Ruben Salazar

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Ruben Salazar

Rubén Salazar (March 3, 1928 - August 29, 1970) was a Mexican-American journalist

Journalist

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren't biased....
killed by a sheriff's deputy during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
on August 29, 1970 in East Los Angeles

East Los Angeles

East Los Angeles can refer to:* East Los Angeles, California * East Los Angeles ...
, California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. During the 1970s, his killing was often cited as a symbol of unjust treatment of Chicanos by law enforcement.

Salazar was a news reporter and columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating copy that can sometimes be strongly opinionated. Column appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs on the Internet....
for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States....
from 1959 to 1970. He was also news director

News Director

A news director is an individual at a broadcast station or broadcast network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, photographers, copy writers, television producers, and other technical staff....
for the Spanish language

Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
television station KMEX in Los Angeles.

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Encyclopedia

Rubén Salazar (March 3, 1928 - August 29, 1970) was a Mexican-American journalist

Journalist

Vietnam War

East Los Angeles

East Los Angeles can refer to:* East Los Angeles, California * East Los Angeles ...
, California

California

Columnist

News Director

Spanish language

Chicano Moratorium

The Chicano Moratorium, formally known as the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, was a movement of Chicano anti-war activists that built a broad-based but fragile coalition of Mexican-American groups to organize opposition to the Vietnam War....
March, organized to protest the disproportionate number of Chicanos killed in the Vietnam War. The peaceful march ended with a rally that was broken up by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is a local county law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. It is the seventh largest law enforcement agency in the United States ....
using tear gas. Panic and rioting ensued, during which Salazar was shot in the head at short range with a tear gas projectile while seated in The Silver Dollar Cafe. A coroner

Coroner

A coroner or forensics examiner is an official responsible for investigating deaths, particularly some of those happening under unusual circumstances, and determining the cause of death....
's inquest

Inquest

Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"....
ruled the shooting a homicide

Homicide

Homicide refers to the act of killing another human being. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English....
, but the sheriff's deputy involved, Tom Wilson, was never prosecuted

Prosecutor

The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the Civil law inquisitorial system....
. At the time many believed the homicide was a premeditated assassination

Assassination

Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure. Assassinations may be prompted by ideology, politics, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by contract killing, revenge, or celebrity or may be mental disorder....
of a prominent, vocal member of the Los Angeles Chicano community.

The story of Salazar's killing gained nationwide notoriety with the release of "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan

Strange Rumblings in Aztlan

"Strange Rumblings in Aztlan" is an article published in Rolling Stone #81, dated April 29, 1971 and written by Hunter S. Thompson.The article takes its title from the name Aztl?n, referring to the "conquered territories" of Mexico that came under United States control after the Mexican-American War....
," an article written for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
magazine by noted gonzo journalist

Gonzo journalism

Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism which is written subjectively, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first person narrative....
Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter Stockton Thompson was an United States journalist and author, most famous for his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas . He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of journalism where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories....
and released on April 29, 1971 in Rolling Stone #81.

Honors

In 1971, Salazar was posthumously awarded a special Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award

Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award

The Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Journalism is a journalism award named after Robert F. Kennedy and known as the "Poor People's Pulitzers" in media circles....
and, after the controversy of his death had subsided, Laguna Park-- site of the 1970 rally and subsequent police action-- was renamed Salazar Park

Salazar Park

Ruben F. Salazar Park is a public park in Los Angeles, California, and is administrated by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation....
in his honor. His death was commemorated in a corrido

Corrido

The corrido is a popular narrative song and poetry form, a ballad ,of Mexico. It derives largely from the 18th century Spanish romance , and in its most known form consists of 1) a salutation from the singer and prologue to the story; 2) the story itself; 3) a moral and farewell from the singer....
by Lalo Guerrero

Lalo Guerrero

Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero , was a Mexican-American guitarist, singer and farm labor activist best known for his strong influence on today's Latin musical artists....
entitled "El 29 de Agosto". At Sonoma State University

Sonoma State University

Sonoma State University is a public, coeducational business and liberal arts college affiliated with the California State University system. The main campus is located in Rohnert Park, California and lies approximately south of Santa Rosa, California and 1 hour north of San Francisco, California....
, the former library, now an administration and classroom building, is named for Ruben Salazar, in memory of his work in Sonoma County as a reporter for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Press Democrat

The Press Democrat, with the largest circulation on the California North Coast, California, is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California, California....
. As well, a classroom building at California State University, Los Angeles

California State University, Los Angeles

California State University, Los Angeles is a public university, part of the California State University system. The campus is located in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the University Hills, Los Angeles, California district at the center of Los Angeles metropolitan area just five miles from Los Angeles civic and cultural center....
is named for him. On October 12, 2006, the hall was rededicated with the unveiling of his portrait by John Martin.

On October 5, 2007, the United States Postal Service announced that it would honor five journalists of the 20th century times with first-class rate postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is adhesive paper evidence of a fee paid for Mail services. Usually a small rectangle attached to an envelope, the stamp signifies the person sending it has fully or partly paid for delivery....
s, to be issued on Tuesday, April 22, 2008: Martha Gellhorn

Martha Gellhorn

Martha Gellhorn was an United States novelist, travel writer and journalist, considered to be one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century....
, John Hersey

John Hersey

John Richard Hersey was a Pulitzer Prize-winning United States writer and journalism considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling devices of the novel are fused with non-fiction reportage....
, George Polk

George Polk

George Polk was an United States journalist for CBS who disappeared in Greece and was found dead a few days later on Sunday May 16, 1948, shot at point-blank range in the back of the head, and with hands and feet tied....
, Ruben Salazar, and Eric Sevareid

Eric Sevareid

Arnold Eric Sevareid was a CBS news journalist from 1939 to 1977. He was one of a group of elite war correspondents—dubbed "Murrow's Boys"—because they were hired by pioneering CBS newsman Edward R....
. Postmaster General

United States Postmaster General

The United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence....
Jack Potter announced the stamp

Stamp

A stamp is a distinctive mark or impression made upon an object, for instance those made on a piece of paper and used to indicate the prepayment of a fee or tax....
series at the Associated Press
Associated Press

The Associated Press is an Media of the United States news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, Radio station and Television station stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staffers....
Managing Editors Meeting in Washington

Washington

Washington is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute....
.

External links

Mario T. Garcia, ed., Ruben Salazar: ; Selected Writings, 1955-1970 (University of California Press, 1995).