to college without even knowing if they have a future here. That鈥檚 courageous,鈥� he said, remembering the courage of those who took part in the Walkouts. 鈥淵es, we were afraid, we were kids! We could have been hurt or killed. But we were aware that we had to do something and change things for others.鈥�

Allan Garc铆a, who is a senior this year at Wilson High, said that because of what the students in the Walkouts risked, he has been able to have a very different experience in the classroom compared to 50 years ago. He said he feels included, has access to a college prep curriculum, and feels proud of his legacy as a first-generation Mexican-American and the son of immigrants.

But he wants to defend what Latinos have gained and to continue fighting, such as for improvements in school discipline. 鈥淲e are still demanding for the school climate bill of rights to be implemented at every school in the district. We are mobilizing in support of听听so the state can pass the law to reduce suspensions and expulsions,鈥� he said.

The bill aims to extend the ban on suspensions and expulsions for 鈥渨illful defiance,鈥� which disproportionately affect Latinos and other students of color.

Natalie Mac铆as, a 10th-grader at Roosevelt, appreciates being able to express her Mexican heritage at school through music. She is part of the school鈥檚 mariachi band, Mariachi Ol铆mpico, which she calls a major part of her life. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine how hard it would have been for students like me to have been forbidden to express their culture or speak Spanish. It would be so hard for me,鈥� she said. She plans to study bioengineering in college.

鈥淭he reason why the 鈥�68 Walkouts are so important to understand is because of the courage and commitment and political awakening of those young people,鈥� Garc铆a said. 鈥淲e see that in our kids today the kids who are fighting for new schools, fighting for access to A-G, fighting for breakfast in the classroom, for wellness centers, for teachers who are competent. The kids fighting for DACA, for citizenship, that is the strength of our community. It鈥檚 so important to recognize our young people鈥檚 resilience and capacity to learn and lead.鈥�

She added, 鈥淲e are learning very much from these young people, including our DACAmented teachers. Very much like the Chicanos in 鈥�68, the Dreamers have been an incredible political movement from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. The students鈥� fight has not ended since 鈥�68.鈥�

 

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