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The 1960s was an era of social unrest in American history. Student movements that helped shape larger struggles for social and political equality emerged from street politics and mass protests. A myriad of literature discusses the social and political forces of the 1960s, particularly the liberal and radical student movements. Yet, as Carlos Munoz, Jr., argues, there is a paucity of material on 1960s nonwhite student radicalism and protest.' He outlines various explanations that have been provided by white scholars for their failure to incorporate nonwhite student radicalism into their work: that the black student movement was not radical enough and that Mexican students were simply not involved in the struggles of the sixties. However, though Munoz points to the omission of working-class people of color in the literature on 1960s student movements, he neglects to include a serious analysis of gender in his own examination of the Chicano Movement and the politics of identity.
In 1968 people witnessed student demonstrations in countries such as France, Italy, Mexico, and the United States. In March of that year well over ten thousand students walked out of the mostly Chicano schools in East Los Angeles to protest the inferior quality of their education. This event, which came to be known as the East Los Angeles School Blowouts, has been viewed through a variety of analytical historical perspectives including those of protest politics, internal colonialism, spontaneous mass demonstrations, the Chicano student movement, and as a political and social development of the wider Chicano Movement. None of these historical accounts, however, include a gender analysis.2 Indeed, even contemporary depictions, such as the important documentary series Chicano: A History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, continue to marginalize women's activism; part three of the series, "Taking Back the Schools," fails to tell the stories of young Chicanas and the roles they filled in the East Los Angeles Blowouts.3
As an educational researcher and a Chicana, I am interested in the women's voices that have been omitted from the diverse historical accounts of the Blowouts-particularly those women who were key participants.4 The Blowouts provide an opportunity to rediscover a history that has been unrecognized and unappreciated. In addition, a historical analysis that focuses on the Blowout participation of women allows...