I had watched this movie a while back when it came out and I cried. very good movie I recommend it this is something they left out the text books in school.In schools they usually talk about the segregation of blacks and whites and the way the school system was for black Americans. But in this case no one taught us about the ways latinos were treated in the school system. We would only hear the stories from our parents and grandparents about the struggle they also had. Thanks to the orginaztions we have now such as LULAC lets us now of the things that happened in the past so we can further fix the problems we have now and the future.

I have originally written a review of this back when the movie first aired (acutally before that because I saw a pre-screening at ASU) but removed my review because of a group of vociferous, petty people that were bashing the movie and were being actually hostile to me via personal messages. To hell with them. Here is my original review in its entirety: The movie Walkout revolves around the 1968 Walkout by Chicano students in Los Angeles protesting unequal treatment in the schools. I believe 5 schools were involved (Garfield was one of them & I'm willing to bet that it's the same Garfield High in L.A. that was featured in the movie Stand & Deliver w/EJO.) The students were subjected to corporeal punishment for speaking Spanish in class, they were forced to urinate outside during lunch hour because the schools would lock the bathroom doors, and they would be made to do janitorial work as punishment (but the white students were not.) After making "surveys" to find out the students' wishes, they attempted to have Dr. Nava (played by Edward James Olmos who also directed the film) a school board member present this to the board for implementation. After being stalled the students who were also in cooperating with the "Brown Panthers" (a militant group similar to the Black Panthers) to organize the change as well as a teacher Sal Castro from the school at Lincoln decided to do a Walkout of all 5 schools the following Wednesday. This delay was important because it enabled them to organize & "inspire" by getting the media to be there. As they mentioned more than once in the movie, if it isn't written down in history, it's like it never happened.They walked out on the following Wednesday. It was basically a fairly peaceful protest. They decided not to back down & walkout again. But this time only a few of the schools walked out. Unfortunately, the police were there & were merciless in their treatment of the students. The "news" coverage didn't include the beatings and arrests the students received. Downtrodden & feeling as if they didn't accomplish much, the students had a decision to make. They decided to walkout again- this time they invited family and friends. This sent a message to the school board that this would not just "go away" and with the support of their families, they were able to get the school board to listen. But this wasn't the end. The police then began to arrest the "L.A. 13" which were the organizers & the "Brown Panthers" that helped by supporting the students. These people were faced with "conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor" which is a felony & they were looking at 66 years+ in prison. They were finally acquitted a year later.One of the best parts of this advance screening was getting to meet Moctesuma Esparza who was an actual participant in the walkouts, one of the "L.A. 13" and the producer of the film. A long time activist, he has also produced such other movies as Selena, Gettysburg, Introducing Dorothy Danderidge, Milagro Beanfield War and Villa Alegre- a children's TV show from 1973 that I remember watching & learning Spanish from! (how about that 6 degrees of separation, eh? Even more bizarre is years ago I got Jaime A. Escalante's autograph- I presented it to Edward James Olmos the inspirational teacher, Mr. Escalante in the movie, Stand and Deliver and he signed the back of it! Cool, huh?! Also, Mr. Olmos' son, Bodie played the part of Mr. Esparza in the movie!) Mr. Olmos was also a VERY inspirational speaker. He mentioned that America does not have one person of color (apart from Martin Luther King, Jr.) that is a real national hero. One must wonder, how long? To meet someone who was a part of history, a part of helping to bring equal rights to people is very special. Mr. Esparza and Mr. Olmos helped to make everyone that was there believe that they too could make a difference. It was a movie that touched me on many levels- not the least of which was the girl's relationship with her father. He didn't understand why she was participating in demonstrations and being an "agitator." But he finally came around & actually encouraged her not to give up in her darkest moment.This was an excellent movie, entertaining, informative and relevant. The actual footage of the students being beaten and arrested was not shown until 1995! Almost 30 years after their struggle! I wonder today how often the news shows us only what they want us to see. The struggle for equal rights is NEVER over and I am sure this movie will help to inspire many people. I will definitely tape it on March 18th & buy the DVD! Hopefully the DVD will have lots of extra features. They said it is a possibility that the movie may make it to the theaters. I pray that the Latino/Chicano community will turn out in droves to see this- the support of both the Latino/Chicano community as well as people like myself that support human rights is vital to more movies like this one being made. Knowing our history- OURS as in American history that includes all races and their contributions is what energizes and keeps our way of life vibrant. Getting the message out there is more than half the battle. As someone once told me, "knowledge is power." ¡Viva la Raza! :)

One of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Would love to own a copy of the movie. It is a movie I could watch over and over again. The message is strong and could teach people a lot. I think it would be good to be shown in school, especially to teach a more accurate history. With all the things going on with immigration today, it would be really good timing. As soon as I can find a copy of the movie, I plan on having my children watch it and even write a commentary about what they think. The stars in the movie were awesome. I learned so much history that I had never known before. I would like to thank the people who put the movie together in order to help educate the people more.

The movie "Walkout" tells only a view that looks positively on the accomplishments of Mexican-American student organizers and one Mexican-American teacher who helped orchestrate it. I will tell you another view noticed during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1990s, as a student and Math Teacher in L.A.In 1968, Mexican and Black gang student hoodlums lead a group of mostly 200 Mexican students to walk out of Berendo Jr High while the Principal, Vice-Principal, Counselors, and other school administrators blocked the front doors with their bodies. Only 1/3 of the students participated in this walkout. Asians and Anglo students didn't take part. The same at Belmont High from 1970 to 1973.I remember that students were hit with a ruler across the palm of their hand in the early 1960s at 10th St Elementary, and being swatted in the butt (shorts were pulled down) by PE coaches at Berendo Jr High in 1967 and 1968, but students were not punished for speaking Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog, or Spanish at 10th St Elementary, Berendo Jr High and Belmont High from the years that I was a student there from 1960 to 1973. These public schools are all located in downtown L.A.Restrooms were always open at 10th St Elementary, Berendo Jr High, and Belmont High. At Berendo Jr High, Mexican gang students and a few Black gang students hanged out at the boy's restroom smoking and bothering others who needed to use the restroom, with school administrators not doing anything about it.Fighting was nearly a daily occurrence at Berendo Jr High from 1967 to 1969 between individuals, Mexican gangs, and/or Mexican and Black gangs. Individual students fought with their fist. Mexicans gangs fought with their fist and sticks. When the Mexican gangs (Clanton, 18th St) fought with the Black gangs, Mexicans came with fist and sticks, but the Black gangs pulled out guns, rifles, and machine-guns out of trunks of cars parked nearby. Its TRUE! Fights between Mexican gangs (18th St, Clanton) involved about 500 students between the ages of 12 yrs to 16 yrs old, and it looked like just a huge cloud of dust with small views through the dust of student's fist hitting another student, and sticks flying in the air! The cloud of student's fighting would slowly move across the street causing a traffic jam. This fight that I described occurred at the corner of Vermont and Pico! That was my school, Berendo Jr High!Fighting was not common at Belmont High from 1970 to 1973, but when it occurred, it was mostly between either the Mexican 18th St and a group of Filipinos, or individual fights between a Mexican and a Black. Other Asians races and Anglos didn't get into a situation of fighting at Belmont High.In the 1990s, I was a Math Teacher at Fremont High, which is near the corner of San Pedro and Florence. "NR" standing for "No Respecto" was the slogan carved on the walls and desks at Fremont High. During nutrition time and lunch time, buildings were "locked" down, meaning no students were allowed in the buildings. School clubs were not offered during lunch time (opposite of what it was at Belmont High during the early 1970s) because the students could not be trusted to walk in the hallways. Fremont High is 75% Mexican and 25% Blacks. Yet the real leaders in my math classes were the Black students, who bullied and yelled at the Mexican students to keep quiet. In each math class, about 60% of the students received "F"s with 1 or 2 students getting "A"s, and these "A"s were mostly Blacks, and most of these Blacks were school athletes in football or basketball. Rarely did a Mexican student get an "A". Walkouts occurred yearly while I was there. Having a yearly "Walk-out" seems to be a non-spoken school tradition at LAUSD for the Mexican students. When Central-American students didn't walkout with the Mexican students, they were questioned by fellow Mexican students on loyalty to "La Raza" pride. What irritated me most was for Mexican students to pulled down the American flag during class time and put up the Mexican flag or march the Mexican flag and wave it proudly in class!In 1970, Belmont High had a variety of clubs and students. Students were made up of about 35% Latinos (Mostly Mexicans, some Central Americans), 20% Blacks, 10% Anglos, 35% Asians (Mostly Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, and some Koreans, Thais, and Malaysians) and about 5 American Indians. Students would freely walk the hallways talking or going to their clubs, as Pre-Med, 10th grade - 11th grade - 12th grade honors club, Spanish club, French club, Chinese club, Pan-American club, and Chess club.Today, 2006, LAUSD is worser than it was in the 1960s. Today the drop-out rate hovers between 47-52%, and graduates have about an 8th grade education and 4th grade ability in math. Educationally, the situation for Mexicans is worser than it was compared during the 1960s! Restrooms are open (and most were open in the early 1960s) but are extremely filthy. Going into the boy's restroom is like having a nightmare. Who would want to go to a restroom that has graffiti on the ceiling, walls, and corners (spider-web graffiti), and having polished aluminum sheets as mirrors, because once a glass mirror is installed, it would always be hit and destroyed. Also, L.A. school officials let Mexican walkout student organizers use their L.A. school buses to attend walkout rallies for the cause of Mexican illegals working in the U.S. and wave Mexican flags at the rally. Today, school officials don't control the schools, the students do.The "walkouts' have had only one cause through the decades, to advance Mexican educational or political interests but not other racial (Blacks, American Indian, Asian) concerns. I noticed Black students didn't respect Edward Olmos because his cause was for Mexicans, not for Black-Americans!