Sal Castro addresses students during the East L.A. Blowouts in 1968.

“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 Districthigh schools. The first walkout occurred on March 5, 1968. The students who organized 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.’ … Since the school walkouts, Los Angeles schools have since increased in Mexican American school teachers and administrators, they’ve also seen higher graduation and college attendant rates as well as incorporating both Latino and Bilingual studies and programs. … In a radio interview, Moctesuma Esparza, one of the original walkout organizers…