East Los Angeles, CA – On Saturday, August 26, over 300 people, mostly Chicano, gathered at Salazar Park in East Los Angeles for the 53rd Chicano Moratorium. Led by Centro CSO and other allied organizations, speakers both commemorated the 53rd anniversary of the protest that took place at the same location on August 29, 1970 and highlighted the ongoing struggle for Chicano self-determination. Demands included legalization for all of the undocumented, community control of the sheriffs, no U.S./NATO wars, and protection of public education.
Los Angeles , CA – Organizers of the event commemorating the 53rd anniversary of the 1970 Chicano Moratorium will be holding a cultural, political teatro and music, free event for the public. This year’s event will take place Saturday, August 26 at Ruben Salazar Park in East Los Angeles. It will begin at 4 p.m. and end at about 6 p.m. All participants are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair or blankets to enjoy the program.
Los Angeles, CA – On August 9, Centro CSO, along with the Chicano Moratorium organizing committee, staged an action outside of the U.S. Marines recruitment office in East Los Angeles and joined a national call to action in solidarity with the Tampa 5. Joined with cities nationwide, 30 people gathered to protest the injustices faced by the Tampa 5, and to demand the U.S. stop funding wars overseas like in Ukraine and for Israel.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) is proud to announce that longtime Chicano revolutionary Carlos Montes was elected to co-chair the Chicano Latino and Other Oppressed Nationalities Commission, newly formed this July 2023. This followed his re-election to the Central Committee at our Congress held in May 2022. The Chicano, Latino, and Other Oppressed Nationalities Commission will help build Chicano power and develop theory. It will also work to forge alliances with Native American people in the Southwest. Carlos self-recruited to FRSO in the mid-1990s, when he saw the importance of building revolutionary organizations to fight for Chicano liberation and socialism.
Sacramento, CA — On June 24 La Mesa Nacional de Brown Berets held the annual Brown Berets National Gathering in Sacramento, California. Around 150 community members, organizers and Brown Berets from across the country attended the gathering.
Seattle, WA- On May 25, 60 students and community members gathered at the Ethnic and Cultural Center of UW Seattle to listen to the experiences of longtime organizer Carlos Montes. Carlos Montes is a nationally recognized leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights and anti-war movements. He co-founded the Brown Berets, a Chicano youth organization, in the late 1960s and was a key figure in the Chicano Blowouts, a series of high school walkouts protesting racism and inequality. Today, Carlos Montes is an active and well know community leader in East Los Angeles.
Los Angeles, CA – For the eighth year in a row, Centro Community Service Organization (CSO) held their May Day march and rally in Boyle Heights. Over 50 people gathered to commemorate International Workers Day and to uplift the demands of legalization for all the undocumented, protecting public education, and community control of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. The event was emceed by David Pulido of Orange County CSO and Juliana Castellón of Centro CSO.
Los Angeles, CA – On March 8, Garfield High School held the 55th anniversary of the East Los Angeles Walkouts. In early March 1968, thousands of students walked out of East-area high schools to demand equality in public education and protested inferior conditions. This was the first urban youth-led protest of the growing Chicano movement and received national attention.
Seattle, WA – On February 2, the Progressive Student Union (PSU) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) hosted a joint screening of the film Walkout.
Los Angeles, CA – On Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, a community is devastated and concerned over a recent string of building fires that have destroyed buildings that have landmarked the proud Chicano neighborhoods of Boyle Heights and East LA for many years. Some Eastside residents have taken the initiative to call County Supervisor Hilda Solis and voice this concern and call for an investigation. Many of these buildings are designated as historical and thus cannot be torn down without certain permits, but there is fear among residents that new pro-development owners of these properties may be using the outbreak of these fires as a means to get around legal requirements that otherwise bars such demolition.
