City of Angels 2018-19

In our discussion last class, we just scratched the surface of the history of Chicano resistance in Los Angeles. The Blowouts in 1968 embodied much of the anger and dissatisfaction with social and political systems that, time and time again, left out POC and low-income individuals. The blowouts were effective in organizing the Chicano community in Los Angeles, and responsible for a lot of the way neighborhoods in LA, specifically on the East/Northeast side, are shaped today. Even though the walkouts eventually stopped, and kids returned to class, the force they represented forever changed Los Angeles and Los Angeles politics. Antonio Villaraigosa, a student leader of the walkouts, later became the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles, and Vickie Castro, a student at the time and an organizer of the Brown Berets, became the first Latina to serve as a school board member in 1993.   While the walkouts were an extremely important turning point in LA (and national) history, they were...

While reading Always Running, it has become obvious that the idea of machismo plays a major role in gang culture. To provide some context, the glorification of masculinity has been around since the 16th century when the conquistadors transferred this dominant attitude to the Aztecs. They basically viewed men as more intellectually, physically, and spiritually superior to women, and these stereotypes are what formed the idea of a “macho man”. As time passed and as races began to mix in America, a caste system was developed. It put white people at the top, Spaniards under them, and the Mexicans and Indigenous people at the bottom. At this point in time, machismo became a way to retaliate against white people and Spaniards in order to prove their strength. This violence led to Mexico seeking independence from Spain in the early 20th century during the Revolutionary War. In the history above it’s clear that there was a period of time where machismo didn’t always mean feeling superior to w...

This past week, we have begun reading on a new book that focuses on the narrative of Luis Rodriguez. In his book, we learn how he had to overcome language barriers in school and learn to survive in a more dangerous neighborhood. When Rodriguez and his family moved to Los Angeles, they had trouble fitting in, and teachers often picked on Luis for not being able to speak English well. Furthermore, Alfonso, Luis's father, had difficulty finding a job in America despite being a principal of a high school in Mexico. The obvious struggle that minority immigrants face is one of Los Angeles's many problems and has affected thousands of families throughout the city. Last year, California had a "Day without Immigrants," where immigrants in Los Angeles did not go to work to highlight the contributions immigrants make to the U.S economy. The demonstration was aimed at Trump who planned to crack down on immigration by building a border wall, taking federal funding from sanctuary...