March 2006 LAUSD student walkouts facts for kids
The student walkouts in Los Angeles, California, began on Friday, March 24, 2006. These protests lasted for several days. On that first day, hundreds of students from at least five high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District left their classes. By March 27, over 40,000 students in Los Angeles had joined the walkouts.
The students were protesting a proposed law called the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, also known as H.R. 4437. This law would have made it much harder for immigrants to gain legal residency in the U.S. It would also have made it a crime for people living in the U.S. without official papers, and for anyone who tried to help them. People in Southern California, both immigrants and other residents, worked together to oppose this law. Hundreds of thousands gathered at Los Angeles City Hall to demand that H.R. 4437 be stopped.
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Los Angeles Student Protests
Student walkouts were happening across the United States during this time. However, the biggest student protests took place in the western and southwestern parts of the country. These demonstrations were even larger than previous student protests, like those against Proposition 187 in 1994 or for Chicano rights in 1968.
The students who protested were not only immigrants themselves. Many others joined because they supported the cause, or because their family members and friends were immigrants.
Key Walkout Events
One of the largest walkouts happened on the third day of protests. About 1,000 students from Kennedy High School in the San Fernando Valley marched towards San Fernando High School.
On the same day, another big walkout took place. Around 1,000 students from Los Angeles High School walked to Fairfax and Hollywood High Schools. Both of these schools were on lockdown at the time.
Protests at City Hall
In Los Angeles, many schools experienced walkouts. The main events happened downtown, where students gathered at City Hall. On the third day of the walkouts, aides to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met with student representatives from several high schools.
California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante also spoke to the large crowd. He told the protestors that they were sending a very strong and important message to Washington, D.C. At one point, protestors even marched onto the Hollywood Freeway and parts of the Harbor Freeway. This briefly stopped traffic in those areas.
Media's Role in the Protests
The protests also showed how powerful Spanish-language media could be. For days leading up to the main march on Saturday, these media outlets called directly for people to take action. All week long, Spanish media encouraged their audiences to march peacefully and respectfully.
Radio and TV Support
Local Spanish-language radio hosts, like Eddie "el Piolín" Sotelo from 101.9 KSCA-FM, promoted the rally on their shows. They answered questions from callers about the proposed law and how to join the march. One advertisement, played during Antonio Gonzalez's program on KMXE-AM 830, told listeners: "We are all committed to the Grand March of the People!" This ad even played on Monday morning after the main protests.
Univision, a major Spanish media company, also played a big role. Univision owns the largest TV network audiences in Los Angeles for any language. They kept running their rally promotions, helping to spread the word about the protests.
