This
was the site of the assassination of Ruben Salazar. Born in Ciudad
Juarez in March 1928, Salazar was a journalist who became an important
voice for social change. Salazar worked for the Los Angeles Times
and the Spanish-language television station KMEX, and over time
became increasingly critical of the Vietnam War and social injustice.
At the time of his death, Salazar was being investigated by both
the LAPD and the FBI who opposed his increasingly critical coverage.
Salazar was killed on August 29, 1970 while observing the Chicano
Moratorium, a protest against the War, drawing approximately 30,000
for a march from Belvedere Park to Laguna Park. As it approached
Laguna Park, over 500 police attacked the crowd, resulting in over
200 arrests, hundreds of injuries, and three deaths. The Chicano
Moratorium was the largest anti-war action on the part of any ethnic
community in the US. Salazar covered the event and afterwards went
to the Silver Dollar Café where he was shot by an L.A. County
Deputy. The bullet, shot from outside the café, hit Salazar
in the head. A Coroner's Panel ruled the killing a homicide, but
the deputy was never brought to trial. |
