Perhaps one of the most influential leaders during the Chicano Movement was Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzalez. Assembling a community of youth and students with cultural pride, he assembled conferences for the youth so they could contribute and acknowledge a stronger Chicano cultural identity. In March of 1969 Gonzales hosted the first National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in Denver. His Spiritual Plan of Azltan was adopted as the founding manifesto of the Chicano Movement (history.deneverlibrary.org) The Conference was also significant because it brought together many young people of all types – students, nonstudents, militant youth from the street gangs (vato locos), and exconvicts (pintos) – to discuss community issues and politics" (Muñoz,75). Corky Gonzales, a powerful leader, who can related to the following quote, "You must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beast; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second" (Machiavelli, 83). Taking initiative for Mexican Americans civil rights he supported high school walkouts, and demonstrations against police brutality. He was one of the first civil/human rights leaders to speak out against the Vietnam War at mass demonstrations around the country (quevivacorky.com). Gonzales help start a foundation for all Mexican Americans that many other great leaders such as Ceasar Chavez and Reiss Lopez Tijerina were shaking up injustices in the labor system, presenting Chicano youth in Los Angeles with role models to emulate (kcet.org). Gonzales helped raise awareness and ignite the CM in the 1960's.
In 1968 over five different high schools in Los Angeles took part of a massive school walk out. Over 1,00 students walked out of school making the Los Angeles School system reach news across the country, A Los Angeles news reporter pronounced the walk out as "The Birth of Brown Pride" (Muñoz, 64).