Vickie Castro
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Victoria "Vickie" Castro (born August 20, 1946) is an American educator and political activist known for her work with the Young Citizens for Community Action,
Brown Berets The Brown Berets (Spanish: ''Los Boinas Cafés'') is a pro-Chicano paramilitary organization that emerged during the Chicano Movement in the United States during the late 1960s. David Sanchez and Carlos Montes co-founded the group modeled af ...
, and the East L.A. walkouts. Castro went on to work for the
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...
, and eventually ran for office becoming a member of the LA School Board.


Background

Born in Los Angeles, Castro attended Roosevelt High School. After graduating from Roosevelt, Castro went on to attend
California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...
. While in college, she had a political awakening going from a predominantly
Mexican-American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...
world to one where they were almost non-existent. With David Sanchez, in 1966, Castro was part of the Annual Chicano Student Conference at Camp Hess Kramer, where a group of high school students discussed different issues affecting Mexican Americans in their
barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...
s and schools. These high school students formed the Young Chicanos For Community Action, which eventually became the Brown Berets. As a founding member of the
Brown Berets The Brown Berets (Spanish: ''Los Boinas Cafés'') is a pro-Chicano paramilitary organization that emerged during the Chicano Movement in the United States during the late 1960s. David Sanchez and Carlos Montes co-founded the group modeled af ...
, Castro played a key role in the organization of the East L.A. walkouts on March 6, 1968. Her car was used to pull down a fence surrounding Roosevelt High School. After college she began working as a teacher for Frank Armendariz at Hollenbeck Junior High School, eventually becoming the principal at Belvedere Junior High School. After 25 years with the
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...
, and she ran for office in 1993, becoming a member of the LA School Board, the second
Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
on the board after
Leticia Quezada Leticia Quezada (born July 12, 1953) is a Mexican-American politician and educator. She was the first Latina member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board, later becoming President of the Board of Education, and is known for her advocacy o ...
. In 2001, she left the board to become the principal of Hollenbeck Junior High School.


References


Further reading

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Victoria 1946 births Living people American community activists American politicians of Mexican descent Activists for Hispanic and Latino American civil rights American civil rights activists California State University, Los Angeles alumni School board members in California