Las Fantasmas

How have the Chicano walkouts from the 1960s and 70s impacted our education to create less racism and discrimination and improve our Colorado’s history? It wasn’t until my second year in college that I learned that Mexican-Americans identify as Chicanos and express a political stance founded on pride in a shared cultural, ethnic, and community identity. Between the 1960s and 70s, Chicanos fought for better civil rights and education for themselves and their future. Suffering years of segregation in Denver Public Schools, students addressed their concerns to the administration. When they went weeks without any help, they became frustrated. On March 20, 1969, one of the largest and most violent student protests in Colorado History broke out[1]. 52 years ago, over a hundred Chicano and Chicana students at Denver's West High School walked out of their classes to protest racism in their school. The walkouts created an impact and change that resulted in better education for Hispanics and Chicanos. TheWalkouts helped start the social movement called El Movimiento (The ChicanoMovement). However, for such a crucial part of history, especially one that was a part ofColorado’s history, it is often overlooked or ignored. I want to express the importance of this movement over the last 52 years.

What I will be revealing through Las Fantasmas is how much history can be hidden if it's not related to the dominant culture. People born from a different race or ethnicity than the dominant culture aren’t learning about their history; and as a result, are being treated differently. This research is important to me because it is something that I can relate to. It has been a wake-up call as I was not aware of my own history. I am a first-generation Mexican-American, born in Denver, Colorado. Even though I am bilingual and speak Spanish as my primary language, I wasn’t aware of my history–public schools didn’t teach that. Something that I was familiar with was discrimination and racism. The most I learned about my history was from taking Spanish courses throughout my education. Chicanos are a big part of Colorado and U.S History. El Movimiento created better futures and opportunities for us. Opportunities that we would not have otherwise known of. That’s why it’s important to me, and why I want to bring more light to it. Not many people know about the Chicano walkouts and I want people to be more informed and more aware of what the Chicanos did to create better futures for all Hispanics.

[1] “Latino Students at Denver's West High Walked out This Week in 1969 to Protest Inequalities.”History Colorado, March 25, 2015.https://www.historycolorado.org/press-release/2015/03/25/latino-students-denvers-west-high-walked-out-week-1969-protest.

[2] Mendoza, J.The Chicano/a Fight for Equality through Education.Csustan.edu.https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/groups/University%20Honors%20Program/conference/05_mendoza_jynessa.pdf

[3] Carnevale, Anthony P., Tanya I. Garcia, and Megan L. Fasules. “Rocky Mountain Divide - Ed,”2018. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED590600.pdf.

[4] García, Mario T. “Chicano Movement Walkouts Remind Us: We Must Fight for Issues likeGun Reform.” National Catholic Reporter. National Catholic Reporter, March 5, 2018. https://www.ncronline.org/news/justice/ncr-today/chicano-movement-walkouts-remind-us-we-must-fight-issues-gun-reform.

[5] Ismael Estrada, Alexis Rivas. “50 Years Ago: Brown Beret Member Reflects on Push forMexican-American Rights and the Work Left to Do.” NBC 7 San Diego. NBC San Diego,September 2, 2020.https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/50-years-ago-brown-beret-member-reflects-on-the-push-for-mexican-american-rights-and-the-work-left-to-do/2397257/.