The 1970 National Chicano Moratorium drew 25,000 Chican@s through East Los Angeles to protest the disproportionately high mortality of Chicano soldiers in the Vietnam War and systemic oppression in barrios and colonias. A diverse committee of young Chicano activists—including revolutionary nationalists, socialists, and developing communists—organized the action, signaling the rise of radical leadership within the Chicano liberation struggle. Multiple organizations participated, linking the Chicano Movement to Black Power, the American Indian Movement, and global anti-imperialist movements. The demonstration was the largest Chicano mass action until the 1990s and showcased a predominantly working-class presence—farmworkers, janitors, factory and domestic workers—demanding social justice.
Today marks the 55th anniversary of the National Chicano Moratorium Against the War, in which 25,000 Chican@s marched through the streets of East Los Angeles to protest the high mortality rate of Chicano soldiers in the Vietnam War and the oppression and inequality we suffered "at home" in our barrios and colonias. The Moratorium was organized by a diverse committee of young Chicano activists-revolutionary nationalists, socialists, and (developing) communists-who represented the growing influence of radical and revolutionary leadership in the Chicano liberation struggle.
The Brown Berets, the Black Berets, La Raza Unida Party, the Crusade for Justice, La Alianza Federal de Mercedes, members of the Communist Party, Los Siete de La Raza, and others were all involved. In this sense, the Chicano Movement was connecting and identifying itself with the Black Power Movement, the American Indian Movement, and other radical social movements, especially of oppressed people of color, as well as with the anti-imperialist movements taking place at the time in Latino America, Africa, and Asia.
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