Journalist Rubén Salazar was killed 55 years ago today. He’d been covering a large protest in East LA that was part of the Chicano Moratorium. Salazar was taking a break at the Silver Dollar Cafe when a sheriff’s deputy standing outside fired a tear gas canister into the bar. The canister hit Salazar in the head and killed him instantly.

Salazar worked at the LA Times in several capacities for more than a decade. At the time of his death, he was news director at Spanish-language KMEX-TV, though he still wrote a weekly column for the Times. Salazar reported on tensions between the Latino community and the cops, and it was no secret that law enforcement officials weren’t happy about his reporting.

It’s important to remember Salazar’s work, but also to think about his death in the context of what journalists are facing today. Both in the US and abroad, journalists are increasingly being targeted for doing their job. Beyond that, fair and objective journalism is increasingly threatened by the changing economic landscape and a social media sphere that values likes more than facts.

LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano wrote an excellent piece on Salazar today. See below. I’m also including a link to Salazar’s own reporting. It’s worth taking some time to think about Rubén Salazar today. Fifty five years later, his life and his death still hold meaning for us.

Slain LA Times Columnist Ruben Salazar Matters More than Ever

Reading Rubén Salazar