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About
Roosevelt High School became categorized as a “Mexican school” along with Lincoln High School, Garfield High School, and others near East LA. This categorization derived in the twentieth century when an abundance of Mexican immigrants enrolled in public schools and school boards segregated the establishments. Nearly 83 percent of Roosevelt's students were of Mexican descent.

East LA Walkouts
The East LA Walkouts or Blowouts were a result of long endured injustices involving students at East LA high schools. The curriculum of "Mexican schools" was designed to prepare its students to eventually join the working-class in place of their parents because graduation rates were so low. The Watts Riots of 1965 proved to students that resistance was necessary for social changes. Students were determined to change the curriculum and as the Chicano Movement was taking place, Sal Castro, a teacher at Lincoln High School, organized the East L.A. Walkouts. Approximately 10,000 students from Lincoln, Belmont, Roosevelt, Garfield, and Wilson High Schools participated with support from teachers, parents, college students, and community members.

With Castro's help, students from the high schools formed a central committee to plan actions. After the principal at Wilson High School cancelled the senior class play on March 1, 1968, enraged students participated in an impromptu walkout. This situation called for a central committee meeting to decide whether all schools would engage in a larger walkout. However, Garfield High students decided for themselves and staged a campus-wide walkout on March 5th. Shortly after, walkouts ensued at Roosevelt and Lincoln. The last walkout took place on March 8th and ended at Hazard Park which is a short distance from Roosevelt High School.

Japanese Internment Camps
When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Japanese were forced into internment camps to prevent them from turning on the United States. They were given orders to drop all belongings and expect to be taken away from their communities until further notice. Nearly a third of Roosevelt High School's students were withdrawn because they were Japanese. They were required to attend schools within those camps. However, resources were scarce and classes were limited.

Prior to their withdrawal from Roosevelt High School, the Japanese American Students Club created a Japanese Garden on campus in 1937. The garden was not maintained during World War II which lead to its deterioration. It was rebuilt in 1996 and dedicated to Japanese-American students who were victims of displacement during the war.