Chapter 8: Obama, Escucha! Estamos En La lucha!: Challenging Neoliberalism in Los Angeles Schools

The year 2013 marks the 45th anniversary of the East Los Angeles High School Walkouts, when students from three high schools located in East Los Angeles, California walked out of schools. From 1968 to 1970, the Chicano/a community organized a series of protests to democratize public education. As a direct result of a social movement that was prominority, prowoman, antiwar and anticorporate interests, certain demands for educational justice were met. The Chicano/a student movement emphasized people over profits. The Chicano/a student movement for educational and social justice directly and objectively challenged corporate interests and privatization. Community demands for local control were aimed at decentralizing and eliminating bureaucracy. Movement activists demanded that public education become “public” and this required greater community control.