Network Aztlan Latino Chicano Comunidades Transnacionales

Chicano Moratorium
Struggle and Resistance

Viviana Montes

Thirty-two years in Chicano/a history is a capsule of the long history of activism in the Chicano/ Mexicano community. Three decades ago the largest Chicano/a mobilization to protest the Vietnam War was seen as a threat from the peoples movement that questioned US foreign policies and the high casualty rate of Chicanos killed, in Vietnam, negative effects it had on its community at home. Chicanos were sent in large numbers to fight a war against the peoples of Vietnam in their fields and lands of subsistence. Just like at home Chicanos tried to raise awareness that the destruction of another nations homeland was the same as the destruction of the Chicanos in the barrios of Los Angeles, California, Nuevo Mexico, Colorado, Texas, and many other Southwest lands.

Youth, families, children and organizers joined the first National Chicano Moratorium in 1970 to denounce US involvement in Vietnam and to point to the ills the US causes to oppress nations even with-in its own created borders. The over 30,000 raza demonstration showed the opposition and resistance of an organized struggle of Chicano/as and Mexicano/as who understand the effects of U.S. invasion. These same US forces took its ancestors lands with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo more than 150 years ago here in the US (Southwest) in 1848. In 1970, the descendants of the those very same Southwest lands, that Chicanos came from, were demonstrating at Salazar Park in East Lost Angeles.

An outspoken journalist Ruben Salazar was killed on this same day of August 29th, 1970 because he depicted the plight of Chicanos. Salazar's killing, by an LA County Sheriff, showed a brutal censorship of the recognition of the Chicano/Mexicano Community, a clear repression of the identity of Chicanos and the urgency of the US police state to silence the economic, educational and political realities that Chicanos were uniting to fight. Many of the Chicano Moratorium participants were tear gassed, battoned and beaten that day by Los Angeles Police.

US aggression foreign policies are at its high once again with US military forces in the Philippines, Columbia and the Middle East. After September 11th 2001, a new "foreign terrorist" has been targeted and the focus has turned back on the invisible community to fight the "war on terrorism". The Chicano youth in the barrios and high schools of East LA are being immediately targeted to join the military industrial complex. The reality speaks for itself as the count of college counselors are few on high school campus but the Army recruiting office is right across the street from a local high school in East Los Angeles. These are the attempts to enlist and gear Chicano youth right back into fighting another US created war, like it did for Vietnam and numerous other wars.

Salazar pointed to these contradictions in his articles and the Chicano/a Peoples conclusions were a deep analysis of how US priorities were building a unnecessary war and not addressing the home issues of education and well being. But instead, building ruthless military powers at the cost of peoples of color. This holds true for the recent attacks on Palestine, the Philippines and others while the Prison Industrial Complex at home is imprisoning Chicano youth and men for no cost labor and exploiting immigrant labor that includes the hands of many Latina/Mexicana women for corporate profit and imperialist gains.

The Latino/a immigrant community is heavily being scape-goated across the country characterized as foreigners or "suspected terrorists" causing an even greater number of their jobs being taken away and allowing for sub-standard living wages that organized efforts and unions have been fighting against. Many are being fired on the spot from airport jobs because they are not naturalized citizens; but regardless of their migratory status they are allowed to enlist into the army.

On May 1st 2002 over 15,000 demonstrators including the Centro CSO's East LA Anti-War Action Committee, with a contingency opposing US aggression and the war on Palestine, showed mass protest of immigrant scape-goating and repression of Latinos, Blacks, South-east Asian and Native American. The efforts of many Chicano organizers is to call out US Capitalist and Imperialist to make them accountable for the repression of oppressed nations; and to demand to revitalize these communities by reestablishing the Chicano/ Mexicano Nation, its people and its economic and political self-determination.

The demands include basic rights that continue to be denied by Bush and the US who is once again demonizing and making excuses to fight "terrorism" in Afghanistan and abroad to build the US war machine like it did in Vietnam calling it the "Vietcong."

The Chicano/a community and many oppressed nations today are organized and continuing the struggle and resistance for the very same demands the Moratorium raised in 1970. The organized people call for:

Self Determination of the Mexican@-Chican@ People

Union jobs and decent wages

Housing and health-care

An end to police/INS abuses and terror

Relevant and Bilingual Education

No Police State in the neighborhoods; and

US forces out of Latino America, the Middle East, the Philippines and Colombia as an added list.

Black, Pilipino, Asian, and Native American resistance like the high-school students in the high-school walk-outs, the Brown Berets, the Crusade for Justice, Mechistas, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, the Centro CSO and the Boyle Heights communities continue grassroots organizing through community teach-ins and developing Chicano/Mexicano leadership in the community.

Today from August 29th 1970 to August 29th 2002 Centro CSO calls the community of resistance to organize and struggle for Self-Determination in the Southwest. Join the Struggle!

El Centro CSO 511 Echandia St., Boyle Heights, California 90033 (323) 221-4000

I congradulate you on your efforts to archive this mementous and historical critical time in Chicano history

Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin

I congratulate you on your efforts to archive this momentous and historically critical time in Chicano history.

One of the things that I believe is very important is that the movimiento was fired by the enthusiasm, idealism and raza love of our YOUTH.

Also I want to thank you for your efforts and devotion. You are such an important person. You were what fueled the moratorium. I know there were many dedicated grupos working day and night on it but you were the voice and you spoke articulately and you represented a young man who was studying in college seriously. So you were a wonderful role model for all kids but especially for young men in high school and college.

Again, I want to thank you for your good work of the past and present. And I hope many people have thanked you. You know people take each other for granted. And you probably don't realize how great your achievements have been.

Because of your information on the E-mail, I responded because of old emotional wounds that were opened up on that beautiful day, which began with such hope and enthusiasm. So many happy faces of all ages. So much beautiful poetic, forceful chanting as we marched with So much love. I'll always remember that wedding couple who joined the march. Then, you're right the pigs descended on us. They came in force from surrounding cities as if L.A. didn't have enough of those racist dogs. Who sent them? Did the city council of L.A. approve? And what about the Chicano and black officers. I wonder how they felt about what they were doing? I've always wondered about the provocateurs present. I saw bands of them. They were not people of color. Were there agitators from the communist league or whatever you call them? I saw them on the route and at the park mouthing off drinking beer and verbally instigating.

Anyway thanks for this forum. I would be happy to share my flyers, newsletters etc. from that time. I was involved like many teatros in getting work out about injustice against in addition anti migra messages. I have many of our children's teatro plays dealing with these themes. Pasadena had quite active high school groups, the Mechas.

Count me in on your efforts to gather info. for your history project.

Vibiana.

That event was a very important one in my life and in the the experience of El Teatro de los Ninos. I walked with the teatro kids on the route of the moratorium march. We were tear gassed and forced to seek refuge in back yards and homes of kind strangers. Richard Vasquez, author of Chicano, helped me and gathered the kids for me and managed to get them away. Unfortunately, I was stuck in a time warp on a porch of a little house. I ran to it for safety but two cops ran from their three deep- block long military fashion lines on the street. They leaped over the fence and ran to me and proceeded to jab me with their sticks on my chest and head, taunting me. This was just a small attack. Others had blood spilled from their legs arms and heads. But at the time it was demeaning, cruel and their eyes were more cruel than their poking at me. like I was a mouse and they were mere cats playing with me. I tried to reason with them and asked them, Why are you doing this. what have I done? Are you husbands? Are you fathers? Aren't you supposed to protect people? They became enraged and I screamed for helped. A television crew was just over the other side of the fence. I yelled for help. they didn't help me. The guy just kept filming. I'll always remember these men. None of them helped me. I was so naive. I kept on hoping that someone walking by during this nightmare scene, proceeding in slow motion would help. But no one did. I saw a man peek out the window. I assumed he would help me. I was very mad at the cops at these guys who wouldn't help me. That week I went to the center for law and justice or Moratorium committee I forgot what was it's name I told my story like hundreds of others. They offered my solace..but no legal help, there were others who were worst off than I was. I grew up. I was disillusioned, I grew up believing that all men were like my father, my uncles and brothers. they respected the family, women and children. There were lines that were drawn. Places you didn't go. Places you didn't touch in our minds and on our bodies. Those two cops were young men who were family men, but became vicious animals out of control. bigots against my youth, my femininity, bigots about my mejicanidad. They were full of hate as they marched down the street in our barrio with it's neat white framed houses with gardens and puppies and makeshift patios and shrines to Our lady of Guadalupe. Our lady must have been shrieking that day, her little serene face dropping tears.

Vibiana