"Walkout", HSA Movie of the Month

I went to HSA's first movie on a Thursday this time around and had the pleasure of watching "Walkout", a very powerful film based on inequality and injustice, particularly towards Hispanic-American culture. It kind of ties into J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology for it also deals with racial division and mistrust based on outside appearances and cultural differences, such as the dwarves and elves. In "Walkout", a group of hispanic high school students organized a county-wide walkout of 5 schools because of the unfair and unjust conditions placed upon them by the white-majority school board of that district within the state of California. The film was based on true events that occurred in the late 60's and early 70's. That was a time of segregation for most Hispanic people living in the United States of America. Corporal punishment was administered to students who spoke Spanish in school and therefore forcing the English language on them. Students were not allowed access to restrooms during lunch and breaks (and they were locked) and if found relieving themselves outside, they were force to do janitorial work on school grounds as a form of punishment. When the students formed the walkouts, city police were sent in and many students were hurt from the beatings the police gave to students attempting to advocate their right to assemble peacefully. Some were thrown in jail as well. It wasn't until the families and friends of students came to demonstrate their concerns along with their children that the school board finally opened it' eyes and started treating the hispanic people as a people with equal rights and opportunities for the pursuit of a higher education. The movie was very eyeopening to me and see some of the same racial division happening throughout our reading of Tolkien this semester in class.