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L.A. Councilmember Gil Cedillo, a Former Roosevelt Rough Rider Quarterback, Recalls the 1970 Chicano Moratorium

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By Gil Cedillo One Saturday morning in late August 50 years ago, I finished my household chores early and slipped out of the house to meet some friends. We were going to the Chicano Moratorium Against the Vietnam War. I was 16 years old, and this would be my first protest march. As it turned out, those were my first steps in a long march toward a more just world. I played quarterback on Roosevelt High’s Rough Riders football team, which at the time was my main goal in life. That day I marched with Mario Chacón and some other friends my parents called greñudos –longhairs. An estimated 30,000 marchers made the Moratorium the largest political protest in Los Angeles history. The Moratorium was a turning point for legions of young community activists. Marchers included political leaders Esteban Torres and Gloria Molina, attorneys Antonia Hernandez and Samuel Paz, photographer Luis Garza, and educator Maria Elena Yepes. My greñudo friend Mario and I wound up being roommates...