Ruben Salazar: The Chicano Power Movement

Ruben Salazar was a man who 45 years ago became the matyr of the Chicano Moratorium anti-war protest. Salazar was born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in 1928 however he was raised in El Paso, Texas. At a young age he struggled with his identity, his mother frequently abased and denied her own nationality to her children. He attended public throughout his life and later went on to receive an education at the University of Texas in El Paso known as Texas Western College at that time. There he received his bachelor’s degree in journalism. His melee with his identity only grew stronger as he created a family with his Anglo wife in Orange County. He believed many Mexican-Americans were just as confused about the word as he was. During the time of journalistic

The LA Times made him a foreign correspondent in Vietnam and the Dominican Republic. He also became the Times bureau chief in Mexico City. While reporting abroad in Mexico City he was recalled for missing an important story. Feeling personally defeated, underappreciated and discontent Salazar returned home where he was given the task to write about domestic affairs. Since Salazar was of Mexican decent he was the obvious choice to write about the uproars occurring in East Los Angeles involving the Latino Community. During this time the Chicano power movement was in full effect. Salazar’s topics included the inferior quality of education given to Mexican-American students, police discrimination, and racial partiality. Salazar felt the media should take an objective view point however that was not the case resulting in one sided statements. He exposed Chicano leadership who exploited the cause for profit as well. Eventually he began to take more of an interest and involvement in Latino affairs. His reporting became more of those from an activist perspective advocating his ideas publicly when he quit his full time position at the LA times to write its weekly column. Salazar seized the opportunity to become a news director for Spanish TV station, KMEX in 1970. KMEX granted him the chance to discuss the events occurring in the Mexican community to other Mexicans. Meanwhile his column let him freely address issues to his white