Salvador B. Castro (October 25, 1933 - April 15, 2013) was a Mexican-American educator and activist.He was most well known for his role in the 1968 East Los Angeles high school walkouts, a series of protests against unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools. To Castro, the remarks ignored the economic reality for Latino parents, many of whom must work long hours away from their kids. "I didn't think I was dumb I thought they were dumb.". 12 Sept. 2016. Now, as an artist and teacher, Gamboa said, he hopes to "carry forth some of Sal's influence.". Students at five high schools Belmont, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt and Garfield abandoned their campuses in a dramatic bid to remedy overcrowded and run-down schools, soaring dropout rates, poorly trained teachers, and counselors who steered Latino students into auto shop instead of college-prep classes. I kept going, kept in touch with the people, and stayed with it all the way through today. "Farmworkers are no threat," he wrote. Castro was arrested and charged with conspiracy to disrupt public schools and disturb the peace for his alleged role in guiding the blowouts. But the charges were eventually dropped and he came to be hailed as a courageous civil rights leader. You had 100 to 200 kids coming together from LA County schools, from as far as Pomona, El Monte, La Puente, West LA, the Valley. To them, a government is there for protecting their individual liberty and nothing else. As a young teacher, Castro was a key organizer of the 1968 student walkouts (called blowouts by the youth), when as many as 40,000 Chicana/o students marched out of their schools to demand bilingual and bicultural education, more Mexican American teachers and administrators, relevant curriculum, accurate textbooks, and an end to the tracking that steered Mexican American students into vocational classes. MEMBERS . Many of the walkout leaders had participated in the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference (CYLC), a yearly gathering that began in 1963 at a Jewish campground in Malibu, an upscale beach community. It energized the community, radicalized a new generation of Chicano activists.. As a teacher, [Castro] encouraged his students to think critically, to be proud of themselves and, most important, to believe in themselves. I saw that the teachers didn't really care about the regular student, they only cared about the elite intellectuals. Castro: They did tell us not to walk out. As a young teacher, Castro was a key organizer of the 1968 student . Sal Castro & The Chicano Struggle For Educational Justice."Journal Of American Ethnic History 34.2 (2015): 127-128. Top 3 Results for Sal Castro. He leaves a wife, two sons and two grandsons. Sal Castro: Chicano! The result of the network was the holding of Chicano Youth Leadership Conferences (CYLC), training grounds for student activists, the first of which was held in 1963. To say, Why should we put up with these things?. Carlos Montes was a student at East Los Angeles College in 1968 and a member of the Brown Berets, an activist Chicano group that helped execute the walkouts. In 2016, we made the . Since 2009, Castro has been trying to get the president, first lady or Vice PresidentJoe Bidento come to Boyle Heights to honor the students of the Eastside walkouts of 1968. That was what we wanted in 68, but what do these Mexicans know? Always interested in higher education, he was particularly impressed by the campus of College of William and Mary while stationed in Virginia but he left the Army to marry his high school sweetheart, and attended Los Angeles City College (LACC) before transferring to L.A. State, now known as California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA) where he obtained his B.A. I wasnt even a probationary teacher. Anaheim's Savanna High School celebrates Sal Castro Day every March 27. Teacher and activist who led the East Los Angeles high school walkouts, which protested unequal school conditions in 1968. I was there three months when I started figuring out, There aint no Chicano kids in the student council. Around 67 percent of the students were Chicanos, and there were no kids on the student council of Latino descent. ". As a realtor to several of my past and recent clients he has always gone above and beyond for all our clients! Analyzes how the journal focuses on a specific day in history that helped the chicanos, the walkouts. Activist and educator Sal Castro knows how to make an entrance. READ MORE: How the Chicano Movement Championed Mexican American Identity. Two teachers helped me: Mary Mend and Pat Martin. I went to college and became a teacher.' The next day, another walkout was staged in protest of a school policy prohibiting male students from wearing their hair long. Walkout: Directed by Edward James Olmos. We know what the clan is; we know how to fit into the band and the tribe. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Social Studies (1961) . The Board of Education voted him out of his job. I was always challenging herHow come Im over here?. They ranged from instituting bilingual education and removing racist teachers to expanding libraries and incorporating a culturally inclusive menu at the school cafeterias. ", Photo: Sal Castro at the L.A. Times Festival of books. The protests, which lasted several days and spread to 15 schools, resulted in the arrests of 13 people on conspiracy charges. Castro Middle School, she points out, will serve a community where fewer than half the students complete high school. Close. [All] Power! Chicano activist and educator Sal Castro wows the crowd with his past -- and presence. Kids are not going to go to school.. Ochoa: So the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference had already started, and then in 1968 were the student walkouts. It was affordable. By Teresa Watanabe. 46 matching entries found. They discuss it, and later on there is dancing. They knew that I was there for them even if they had already graduated. The walkout generation produced professors, jurists and politicians. Rate it: (0.00 / 0 votes) vis cmica: Fuerza, sal cmica, o sea, el talento de la gracia. In the late 1960s Castro was teaching at Lincoln High, a school with an overwhelmingly Mexican American student body but few Mexican American teachers. Login . Michelle Obama wrote back once declining his invitation. On Friday, there are welcoming speeches and that evening they see the movieWalkout. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Blowout! But then I come back to Los Angeles in the 2nd grade, and the teacher put me in a corner because I wasnt as well versed in English as the rest of the kids. Helmeted police who arrived at the schools arrested students or escorted them to the principals office. Castro, a teacher at Lincoln High in 1968, helped organize those protests. The president can't be everywhere, especially during a tough reelection campaign. Castro, who died in 2013, is being remembered at UC Santa Barbara through a lecture named in his honor. You know what happens to the U.S.-born kid, he puts the onus on himself, rather than the teacher. He urged Mexican American students to run for student government offices, causing a ruckus when he encouraged them to give campaign speeches in Spanish. I said: You want me. Since 2009, Castro has been trying to get the president, first lady or Vice PresidentJoe Bidento come to Boyle Heights to honor the students of the Eastside walkouts of 1968. They went to his place of work at the bakeryOut you go. And he was a legal resident. Sal Castro, Brown Berets, college students and others, including students recruited from high schools, holed up at La Piranya and other hangouts over the weekend to prepare. The changes will come by you getting a BA, an MA, a PhD. They founded the Piranya Caf, which became the headquarters for the movement. He was 15 minutes late, but that didn't seem to matter to the crowd who gave him an ovation as he walked to the front of the room. I liked the fact that I was able to deal with kids from all around and exchange ideas about what could be done. 371 Copy quote. Top Sal Castro Quotes. He graduated from Cathedral High School in 1952, was drafted into the Army and served in theKorean War. Charged with conspiracy for their involvement in the demonstrations, the organizers faced a total of 66 years in prison if found guilty. Votes: 3. It gave you a lot of pride. Thirteen walkout organizers are arrested, with twelve released soon after demonstrations outside of the Hall of Justice in Downtown Los Angeles but schoolteacher Sal Castro is kept longer. The weeklong walkouts to protest inequalities in education for Latinos in theLos Angeles Unified School Districtcame to be seen as a milestone in community activism. From that job with LA Rec. There he attended a private elementary school in Mazatln, Sinaloa. 500 matching entries found. But eventually, he landed back in the classroom at Belmont High, where he continued to press for student rights until his retirement in 2004. Satisfy the deep subconscious needs of your customers . The first annual Sal Castro Memorial Lecture will take place at noon on Friday, Feb. 20, in the McCune Conference Room, 6020 Humanities and Social Sciences Building. The panel discussion "History, Identity & Purpose: California Chicanos & Beyond" on Saturday at the Festival of Books began without Castro, one of the key organizers of the East Los Angeles walkouts in 1968. Sal Castro, a veteran Los Angeles Unified School District teacher who played a central role in the 1968 "blowouts," when more than 1,000 students in predominantly Latino high schools walked out of their classrooms to protest inequalities in education, died in his sleep Monday after a long bout with cancer. So, Im sitting there at the Los Angeles Theatre. Related Topics. Thats the attitude today. When I was going to start school, they took me to the town carpenter. In March 1968, students from Wilson High School walked out after the school principal cancelled a performance of the Neil Simon play Barefoot in the Park. So they had respect for me. Historians point to the East L.A. walkouts as the first time the Chicano movement moved from the rural setting of the United Farm Workers strikes of 1965 to an urban setting. Fidel Castro. After he retired from teaching, he continued to lecture about his experiences and the importance of education, especially for Mexican Americans. But some young ones in the crowd would have been disappointed, a testament to his staying power as an icon of Chicano rights and youth leadership. Fired after the walkouts, he fought successfully to be reinstated to his teaching position but was transferred several times to schools that had largely non-Latino enrollments. When he returned to Los Angeles for second grade, his teacher made him sit in a corner because he was the only student who could not speak English. He showed me a letter he wrote Obama in 2009 protesting the lack of progress and questioning the administration's educational reforms. Word of the action spread quickly, and soon Latino students were leaving classrooms across the district, joined by Castro and others outside the schools, including college students and members of the militant Brown Beret. Broad public recognition of his contributions to the struggle for education equality came decades after the protests, when his story was told in films, including "Walkout," the 2006 HBO movie directed by Edward James Olmos. [All] Power! In June 2010, Sal Castro sat down with Gilda L. Ochoa to talk about his passion for educational justice. They have among the highest high-school dropout rates. Sal Castro Quotes & Sayings. Sal Castro Civil Rights quotes - Read more quotes and sayings about Sal Castro Civil Rights. He was 79. "That movement redefined who we are," said Haro, then a UCLA student and one of several undergraduates who worked alongside Castro. I still remember those days there. Castro continued educating and pressing for educational reform in Los Angeles-area schools. "I thought they'd wait until I was dead," joked Castro, 76. Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, Sal Castro dies at 79; L.A. teacher played role in 1968 protests, Sal Castro, teacher who led '68 Chicano student walkouts, dies at 79, "Chicano Moratorium Recognizes 50 Year Anniversary in East LA", Castro and the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sal_Castro&oldid=1126525685, This page was last edited on 9 December 2022, at 20:48. Latinos continue to lead the nation in high school drop-out rates and teen pregnancies, and bright students are tracked away from college prep courses. Castro was jailed for five days after the walkouts and lost his job, but he was rehired after weeks of protests by Eastside parents. Fidel Castro. : Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice at Amazon.com. At that point, the kids really come home. This one is for the students, he said. Definition of sal castro in the Definitions.net dictionary. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. They needed volunteers. "As President Obama said when told that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize, I too am surprised and honored that a school is being named after me," said Castro, visibly moved by the honor. Sal Castro Realtor. This is the way that were going to eventually move forward. Boys and girls cry when they leave. By contrast, 48,000 students marched in the blowouts. So my first formal school other than the kindergarten at Belvedere was a little private school in Mazatln. In March 1968, thousands of Chicano students walked out of their East Los Angeles high schools and middle schools to protest decades of inferior and discriminatory education in the so-called "Mexican Schools." During these historic walkouts, or "blowouts," the students were led by Sal Castro, a courageous and charismatic Mexican American teacher who encouraged the students to make their . "You know, Mrs. Lord, more than half the kids are Latino, Mexican kids, and we've got no kids in any of the leadership positions or even this program." Former students and colleagues today paid their final respects and hailed the career of former LAUSD teacher Sal Castro, who joined his students in Eastside school walkouts in 1968 to protest inequities in educational opportunities for Latinos. They keep me crazy. Close. AUTHOR. I said, Well all get together and create a constitutional convention towork out whos going to run for what. It was raining cats and dogs, but this school auditorium was filled, kids wanting to get involved. At a campaign assembly, candidates from the new political party addressed the student body in Spanish; when addressing the student body in Spanish was prohibited at that time. He saw no combat action as hostilities with Korea ceased shortly after his entry, but was stationed at bases in Atlanta, Georgia and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I had to stay there. Castro was arrested for his leadership role in the East L.A. walkouts. "Now they're putting up a monument in his honor.". He has never heard from the president. Sal is related to Elizabeth Castro and Daniel Castro as well as 2 additional people. The walkouts, or "blowouts" as they came to be known, spread to five Eastside high schools, then throughout the Southwest. "Sal was a teacher, but he taught more than United States history and government," Lerchenmuller said. You start loving the kids, and know that youre going to go to the wall for them to make sure that theyre successful. They never once bother to see Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that says the government is there to promote the general welfare. He began coaching Mexican-American students to run for positions in student government. Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice (University of North Carolina Press). The more I saw, the more I got into it, and the more I saw how really terrible the situation was. September 6, 2013. In March 1968, thousands of Chicano students walked out of their East Los Angeles high schools and middle schools to protest decades of inferior and discriminatory education in the so-called Mexican Schools. "For Latinos in Los Angeles," SupervisorGloria Molinasaid in a statement Monday, "Sal Castro was as influential and inspirational as United Farm Workers co-founder Cesar Chavez was nationally an example of the power of organizing who personified the possibility of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.". Castro, who was ignorant of the rule, had given the go-ahead to use Spanish, and was immediately transferred to Lincoln High School in Lincoln Heights, in North East Los Angeles. A professor speaks. - Attorney who filed Writ of Mandamus to reinstate DACA in 2021 -, Click on the link to read about the unequal standards applied to Ukrainian refugees and Central American refugees., An overwhelming majority of my students in my classes at UCR are Latino. Castro worked to encourage students at Eastside high schools to protest crowded classrooms and the tracking that funneled many bright minds away from college-prep courses. Ochoa: So you told them to stay in school. Sometimes its Dr. Rudy Acua or Dr. Juan Gmez-Quiones, so its been high-powered people. ALL EXPECTED TO MAKE A FULL RECOVERY. Michelle Obama wrote back once declining his invitation. When the kids started speaking a few words, boom, they stopped the assembly. To that end, he has written inviting the president twice,Michelle Obamatwice, Biden once, Secretary of StateHillary Clintononce and former PresidentClintononce. I was the only one who could translate. Collection Edit Buy. But fundamentally, I'm not talking about practising Catholics, but rather about something which is inbred; that is, a part of your country, your heritage, your life. The kids knew I cared. "He's a giant in Chicano history and should be recognized as a giant in American history.". Sal Castro went above and beyond my expectations as our agent. Homes with this school assigned. "He made education relevant for us and made school worth going to," said Richard Verches, an international human rights lawyer and lecturer atUCLA. Ochoa: What would you say to todays teachers, given the current conditions for Chicano/Latino students? Even though some of the things that we asked for were naive, they were things that could happen. There were speeches that would be presented to the school. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. It taught us that the only way things can change is by protesting and taking up the system, he adds. TM stood for the Tortilla Movement! Finally Castro got an opportunity to speak -- and he didnt disappoint. Students also complained they were being steered toward vocational and domestic training, instead of academic courses that would help them get into college. Close. NEA was going to finance it. Gilda Ochoa: As a way to learn more about the factors shaping your perspective and work, can you begin by sharing a bit about your own family history and schooling? "Cesar Chavez unionized 16,000 farmworkers," Castro wrote on his little board. Go set up field trips to bring the kids to the college. Sal Castro Quotes & Sayings . Gloria Estefan. Case in point: A group of 10-year-old Latino boys and girls were giddy just to see Castros name placard on the table. @FOXLA. Had a history-making role in the 1968 East Los Angeles high school walkoutsa series of protests led by high school and college students who wanted to improve the quality and equality of education for Mexican-American students . He stood straight up, held up a movie poster of "Walkout" and said that when producers approached him about doing a movie on his life, he said someone good-looking had to play him. Former L.A. Times writer Daniel Hernandez talked about growing up in San Diego and Tijuana, the overarching theme in his book "Down and Delirious in Mexico City." He was arrested that day and charged with 30 counts of disturbing the peace and conspiracy to disturb the peace after the walkouts, which involved students from Lincoln, Garfield, Belmont, Wilson and Roosevelt high schools. Sal Castro, a regular at the conference, took some of what he learned at the CYLC to his social studies classroom at Lincoln High School, in the Eastside barrio of Lincoln Heights. It was the middle of World War II. Sal Castro Realtor BRE 01839759. Expecting to hear that they were fans of the movie "Walkout" directed by Edward James Olmos and starring actors Efren Ramirez and Michael Pena, I was surprised as they started discussing his educational effect on Latinos. Two years before, Montes himself had been a student at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. In 2010, district officials honored the outspoken educator by dedicating a school to him, Salvador B. Castro Middle School, which shares Belmont's campus. Sal Castro was born in California on October 25, 1933. Teena Marie. Many of his students became educators, including several who are principals, Lerchenmuller said. Sal Castro, a Mexican American social studies teacher at Lincoln High School, saw social and educational inequalities, and he began teaching Mexican and Mexican American history and culture while instilling in his students pride in their heritage. Salvador Castro, a social studies teacher who played a leading role in the historic 1968 Chicano student walkouts protesting rampant bias and . Student walkouts in 1968 jump-started the Chicano rights movement, Sal Castro says, and it's time they got recognition from the White House. We dont have to accept [the school conditions]. It was a turning point., WATCH: History Shorts: Dolores Huerta Organizes a Movement. "That's the only way we can move forward, through education.". Around 1956, while still a student at LACC, he got his first job in the educational field, as an assistant playground director in the inner city neighborhood school. By Elaine Wooelaine.woo@latimes.com, Los Angeles Times,April 15, 2013. Not one of them was a goddamn Mexican kid. These Chicano high school and junior high school students walked out of the East Los Angeles public schools and demanded better education after years of unequal and inferior schooling in segregated so-called Mexican schools. Ochoa: Youve had a long commitment to teaching. Some at the funeral wore shirts or jackets representing the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference, a nonprofit organization Castro founded in 1963 that trained future leaders at annual workshops held until it lost its funding in 2009. Happy to read and share the best inspirational Sal Castro quotes, sayings and quotations on Wise Famous Quotes. In June, more than 40 years after the Los Angeles Unified School District tried to fire Sal Castro for his leadership of the 1968 Chicana/o Blowouts, it came full circle and named a middle school after him. : Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice , a semi-autobiography co-written with UC Santa Barbara Chicano . The district attorney slapped a bunch of conspiracy charges on him. That really made people stop and think, Oh yeah, these kids are right. "They used to call us the invisible minority," he said. Any financial support or donations to enhance the mission of the CMSC would be greatly appreciated! Later that evening, theres a dance with a salsa band. The charges were dropped in 1972. For Sale (31) For Rent (77) Skip to last item. Fidel Castro. Throughout his career, Sal Castro inspired countless students to succeed in college and serve their community. Salvador B. Castro Middle School was named after him several years ago. MarlaTellez (@MarlaTellez) February 1, 2018. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Several of them are refugees from Latin Am, "Thousands of Europeans in dozens of countries opened their doors to Ukrainians. And that included the idea of going on to college.. 1. This review is absolutely necessary, and I want to express my sincere appreciation for Sal Castro!!! The movement reached predominantly black campuses too, but is remembered today as a seminal event in Chicano activism.