At least three events this weekend will mark the 51st anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium march in East Los Angeles, a key event in the 1970s movement for civil rights.
On August 29, 1970, more than 300,000 people participated in the largest anti-war and social justice protest held in Los Angeles up to that date. A rally following the march became violent when Sheriff’s deputies intervened, leaving several people injured and three killed, including journalist Rubén Salazar.
Two of the events will take place concurrently on Sunday, August 29 at locations related to the 1970 landmark event. An earlier event will take place on Saturday afternoon.
Chicanx Moratorium
A march and rally being planned by the Chicanx Moratorium Committee and Boyle Height’s Centro CSO: Community Service Organization will begin with a 10:00 a.m. rally at Atlantic Park. Participants will march at 11:30 south on Atlantic towards Salazar Park, where a rally will be held from 12:30 to 3:30 pm. Speakers include Congresswoman Maxine Waters, as well as family members of people killed in Sheriff’s deputy-involved shootings in East LA.
Organizers say the Salazar Park event will follow the Chicano Moratorium’s original march route of 1970. According to a release, “the 51st Chicanx march and rally… is to remember the historic significance of the Chicano Moratorium 51 years ago and the similar struggles in East LA today.”
51st Chicano Moratorium Political/Family Festival
The other Sunday event is a Political/Family Festival organized by the Historic-Original 50th Chicano Moratorium Committee. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Belvedere Park Amphitheater, next to the East L.A. Library. According to the committee, this is the original starting point of the Aug. 29, 1970 march.
In a release, the committee said the event “is a political demonstration and family festival to educate our community, and, voice our opposition to the present conditions of our people that are similar to what the Chicano civil rights movement in the 1960’s fought for in the U.S.A.”
The Annual Chicano Moratorium 2021
The Brown Beret National Party will hold its annual commemoration of the Chicano Moratorium at an event on Saturday, August 28, starting at 4 pm, also in the area adjacent to the East Los Angeles Library. According to a member of the Party, the event is being put together by “the original leaders and organizer” of the 1970 Chicano Moratorium.
“Come to celebrate our Chicano culture, originating from the community of East Los Angeles, the birth of the Chicano movement with spoken word, music arts, keeping our traditions alive as the Treaty of Guadalupe intends,” reads a flyer circulated for the event.
Large crowds attended similar commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium in 2020.
