Season 1, EP 3: A look back at the January immigrant rights walkouts

On January 30th thousands of youth from across the country and California came out in a strong force to oppose the horrific actions being carried out by ICE. For many of the youth it was their first time participating in a demonstration to use their voice to advocate for change in their communities. 

Our host and your favorite Chicano in Politics, Christopher Sanchez, sits down with some Brown Issues youth, Selina and Daylyn, and and a Brown Issues mentor, Marco Rojas, and dives into a discussion about how youth are organizing today and use the power of their voice.

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*All views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are of the speakers and not of their employers. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome back to another episode of me in Portasu, California, where we bring to you some of the voices from the community who are working in politics here in Sacramento but across the state of California. Today's episode is a really important episode. As many of you have probably seen in the news, youth led movements across the nation and here in the state to say that they're not gonna tolerate immigrant families being torn apart and that they don't tolerate the federal administration. So we're having a conversation on the January 30th walkouts, and those are continued afterwards and before stuff. Joining me today, our first time guest uh is Selena Mendez.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Hola, hi Marco Rohan.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

What's up, everybody? And Dalyn Exposito.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Hi.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

How's everyone doing? How's your trip over here?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

It was good, it was good.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Yeah, came from Berkeley, the Bay Area.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

I came from Berkeley on the Amtrak, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Oh, you came on the Amtrak? Yeah. Right on? What about yourself? Today's a Sunday high school student. It was good.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

And for me, it was just like an easy 40-minute Sunday drive from Stockton to Sacramento. Beautiful pastors, you know?

SPEAKER_02 1:08

That's great. And you know, typically most of our guests have all been from the Sacramento area. We're really glad that you all came out, made the trip, so you can share some of your some of the experiences and stories uh of that you've experienced uh with all the protests and demonstrations that have been going on. You know, uh what is it? There's uh but before we get into to it, let's talk about yourselves a little bit more before we get into the to the real topic of the day. Uh so we'll start with um Dalen. Dalyn, tell us, so you're a high school student here in Sacramento. How what interested you in to uh getting in into uh this kind of movement or how did you hear about brown issues?

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Um I got found like a flyer at school that one of my friends gave me and said that I would probably be interested in it.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

And then it was just you went to a meeting and it was the rest is all history? Yeah. Oh, that's great. And then so what what year are you, if you don't mind us asking, in in uh high school?

SPEAKER_01 2:05

I'm a freshman.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Oh, you're a freshman. Dang, starting early. I don't know, I don't know about for anyone else. I didn't start my freshman yeah. Um, but all right, Selena, tell us about a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Yeah, um, I'm originally from Santana, born and raised in Orange County. Um in a moment. And um I came to UC Berkeley for undergrad, and I'm currently in my third year studying there.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Well, thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

And Marcos, uh, from Stockton, California, teacher at Franklin High School, Yellow Jack, home of the Yellow Jackets. Oh, yellow jackets. Yeah, just make sure it's not it's not outgrove, y'all. Uh um, yeah. So, you know, born and raised in Stockton in the east side of the town, um, the demographics, the problems that we see, it all intersects with a lot of issues, even it doesn't matter whether it's in Orange County, East LA, East Stockton, Sacramento, like it's all intersect. So it's like um being that and doing the work there just matters a lot, you know. And then brown issues and utilizing the org where we can work together to help combat and fight against justice, you know, or fight for justice.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Right. And and you're a teacher in in Stockton, is that right? That's right. Yeah, so you know, we got a shout out to our educators, right? Yeah, the reason why high school students are here in their activism, right? Yeah, for sure. Sometimes it's just the influence of a good mentor. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

Absolutely, absolutely. I would say that like most of the times, you know, there's the narrative can go many different ways, but I'll say that for the most part, like the teachers really do care for the students and they're willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for them to have a voice, you know.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

That's true. And you know, I think that kind of brings us up to the topic of the day, you know, a lot of high school students, and I think I think we should all just take Dalen and all her friends, right? Yeah, I know for leading it. I you know, there had been several different demonstrations that have been done prior to this against ICE, against the Trump administration. But the high school students, like and college students of of course, like organized really well. So, Dalen, tell us a little bit about like how did that conversation, how was it happening on campus about students wanting to walk out and so forth? What it what was what was that like?

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Well, like a lot of people are talking about how they didn't like what was going on. So they're like, let's walk out, like show them that we have a voice.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

And was was a lot of people like in your classes or like around around the school, uh like very supportive, or how did the buzz happen? Like was it one group or did did everyone start telling their friends?

SPEAKER_01 4:37

It was a lot. A social media helped because we were posting about it and people had flyers around the school, like telling their friends that we're doing this.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

And awesome, awesome. And uh so I understand that you helped uh organize some of uh uh and participated in in the walkouts. So what was that like for you?

SPEAKER_01 4:57

It was a little bit nervous because you were walking out, you know, skipping school a little bit. Yeah, but for a good cause. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

Oh, but it sounds like you had a supportive parent too, though. Yes, my mom came with me. Yeah, and has has this been something like that you all been doing for a while, make making sure your voice is heard?

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Yes, I've been doing it for a while. Like going roll uh protests and all that.

SPEAKER_02 5:19

Oh, that's great. And uh what about for you, Selena? Uh what was it like on campus? What was what was the pre-work that's done to organize something like this?

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah, definitely. I think coming back from winter break, like we were seeing everything that was happening, like again, like you said on social media. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

Are you okay?

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Everything that was happening on social media and so leading up to campus, especially given like Berkeley, we're so politically active. I mean, given that's where the Third World Liberation Front was born, free speech movement. I think it was just getting everybody on campus ready to organize. Um, I know a lot of the student groups like Students for Socialism, Students Organizing Um for Liberation, Student Justice for Palestine were the ones that spearheaded the movement for the initial walkout. And as a community member, as like a Latina myself, it's so inspiring to see how quickly these students move to organize. And for me, it was using my voice, using my platform as you know, someone in student government, as a student representative, as a community member, to make sure that as many of us are out there, as many of us are using our voice. And given this day and age, social media is such a big tool right now. We had so many people come out to the initial protest, and it was so beautiful to see like people of different backgrounds because this problem intersects with so many different communities. So it was really beautiful to see everybody out there.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

Now I have to ask one because I know a lot of the peers, my friends uh that might be a little bit older, uh, are we used to have this thing. It um Facebook was really popular when out when we were in college. I know I know it's a thing, but um uh we would call them online organizers. So what happened is Facebook had I don't even know if they still have it, but you could create an event on Facebook and then everyone would confirm. And so when we would be calling each other, be like, How many people are gonna show up to this protest or this demonstration? They'd be like, the event page says a hundred. And then for like the first like couple of months that that page was alive, uh, that was true. It's like if 100 people said yes, 100 people were going. And then as time uh spanned over, uh, online organizers would be like, I got a thousand people coming, be like, we're all but we're like only a hundred of them are gonna show up. Because everyone would end up saying like that they're gonna they're gonna show up, but then they wouldn't. Uh so online organizing is currently effective in the in today's world, right? Uh, but was there uh was there any in-person organizing for at the college or the high school? Um like like like was it all social media that that organized y'all or was there any that were like where people were like, I'm gonna go talk to like five people today to try to get them to come?

SPEAKER_01 7:58

I'm not really sure about that, but I think people saw a lot of posters all over the school about it.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

So there's posters on campus. Oh, that's great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

And then oh, there had to be in-person organizing that's there is people, usually that table on Sprouse, that's usually where everybody walks by on school, and you'll have people talking, like sharing things, even RSOs, like student groups on campus. But there's definitely a lot of flyers, and I think something that's super effective with college students is social media. Like the posts got a lot of saves, a lot of likes, a lot of shares. And I think I know me personally, like it type it becomes talk on campus. Like, oh, are you going? Like, are you going to this art build? Oh, okay. Let me send you like a calendar invite. Like, come to the art build with me. I know I personally went, like, I made my poster, I made friends come with me. And it was the same thing the day of like asking friends, hey, where are you gonna be? Are you present there? Like, are you actually showing up to these, you know, movements? It's really easy for us to become extremely busy with everything that's going on. Classes, work, or like schedules become super busy. So when it comes to actually showing up and showing out, it's so important that like we hold each other accountable as well. So I think like as a community member and as like you know, in student government, like I tried to get as many people that I knew out there as possible.

SPEAKER_03 9:10

Dang, and yeah, I was gonna just say because at Franklin, um, I know for a fact that it was pure social media. So it was interesting is they all found a meeting spot at like downtown Stockton out of all places. And this was schools from the north side to the south side, right? And um, they all met there and they was through social media. Now, on now, mind me, I was not necessarily there hearing and listening, how they were organizing itself. But for the most part, I think social media is just a is just a huge um impact. It has a huge impact on everybody, whether we're millennial us millennials or even the next generation down, like it just has such an amazing impact, whether it's something they want to share, something they want to voice, and I mean that's how it got big in Stockton for sure.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

And you know, so clearly we talk about social media a lot as someone who has a podcast and has somewhat of a social media presence. So, what was the content that people were creating for it? Was it just a flyer they were sharing? Was it a video they were sharing? Like, how were how were people learning and consuming it? Like, what were they what were they thinking? What what what was it like in the classroom from the students that you know?

SPEAKER_03 10:32

I just so I know for a fact that with everything that was transpiring from the summertime in LA to you know, we're seeing what we're seeing in Minneapolis, I think that was like the build-up. The post itself was just something that carried off from the buildup. But people, you know what I mean, like are they angry, they're irritated, right? Because we're just seeing the power of law enforcement, the power of ice, and it's it's it's getting kind of it's getting crazy. We let's just call it what it is. And so, yeah, as adults, like for us, we can say, you know, this isn't good, but we bring the wisdom, but the kids have the energy, they're the ones with the energy, and that's why their food feet are on the ground, and that's why they were like, I'm good, I'm we're gonna walk out and we're gonna appro and it was nationwide, so that's just the power of really what they're seeing from their social media and they're seeing from their community, and they're like, nah man, forget that. I'm good.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

So what about with y'all? What what what was the content like?

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Um, on social media, there's like a post that had a map of how we're gonna get there and when to leave.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

No, no, no. So it was like it was a basic post, like just a flyer. Yeah. Oh, so is it no one like like doing a video to tell you like please come out?

SPEAKER_01 11:44

Or I didn't see one.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

No, dang, maybe that's a thought for next time. Or maybe that's maybe I'm too old to understand what's hip now. And then and then what about for you, Selena?

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Yeah, I think um there's always like ever like given Berkeley and like the resources that we have. We've tried to host a lot of like know your rights workshops and like doing a lot of infographics on like certain bills and legislations that are currently affecting like our immigrant and undocumented communities. So I feel like there's been a lot of support for our undocumented students on campus and like our community there. And so when this post came out, it was only natural for everybody to repost, to share, to send it out to friends. And I know following the initial protest, um, my I work in student government, and so our office hosted um another demonstration on President's Day. And so we worked with a local chapter of um Ponte Tus Monios, and we held a fundraiser specifically at our demonstration to go and support um for people that have been affected and displaced by ICE. So for us, it was multiple posts, multiple interactions. It was, you know, incorporating cultural pieces and cultural um chapters and organizations to also fundraise and support these communities. But I feel like posts, social medias, sharing things out there is really, really what's doing the groundwork right now.

SPEAKER_02 13:01

Yeah. And so what it sounds like is that it's not like it wasn't like a one-time thing. It sounds like there was a bunch of things that were happening and then that continue to happen, right? And so that's the whole reason why we call it a movement. Um, so let's talk a little bit about like what was it like that day. Um, for and I think it sounds like you all have different experiences. So uh we'll start with Dalen. Dalyn, and and and I'm picking on her only because if you've seen the news clippings from Sacramento, Sacramento youth came out. And Sacramento's popping. They came from all over Sacramento uh city, Sacramento County. Um, fortunately, they utilized the light rail system as as a way to bring all students together, but we have to hear it from the source herself. Tell us what was what was it like that day?

SPEAKER_01 13:47

It was very like there's a lot of people, so it was a little chaotic because light rail super packed. We like kept shoving people in. And so we kept just adding like different schools in the bus or light rail. Yeah, and then we got there and there was even more people.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

And uh when you when when uh I know at at uh one school in Sacramento, they're like at 10:30, we're all walking. Um, and then was there like a time set for your school as well?

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Yes, right after second period, so 10 33. Yeah, we all went out the PE gates and walked out.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

And and and what was what it what was that? What did it feel like when it was like 10:30 came and and you're like, I'm either moving or like you move first or you move second? Like what was it like?

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Yeah, everyone just stood there for a little bit and then more people came out. So once some one person went out, everyone started going out. Yeah, someone's waiting for the first person to leave.

SPEAKER_02 14:47

And uh to to go a little bit more on uh Sacramento, so all the high schools came together. How did you all organize that? How did that happen?

SPEAKER_01 14:57

I think social media, yeah, like I feel like one school started it and then we kept adding more schools in.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

And what was it like to have everybody present down at the Capitol?

SPEAKER_01 15:09

It was nice, it was cool, like showing that we can come together and work together to like give a message out.

SPEAKER_02 15:17

Dang, and um, so that's one high school. We're gonna go to Marco. So you're you're a teacher in class, you know that there's gonna be a walkout that day.

SPEAKER_03 15:27

So I gotta give you the whole backstory. Let's hear it. It goes back to 2018. You're gonna be like, why? Right? So this is my first year teaching, and that was after the shootings that took place the uh in Florida, and that was another walkout that transpired. This was my first year. So the first exposure of a walkout where students walked out, I was nervous because I was like, oh my god, I'm gonna get fired. I don't like what am I gonna do? How am I gonna control these kids? But then I realized after that year, I was like, they just showed their civic engagement, their agency, and I was like, Oh, they don't need me to teach them. This is real life education right now taking place. So that transpired to 2026, right? Knowing that I have that in the back of my mind, I was already like it it there was no certain time. I don't think so, because I again I was sick, uh, I don't know for the story. I was sick for two weeks. So I had the flu, family had the flu. So my first day back was the walkouts, right? And so I come in and I'm like, everyone's telling me, and I'm like, oh, cool, let's make it happen. Like, you guys do what you gotta do, right? And so um I'm listening in, and it actually started right away from the morning. I was like, you guys are bold. It is like 30 degrees outside. Let's make it happen. You guys gotta do what you gotta do. And they walked out and they started from the east side of town, and they just went, you know, they went through. And um, and that's why it's like that's the power of social media. You're saying anything is this because at the end of the day, they don't know what they're um like probably knowing what's going on unless it's on social media a lot of times, because that's the like what they're focused on, that's a lot of their time they're spending time on, whether it's on TikTok, IG, and Facebook, whatever it is, you know. And so and so like at the end of the day, so they're like watching this and they're seeing these posts, and now they're getting activated and they were just walking out. And I I loved it every moment. Um, I think that day I have I have three periods that day because I have one day or one period of those days is prep, or one of those periods is prep. So out of those three days, I think I had a one class was three students, another class was four students, and then the last class was five students. So I was like, I mean, I remember when they were walking, I was like, can we at least go see? But they didn't want to go. So I was like, man, I wanted to go. I just want to go see, can we just go see you from afar? Because you know, I have to be there, especially if the kids, some of the kids don't want to walk out. Yeah, you know, I just I have to provide them that safe space. But it was beautiful to see, it was inspiring, and that conversation still continues to this day because there's so many things that I know we need to touch on because I don't think the movement is it's over. I think um it's gonna continue for sure.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

And we we've seen that, right? There's a lot of high school students that are still mobilizing. Exactly. Um, and it there I made some some funny comments to friends. Uh huh. It was like after January 30th, like maybe a couple days later, other high schools in other areas of California walked out. I was like, ah, it's because they missed the first one, and then they got inspired. They're like, oh well, we can't be the ones who don't do it, right? Yeah, um, so but at Berkeley, there's walkouts all the time for all kinds of great issues. And and I don't know my eyes in in the sense that they're they're not important, but more so like, okay, so how how is it? This one was an impactful walkout. Um, how is this different than other demonstrations that have been done on campus before?

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Yeah, definitely. I think the one that me and my team specifically, um, her name is Elizabeth. She's someone on our team, she's amazing. Shout out to Elizabeth. Shout out to Elizabeth. Um, she really, really wanted to make this, you know, demonstration really impactful, really um intentional. So she reached out to a lot of more like cultural orgs, like brown issues. We had ideas, we had a lot of different um like communities come together to give and share their experiences in terms of like immigration. Everybody has a different relationship and story with immigration. You know, it can be your parents, it can be you, it can be your grandparents, it can be fifth, sixth generation. And this is still something that impacts you. It's still related to you. And so I feel like having students actually share those stories during our demonstration is what really kept people engaged. We had an art build the day before, and then during the actual protest, we had two fundraisers going on. One for the East Bay um Legal Sanctuary Covenant, and then another one that's gonna go to um displaced families by ice. But we had specifically hair braiding with ribbons. And again, like that goes also into like to play like that. Like what you wear is political, like our presence on this campus is political. And I think that was the biggest, biggest message that we were trying to show students is that our active existence is political because these spaces, these institutions were not created for people like us. And that's why I feel like Berkeley, like given its history, that's why there's so many walkouts and that's why there's so many movements because students, like first gen students, IPUC communities, those places were not meant for us. And so every day that we're there, we have to fight for resources, we have to fight for our voices to be heard. And so I think we really tried to center that movement in like tie with what's going on with our undocumented immigrant communities.

SPEAKER_02 20:33

And so uh I do want to touch on something that you mentioned, and Dalen, you gotta take notes, is that with the art build, we historically I've used that as a place to uh organize, like so, say you know that there's gonna be like a hundred people that are gonna go to the to your initial walkout, right? And then so you use the art build as a way to try to convert other people to go because you'd be like, all right, well, I know you don't want to miss class, or I know you don't want to walk out, but like come with us and like decorate the posters, right? And those where you where you're basically poster making, right? And then um uh in addition to any other art you might be doing. Uh and then so you just gotta get them there like once to be like, okay, well, this was kind of cool. Be like, are you sure you don't want to hold that poster tomorrow that you just decorated? Like, are you sure you really don't I'll take your notes right now? I'm like, man, I got some extra posters out in the rally. This round two, huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's it's it's great. Well, yeah, first you say, Hey, like, like I need someone to hold hold a poster at a rally, and then they go, Oh, I think I can do that. And then the next time they go, you're like, I need someone to speak at a rally, and they're like, uh, yeah, I seen how it was done. But the art builds where you start. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:39

I think it's also important to know that, like, given everybody's different circumstances, there's so many different ways to engage now. Like, donating is a way to engage. If you can't be physically present due to like different circumstances, I think we all have different privileges. Like, I have a privilege in being able to show up to a protest, other people aren't able to do that. Right. So it's like through social media that they're able to engage. By simply reposting, that's you supporting these movements as well, donating, art building. You know, there's a lot of different ways to engage, and I feel like it's important nowadays to show that, like, it's not only about like showing up physically, but it's you know, there's so many different forms of resistance and like standing up politically, even like community care, being a teacher, being an organizer, it's so important.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

Yeah, and then so you know, um, I do have to ask the question uh for at least the students was there any pressure from from teachers or administrators? Clearly, not this teacher, right? But from from anyone, I at least uh what we've seen on other social media posts from other schools was that um some campuses were saying you're gonna get your graduation taken away, like you won't walk in graduation or you're not gonna be able to go to the prom. Uh, was there any of that kind of pressure that happened with with uh students uh at your school?

SPEAKER_01 22:56

No, I don't like no one told me that. I don't think about anyone else told anyone.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

Oh, that's great. No, no, no. I mean, there there's some I think there were some school districts out there, it sounds like not in Sacramento, that were were trying to pressure folks.

SPEAKER_03 23:10

I think it was Lathrop or somewhere around there. It started with an L. I know they were doing some like um ways of trying to get kids in trouble, just like taking away uh graduation tickets. I would have to read more of that there for sure.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

I think there were some schools in LA as well who who were there. They um, you know, they were telling there were there were staff at the gates, like you're not going, right? And then, but they also had a list of demands for them. So fortunately, as a college student, you have a lot more freedom. You're an adult.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

So there's not a whole lot of pressure. Uh, was your faculty supportive uh of any of the classes you might have been in at the time?

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Yeah, I think um some of the like um a lot of like the ethnic studies professors and a lot of like our polytechnics. Ethnic studies major. They're always so supportive of you walking out and like participating in this. So, like, I know I have a class um the day of the walkouts that's like mandatory, and they were like, you like we only have one excuse absence, and they're like, please feel free to use it for this. Like, they were encouraging students, you know, don't let this class like be the reason why, like you're not able to like participate in this. So I feel like some administrators and some faculty were definitely very supportive. But I also feel like ours like school as an institution, like whenever there's rallies or whenever there's demonstrations, UCPD is always there. So we it definitely you feel the pressure of like having security there on campus.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

But I mean, given how many students there were, like it's like a safety protocol sometimes, but no, that that's great, and it's really important to have uh supportive faculty and teachers. Uh Marco, what is it like? You've been with students for a long time now. Uh you've been very, very supportive of them. Uh tell us what kind of like role does that that you kind of take on um personally when you when you're doing this.

SPEAKER_03 24:55

So I am an ethnic studies teacher in my Enchicano studies. So it's like I feel like a hypocrite if I would get mad at them to walk out. Let's like let's leave it as is, right? The fact that our classes were built based on the walkouts and so on and so forth. Like, I knew that. I just knew that um for me and our students, they were second guessing because they're this you can get nervous, right? This is something that is new or something that you gotta deal with higher authorities, and you're just worried about that. I just remember having a conversation because they were like, Are you gonna go with me? I was like, I look back, I had those three students. I was like, I'm kind of responsible for them, right? But then I was like, you guys have the power, go. And they they did it. And and even though they hesitated, they knew that there was gonna be some, at least as how as how I felt, they knew they had some um teachers that were gonna support them. And I know many teachers on our site did support them. Um, you know, there's other teachers that kind of made comments about it that kind of thought they're trying to throw off the movement, but ne lo doy dar caso, right? Because at the end of the day, they they are people that hinder the movement, right? And so for the fact, like for myself, and I know many of my colleagues, shout out to the ethnic studies team in Stockton Unified. Yeah, um, they they know what's up and we're continuing to put pressure uh in whatever ways we can to make sure that oppression doesn't last in Stockton and throughout California. But one thing that I do know, and I know maybe we'll talk about this like post the walkouts, but we have made the superintendent now like say, calm down. All right, let's let's have a minute, so let's talk about what you guys want to ask us. So, right now we're trying to organize that with in a town hall meeting with many leaders from Stockton and throughout the Central Valley for that reason, because of January 30th, you know?

SPEAKER_02 26:43

So, yeah, let's have a conversation about that. So, you know, as I said, this is a movement, so it starts from something that happened earlier on for us some of us. The movement is forever. Um, but um, and then you the action happened, and now what happens after the action? Um, so would love to learn what's what's happening, what are the conversations like? Uh, has anyone doing anything else? What are y'all doing? Uh, what is it going like? We'll start with Day Lynn. We just hey, this is a teachable moment. This is class that you didn't sign up for. Exactly. Well, you actually did.

SPEAKER_01 27:20

Um, I'm not really hearing a lot of conversation about it anymore, but there was some like the first like the week after it happened about how many people showed up.

SPEAKER_03 27:30

And were your teachers like able to talk to you too? Were they like, hey, this is this is a conversation we should have? Like, were they encouraging in those conversations? They at least added to their curriculum rather than just teach the curriculum itself, or one of my teachers, my ethnic studies.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

Let's I'm telling we're just building it. We're just not different guys.

SPEAKER_02 27:49

So, what was that conversation like with that teacher?

SPEAKER_01 27:52

He was happy that we did it, and he was proud of us that we went out and spoke out against what was happening.

SPEAKER_02 27:58

And uh, um, were any of the students wanting to do more after after uh they seen everything that happened and they did the action?

SPEAKER_01 28:08

I haven't heard any, but there's probably some, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

Yeah. Right on. And what about what about for y'all? What what is the next action? Or not action, but the the next steps that have been taken after that your action.

SPEAKER_00 28:20

I think for us, since we're like given we're a UC campus and a university, for us it's always, always fighting with our administration on what we can change and what we can feasibly do for our students. Um, I know one of the things is Berkeley, the city itself is sanctuary, but our campus is not. So we're constantly, yeah. So we're constantly urging administration and telling them, how are you going to center and protect undocumented students, undocumented workers? And that's always why we have like strikes for our like campus workers, and we're in support of that. But again, like it's the uncertainty of how is our university going to work with services like that, you know, like ICE and all of those things when our city, the one that we are in, is sanctuary itself. How can you have that contradiction? So for us, it's talking to our administrators, talking to our faculty faculty, talking to our chancellor, you know, what are you going to do if ICE is present on campus and holding them accountable more than anything?

SPEAKER_02 29:18

That's beautiful. You know, and and that's a reminder that um even though there's this bigger, it was a national call, but there's very local demands that you all had.

SPEAKER_04 29:28

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 29:28

And and uh I don't know if there was any inside in Stockton. From my understanding, did they go to city to the city hall? They went everywhere. Yeah, they went everyone everywhere.

SPEAKER_03 29:37

Just keep it as straight as I you know, some ended up in city hall, some went downtown. I would have loved many go to this the um the district office, yeah, because it's like right there. Oh shoot. But they kind of took a right and went to In N Out, but it's cool. That was another group, you know. Yeah, but everyone did their own thing. Um, I know for a fact though, the the board did hear us though, right? And when I say us, I'm talking about the students, right? Yeah, the board heard the students and if it forced the board to now have that town hall meeting that we're having on Thursday where some of my students will go and ask questions, and they're organizing that right now as we speak to speak to them because it's not just the superintendent, the board. You have uh our state senator, um Jerry McNerny there, uh one of the faculty members, one of our uh her right-hand leads, uh Redesha Ransom, Assembly member Radisha Ransom and other folks. So they're like kind of struck, they're like I kind of nervous, but at the same time, I'm telling them it's okay. Like just let's ask them questions that we know they have to answer to. And so they're carrying on that. But in the classroom, we're always it's the ethnic studies and Chicano studies, we're always talking about movements. Like right now, we're talking about the labor rights movement from starting from the Brasetto program all the way now to um where we have the UFW. And I it just carries back to our time together, you and I, back in the policy bootcamp. One thing that always stood out to me was you, Chris, when you said when you always showed us different protests, but you're like, What's their message? And I think that's the biggest thing that Stockton lacked just a little bit, where I honestly would say there's just there's messaging everywhere, right? We have the Mexicano flag, we have different flags, and but I'm like, listen, this problem is not just Mexicano, it's there's so many more. So we need to stand, we need to be more organized with the messaging. And so, like, I'm trying to make that clear every single time we talk about labor rights movements because we look at the UFW movement, they had they had their message to the T. It was clear. You look at different movements with ethnic studies in the in the beginning and in the 60s with the Third World Liberation Front and the build of Ethnic ethnic studies college, they had a message, it was clear. That's the one thing again. We're high school, you know, their high school students. This is a learning moment, so we can't knock them because they got the power, they got the the fire, but the messaging, we just gotta tweak it a little bit. We gotta know what do we want at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_02 31:58

So, yeah, no, that's true. I so and that's how we did meet through the policy boot camp that Brian issues host here at the state capitol, and um uh messaging is key, and and um, you know, fortunately, you're all high school students, so I think we all gave you grace.

SPEAKER_03 32:13

I mean, some of the high schools out there didn't have any signs, or it was just like, you know, ice out or you know, the next day they actually wanted they did another like a small walkouts, a group of students, so they came in my room and they're like, Can I borrow your Chicano flag real quick? I'm like, nah, bro. Like, no man. I was like, I can't have that happen, right? It's just like, you know, you know, I want them to make sure, like, I told them I was like, good, let's get some poster paper out, but they're like, no, I just want the flag. I was like, okay, so they just left the classroom. But you know, I think that's what it comes down to, man. Like they it's the message. Let's just leave it at that.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

I also think like it's important to note that yes, like Latinos are being affected by this predominantly, but this transcends to other communities. Like this is a multicultural issue. And what's super important right now is that all of our communities, all of our cultures come together and show solidarity with one another because it's not just hyper focused on one community, it's all of us. And when all of us are not free until like, or it's like um, what's it called? None of us are free until all of us are free. And I think that was our collective message specifically on Berkeley, is to show the intersection, how this affects different communities. And like, you know, I know for me as a Latina, like it's personal, it's so personal. Absolutely. And hearing that transcend to another community, another culture, it like makes me feel like empowered in a sense to also fight for other people in other communities as well.

SPEAKER_02 33:39

Yeah, and so uh, you know, going off of that, you know, I think one thing that um a lot of folks have asked is like, well, why does it matter for those that turned out that aren't that aren't Latino? And is and if you listen to them, they're like they're our neighbors, they're like they like these are my friends that are being impacted, and and if they're fearful to go to school or anything like that, like that's impacting me because I don't wanna I wouldn't wanna see a world without them. And so yeah, it's it's bigger than than than what some people may perceive it as, right? Um so I would love to just get a little bit more of a a sense of okay, um, you know, now that now that this is all over, what are the what's what's next? What do you think, where do we go from here? Uh where where does um where where does the momentum continue from uh what has happened and what has happened after the post walkout?

SPEAKER_03 34:36

I mean, I will say for the fact that I'm gonna keep teaching about it because I feel like like you just mentioned the movement never dies, so it's always gonna be taught about. Um I'm always mentioning, I'm glad that I don't always have to go back to the past and mention student walkouts, and I don't have to only start at the East LA walkouts in the 60s. I can be like, look, y'all did it in the 68, 69. Uh and so what was cool about it was the fact that um it just continues to have that conversation. We're building upon that and growing that level of uh education for the students. Um for their organizing, we're still figuring that out, what that looks like, but for the most part, I know that it's just again having that conversation about education and why the same reasons why they want to fight back against uh our communities is a lot of times they want to make sure we're not as educated and on these issues, and that's where we need to educate them, and then that's what empowers them. So they're you know that part of it.

SPEAKER_02 35:34

So And what about for you, Dan and what do you what do you think now that you've you heard the chatter before the walkout and you and you've seen the post and all your friends also seen it, but then you participated, you heard conversations happening that day, and then you heard some conversations happening afterwards, and you know, more specifically in your channel studies class, where do you want to see your generation of folks uh continue?

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Well, we sh I think we should still post about it, like what's going on, and I want to learn more about it, like in my ethnic studies, because we just started it.

SPEAKER_02 36:10

Oh, okay. No, that's great. And then I mean, hey, you're just a freshman. Imagine, like, if you're a senior, you know, you're de still developing as a leader in your on your high school campus. Uh so that's great. No, we're uh really appreciate that for perspective. What about you, Selena?

SPEAKER_00 36:28

There's so much to focus on. I think for us it's continuing at a local level, you know, at a university level, like urging our administration to listen to us and to center students' protections and students' rights. It's encouraging students to go out and continue protesting, to go out and use their rights as citizens, as people, um, to like, you know, have their right to expression and to um continue to supporting these movements. And on top of that, it's also fundraising, it's supporting the organizations that continue to center these communities and our grassroots in their movements. So that's why we're trying to host fundraisers, trying to keep, like you said, our communities informed because education is power. And I think for us as Berkeley students, we have the privilege to be at an institution that has so many resources and it's engaging our local communities, engaging our families into what they have the rights to do and what they can engage in. And so for us, it's multi-layered, it's multifaceted, the different things that we have to work on, but it's an everyday thing. And, you know, I'm excited to continue working and to continue pushing that movement forward.

SPEAKER_02 37:36

Dang, no, that's that's really important. And you know, for college students who are broke most of the time, being able to fundraise for families and for people who are impacted. And I only say that because college is super expensive and we got to do something about affordability. Yeah, not that you guys are broke for other reasons, but but to fundraise, like that that's that's money that you could be doing with other things with, and that's that's you know, that's very important and we're you know, very appreciative of that. Um, well, before we close out, we always give everyone a final thought. Uh so we'll go ahead and start with Marco and then we'll go to Dalen and then Selena, and then I'll close this out. So, whatever your final thought is, your shout out, your dedication, anything you wanted to close out this podcast with.

SPEAKER_03 38:18

I mean, first of all, I'm just grateful for Brown Issues, Kimmy Goodino, the rest of the crew to uh allow us to really allow me to build with the Franklin community in Stockton. A shout-out to Stockton Unified, uh Ethnic Studies crew because I actually it's like iron sharpens iron, so they're helping me build this, become a better teacher, and my students as well helping me grow, you know, because I know that um I have to be right for them as well in these times for sure. But it's super but the you know, I'm not me without my family. So my wife Brianna, uh my son Josiah, and my daughter Gianna, like they keep me humble, they keep me sane because I remember even through all these times, like when I just walk outside with them, it keeps me at peace, it keeps me in the calm, and that's a privilege that I do have. So I'm grateful for them always, you know. So that's my thought, you know.

SPEAKER_01 39:08

I'm grateful for brown issues because without that I wouldn't be able to have this opportunity. And my mom bear.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

Well, thanks for your mom for having bringing you on and for bringing you to many protests before this, right? So it sounds like you already have the active activation bug before then. That's great.

SPEAKER_00 39:28

I think I really, really want to thank Brown Issues, our Brown Issues Berkeley chapter as well. Um, people in our office, Eli Fena who organized the protest following that. Um, I want to thank my parents, my family, my community too. People from Santana are so politically engaged, and I think I am who I am because of the community that I come from. So honestly, shout out to everybody who's like, you know, I'm a I'm a product of the communities that have invested in me. And so I'm super, super excited and excited to continue the movement.

SPEAKER_02 40:01

Uh well, my final thought today is is two things. And something I've mentioned on uh on a podcast before is um, you know, when all the high school students walked out, what as an organizer, as someone who works in politics, I'm like, who's gonna be our next state senator or something member or who's gonna be a chancellor of university? That because because they walked out that day, they're gonna actually take action from here on out. And that kind of goes to my my my and so you know, wait, when that happened, uh, what was it uh last year, everyone walked out. That was my my first initial thought. Like, who are they gonna be the leaders? And I know we sparked some new new juice into to folks on on the 30th, which kind of goes into my second thought is that um this as Nipsey Hustle says, it's a marathon. We call it a movement because it doesn't stop, it's continuing to move. And and uh, you know, as young people, um, you might you might find yourself in this forever. You might find yourself in it for a couple of years, and we're really happy and glad for everyone who has contributed to the movement, or whatever part of the movement, um, but don't give up uh participating in any way, whether you super participate, organize, mobilize, are paid at a nonprofit to help with some of this stuff, are you just showing up, just continue to do it? Uh some of us have been in movement for years. I I think I started my my formal political uh move, you know, formerly being in political movements in 2008, and I'm still here. Uh and and now I work very deep into politics. Um, but I've had friends come and go, friends checked out, and that's okay too. But for all the youth that that that came out that day, um, we're we're excited to have you come and be uh uh the new blood. So thank you all for joining me on the podcast. A very important conversation, very timely for for California.

SPEAKER_00 41:57

Thank you so much for having us. Thank you, thank you. Trev, I'm safe.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

Dalen's like, I'm taking the light out. We're gonna pack a bunch of people in there.