Why commemorate the Chicano Moratorium?

Why commemorate the Chicano Moratorium in February?

http://peoplesworld.org/why-commemorate-the-chicano-moratorium-in-february/

by: Rosalio Muñoz
February 25 2010

People familiar with the term "Chicano Moratorium," identify it with
the date of August 29, 1970, when some 30,000 Chicanos and
progressives marched through East Los Angeles against the Vietnam
War. Most also identify it with the fatal "mistake" shooting of
journalist Ruben Salazar by a county sheriff who was ostensibly
quelling a riot.

The August 29 1970 Chicano Moratorium is an event that all the people
of the United States should know about, but don't. Most histories pay
little attention to Mexican Americans and ignore events like the
moratorium. When it is mentioned the focus is on Salazar's death or
rioting by angry demonstrators, but not on the sheriff's attack, and
even less on why so many marched that day, which was the
disproportionate burden and social costs of the unjust war on
Chicanos/Mexican Americans.

To get a better idea about why and how Chicanos organized their own
peace demonstrations during the Vietnam War it is important to
understand the moratorium as part of a movement, a cause that
developed consciously and grew over time. The main reason August 29,
1970, national moratorium was so large was because over 20 other
smaller moratoriums had taken place beforehand. The most critical of
those was held February 28, 1970, also in East Los Angeles.

In my opinion February 28 was a decisive turning point in the Chicano
antiwar movement. It rained relentlessly that day, over 2 inches, I
believe, yet 5,000 Chicanos turned out and kept on marching to Laguna
Park, which truly was a laguna (lake) that day. Hundreds if not
thousands of shoppers on the parade route stopped, watched and
cheered the passing marchers despite the downpour.

It was the first Chicano demonstrations when a Chicana organization,
Las Adelitas de Aztlan, marched in its own right,. Many units of the
Brown Berets marched having come from Santa Barbara, Riverside,
Oakland and San Diego. College MEChA groups marched with their banners.

It could have been larger without the rain, but not more dramatic.
The Chicano movement was mobilizing its communities en masse against
the unjust Vietnam war where Chicanos were dying at twice the rate of
others! The burning words of the grassroots leaders speaking at the
rally were not doused by the rain. They carried more meaning and
conviction because of it.

Perhaps just as important is that the dramatic march, the on-looking
crowd and inspiring rally were filmed and professionally developed
into a people's documentary that truly made history. The moratorium
had 20 copies made that were shown hundreds and hundreds of times in
barrio after barrio across the United States. When the film was shown
to 2,000 Chicano youth leaders at the Second Chicano Liberation
Conference on March 28, 1970, at the Crusade for Justice in Denver,
they overwhelmingly voted to support a National Chicano Moratorium on
August 29, 1970, in East Los Angeles with smaller local moratoriums
across the country organized to build for the national one. Some
Chicanos who opposed the war in part felt that peace moratoriums were
a white middle class "thing," however the film dramatically showed
that Chicano moratoriums could be full of Chicano Power adding to all
the people's power for peace.
--

You can see this film this Sunday, February 28 at 2p.m. at Salazar
Park Hall 3864 Whittier Blvd (East) Los Angeles 90023. The film
showing will be followed by a panel discussion of leaders of the 1970
march in the rain and activists of today. It's all about peace! The
event is sponsored by the 40th Anniversary Commemoration Committee of
the Chicano Moratoriums, email chicano.moratorium@gmail.com, tel. 323-229-1994.

.