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East Los Angeles Chicano student walkout of high schools protesting Trump

By Carlos Montes

ELA high school students rally at historic Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights

Los Angeles, CA – Several thousand high school students walk out of over six schools to protest Trump. Chanting, “Not my president,” “No deportations,” “Sí se puede,” the students kicked off their march by first assembling at Mariachi Plaza, then marching to LA City Hall. Once at city hall, students held a large rally where they were met by more students, many of whom walked for over eight miles. The students, many from undocumented families, are angry with Trump's call for mass deportations, doing away with DACA, and putting up an additional border wall. There were no arrests.

The participating high schools included Garfield, Roosevelt, Lincoln, Sotomayor, De la Hoya, and others.

The student-led and organized walkout, march and rally was supported by parents, several community groups including Inner City Struggle ,a local nonprofit; Centro CSO, and the Labor Community Strategy Center.

One student who declined to give his name due to potential retaliation said, “I am here to support my family and protest Trump, he is not my president.”

East LA has a history of student walkouts on many issues, including the historic Chicano movement’s East LA high walkouts of 1968 demanding quality education.

Students have not stated whether an upcoming walk out is planned. The students are sending a message from ELA to Washington D.C. that they will not accept attacks on our community.

#LosAngelesCA #StudentMovement #PeoplesStruggles #CentroCSO #LaborCommunityStrategyCenter #notmypresident #InnerCityStruggle