Latino Walk of Fame Gives Math Teacher Place in Sun

Jaime Escalante, who gained fame when his success teaching Garfield High School students and was portrayed in the 1987 film “Stand and Deliver,” was honored Wednesday with a sun-shaped plaque on the Latino Walk of Fame in East Los Angeles.

Organizers said Escalante was selected for the “tremendous impact he has had on education.”

“The bond that Escalante created between himself and his students, the patience he showed and the way he prepared a generation of students for higher education are just a few of the reasons we have selected him,” said Riad Abboud, chairman of the Latino Walk of Fame.

Escalante, 67, who now teaches in Sacramento, is the third person to be honored on the walk, which is sponsored by the Whittier Boulevard Merchants Assn. The other sun recipients were Cesar Chavez and former congressman Edward Roybal.

Now a burgundy 42-inch round of granite edged in gold bears Escalante’s name in front of 4585 E. Whittier Blvd.

“Anyone who contributes to the culture can be included in the Latino Walk of Fame,” said Abboud, who is Lebanese American. “You don’t have to be Latino to be honored. The door to East Los Angeles is open to everyone.”