Day 1: Bakersfield High leads massive student protest into downtown Bakersfield - By N.L. Belardes
The massive classroom walkout of 3,800 students wasn’t just in Bakersfield on Wednesday. The day before there was a walkout in Delano. And during the Bakersfield walkout, students walked out of classrooms in McFarland with reports of some students on Freeway 99. Reports indicated that administration officials tried to coax students there to speak on a football field.
Just what happened and why were the students walking in the Central Valley from schools like Bakersfield High, Arvin High, West High, Liberty High, South High, Stockdale High, Golden Valley High, Ridgeview High, East High, and Highland High?
It all has to do with Bill HR 4437 that is being debated in congress. The bill proposes to grant amnesty to certain undocumented immigrants in a pool of around 11 million possible cases. That amnesty question is hot in debate as individuals will be fined $1000, not once, but twice, and then also must learn the English language. If said undocumented immigrants don’t comply? Felony. Protestors are chanting “No criminalization!”, along with the bill’s proposal of more Border Patrol agents, a southern border wall, and some kind of work card for 1.5 million farm workers. And so students (and many other people) have been protesting across the nation in what is really a multi-ethnic question. Do a google.com search for immigration bill HR4437 and you will find out many more details about the bill and nation-wide protests.
In a specific Latino call for a meeting I received an email from the local Chicana Book Club that indicates possibly even another protest in Bakersfield specifically to march against the immigration bill and its possible effects against Latinos:
There will be a meeting tomorrow, Wed. March 29th at 6:00 p.m. at the Heritage of America Office at 1004 H. Street to plan an action here in Bakersfield in support of the National Immigration Day of Action on April 10th.
We believe it is important to make a stand here in Kern County in support of Legalization and against HR4437. We will be planning an action here in Bakersfield for Friday, April 7th, since Monday is the first day of Spring Break. Find out more at the planning meeting and have some input.
Please pass this email on to as many organization representatives that you feel may be interested. We need to stop this agenda of institutionalized racism against Latinos.
And not just that, but for the second day in a row there is a march in downtown Bakersfield as students from Centennial High head towards the city center… and I just got word of another protest, this going to occur tomorrow near McKinley School at a park near 2nd street. There is also word through myspace.com of another possible student walk-out this Friday.
The Central Valley is home to many Mexican immigrants, many likely undocumented. So when students with ties to the UFW carried such flags, mixed with a population of mostly Latino protestors, the march was in question. But not for long. Many students did carry Mexican flags, but then many began carrying American flags as well. I heard reporters had asked students (as did myself) if they just wanted to get out of class. I was surprised to hear how educated students were about HR4437 being a multi-ethnic issue, and how many students realized that the march was to be their own wake-up call in an 'awareness raising protest' that could only help grow the strength of follow-up protests in the coming days and weeks.
Early yesterday day I had arranged to meet with Dave Wulfekuehler, one of Buck Owens’ Buckaroos in an exclusive interview. While heading out to do that I got a call from Matt Munoz that students were walking out of classes at West High. I heard the day before there was going to be a Bakersfield High School walkout. Did I believe it? Not to the extreme of what I was to see.
I drove to West High and saw nothing. Not even a floating Mexican-American or Pinoy pride balloon. I called Matt who then said photographer Lydia of Mas Magazine/Cheesedoodle Productions had trouble finding the student-led protest as well.
And then I saw the walkout. Far ahead were the lights of many police vehicles, including some vehicles by BHS where administrators stood pointing students in the right direction to join their fellow protestors on California Avenue.
When I arrived near ‘L’ street I pulled over. I called Matt Munoz again and told him I found the protest. I then saw Lydia ‘Chanclas’ Gonzales in a very serious photographer stance snapping photos. I said hi anyways and walked to where I had a good view of the protestors. The crowd hadn’t traveled east as far as me yet and waited en masse to cross the street. When they did cross the street there was a high adrenaline rush of energy as I saw Mexican flags, students waving signs, and I heard some chanting. I looked for my own BHS kids in the crowd. One of them is in the same grade as protestor organizer, Angie Garcia.
At the time I didn’t know where the students were headed. They seemed disorganized at one point as they headed west on California Avenue. In the meantime I crossed to a median, snapped some photos of the crowd, of a passing car with a young girl with a cell phone, as many cars horns honked and passengers waved. I even stopped to take some photos of media folks who stood on the median and looked a little dazed on what to do and where to go. I can understand that. How could you find the organizer in such a crowd of youth?
I followed the crowd for a few minutes then as I headed over to jags coffeehouse on Truxton Avenue right across the street from the Rabobank I saw another small group headed there. I didn’t see Dave inside Jags so I called him and told him I was going to go across the street to the Rabobank to snap a few photos where another small group of protestors had arrived. At the Rabobank Ed Jagels stood giving an interview with channel 17 (I didn’t hear the interview but you can read Bako Carpetbagger’s views on the interview and his post on the protests). I snapped some photos of the Jagels interview then went and saw the massive contingent of protesters heading down Truxton Avenue toward the Rabobank.
To be continued…
More to come on the student protest Day 1 outside the Rabobank, near the city Bell, and at CSUB…
Just what happened and why were the students walking in the Central Valley from schools like Bakersfield High, Arvin High, West High, Liberty High, South High, Stockdale High, Golden Valley High, Ridgeview High, East High, and Highland High?
It all has to do with Bill HR 4437 that is being debated in congress. The bill proposes to grant amnesty to certain undocumented immigrants in a pool of around 11 million possible cases. That amnesty question is hot in debate as individuals will be fined $1000, not once, but twice, and then also must learn the English language. If said undocumented immigrants don’t comply? Felony. Protestors are chanting “No criminalization!”, along with the bill’s proposal of more Border Patrol agents, a southern border wall, and some kind of work card for 1.5 million farm workers. And so students (and many other people) have been protesting across the nation in what is really a multi-ethnic question. Do a google.com search for immigration bill HR4437 and you will find out many more details about the bill and nation-wide protests.
In a specific Latino call for a meeting I received an email from the local Chicana Book Club that indicates possibly even another protest in Bakersfield specifically to march against the immigration bill and its possible effects against Latinos:
There will be a meeting tomorrow, Wed. March 29th at 6:00 p.m. at the Heritage of America Office at 1004 H. Street to plan an action here in Bakersfield in support of the National Immigration Day of Action on April 10th.
We believe it is important to make a stand here in Kern County in support of Legalization and against HR4437. We will be planning an action here in Bakersfield for Friday, April 7th, since Monday is the first day of Spring Break. Find out more at the planning meeting and have some input.
Please pass this email on to as many organization representatives that you feel may be interested. We need to stop this agenda of institutionalized racism against Latinos.
And not just that, but for the second day in a row there is a march in downtown Bakersfield as students from Centennial High head towards the city center… and I just got word of another protest, this going to occur tomorrow near McKinley School at a park near 2nd street. There is also word through myspace.com of another possible student walk-out this Friday.
The Central Valley is home to many Mexican immigrants, many likely undocumented. So when students with ties to the UFW carried such flags, mixed with a population of mostly Latino protestors, the march was in question. But not for long. Many students did carry Mexican flags, but then many began carrying American flags as well. I heard reporters had asked students (as did myself) if they just wanted to get out of class. I was surprised to hear how educated students were about HR4437 being a multi-ethnic issue, and how many students realized that the march was to be their own wake-up call in an 'awareness raising protest' that could only help grow the strength of follow-up protests in the coming days and weeks.
Early yesterday day I had arranged to meet with Dave Wulfekuehler, one of Buck Owens’ Buckaroos in an exclusive interview. While heading out to do that I got a call from Matt Munoz that students were walking out of classes at West High. I heard the day before there was going to be a Bakersfield High School walkout. Did I believe it? Not to the extreme of what I was to see.
I drove to West High and saw nothing. Not even a floating Mexican-American or Pinoy pride balloon. I called Matt who then said photographer Lydia of Mas Magazine/Cheesedoodle Productions had trouble finding the student-led protest as well.
And then I saw the walkout. Far ahead were the lights of many police vehicles, including some vehicles by BHS where administrators stood pointing students in the right direction to join their fellow protestors on California Avenue.
When I arrived near ‘L’ street I pulled over. I called Matt Munoz again and told him I found the protest. I then saw Lydia ‘Chanclas’ Gonzales in a very serious photographer stance snapping photos. I said hi anyways and walked to where I had a good view of the protestors. The crowd hadn’t traveled east as far as me yet and waited en masse to cross the street. When they did cross the street there was a high adrenaline rush of energy as I saw Mexican flags, students waving signs, and I heard some chanting. I looked for my own BHS kids in the crowd. One of them is in the same grade as protestor organizer, Angie Garcia.
At the time I didn’t know where the students were headed. They seemed disorganized at one point as they headed west on California Avenue. In the meantime I crossed to a median, snapped some photos of the crowd, of a passing car with a young girl with a cell phone, as many cars horns honked and passengers waved. I even stopped to take some photos of media folks who stood on the median and looked a little dazed on what to do and where to go. I can understand that. How could you find the organizer in such a crowd of youth?
I followed the crowd for a few minutes then as I headed over to jags coffeehouse on Truxton Avenue right across the street from the Rabobank I saw another small group headed there. I didn’t see Dave inside Jags so I called him and told him I was going to go across the street to the Rabobank to snap a few photos where another small group of protestors had arrived. At the Rabobank Ed Jagels stood giving an interview with channel 17 (I didn’t hear the interview but you can read Bako Carpetbagger’s views on the interview and his post on the protests). I snapped some photos of the Jagels interview then went and saw the massive contingent of protesters heading down Truxton Avenue toward the Rabobank.
To be continued…
More to come on the student protest Day 1 outside the Rabobank, near the city Bell, and at CSUB…
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Thursday, March 30, 2006.
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You've really captured the spirit of the movement and the chaos. It's great to see kids taking a stand for something and being heard.
I agree with Matildakay... and each student out there protesting needs to be quizzed to see if they truly understand what is being protested... just to make sure they really know and are not using this historic event as an excuse to skip school... it's the mommy in me.
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