Great Wall Institute: The Process of the Great Wall of Los AngelesMain MenuResearch of the DecadesResearch1960s Illustration DevelopmentIllustration DevelopmentPlaylists of the DecadesPlaylistsIsabel Duron4726413e2c4e6b64fa62c586b1a781ab2c26d578Dianne Sanchez0d40742c65fe33cfec1b92643716407cb036d0adAna Guajardo9ff93d19310abea2332b11e473c674c33ebdc22fIsabel Lovelaceec086e8e591474f0ac628152ca3f1d196f7b95e3Judith Bacad23e619d4adc371bb428eb1acd31ed914590d853sparcinla.org185fc5b2219f38c7b63f42d87efaf997127ba4fcTaylor Robertson03cd466682d4b972f2cef4b731fc8261bef1cce1Great Wall Institute - Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC)
Chicano Movement Illustration (10.2022)
1media/Chicano Movement_thumb.png2021-12-01T22:57:19+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49111Early sketch of the 1960s Chicano movement that was later developed as the Farmworkers Movement and featured Filipino activists Larry Itlong.plain2023-12-04T21:21:35+00:00October 2022SPARC archivesGina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
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1media/Screen Shot 2022-09-22 at 5.10.59 PM.png2022-09-23T00:19:24+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49Early Great Wall Sketchessparcinla.org371960s Illustration Developmentgallery18222024-03-27T21:05:07+00:00sparcinla.org185fc5b2219f38c7b63f42d87efaf997127ba4fc
On August 29, 1970, more than 20,000 Mexican-Americans march through East Los Angeles to protest the Vietnam War. The Chicano Moratorium, as this massive protest was known, was peaceful until the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department entered Laguna Park, sparking violence and rioting that led to three deaths. The Chicano Moratorium is now remembered both as the tragic end of one stage of Chicano activism and as a moment that galvanized and inspired a new generation of activists.
The march was planned as an entirely peaceful demonstration in support of peace and in protest of the Vietnam War, which claimed Latino lives at a disproportionately high rate. As demonstrators assembled in the park, the owner of a nearby liquor store called the police on some Chicano customers in the fear that they might begin shoplifting. When the sheriff's department responded, it assumed the protest had led to looting, and before long the police were storming the park with tear gas. Three people died and hundreds were arrested as riots spread throughout East LA.
Among the dead was Ruben Salazar, a Los Angeles Times journalist often referred to as the voice of the local Chicano community; he was hit on the head with a tear gas canister. Salazar’s death, in particular, sparked outrage, and many believe that the police or the FBI, whose agents were present for the march, used the chaos as cover for the assassination of a prominent voice of dissent.
Many viewed the violence and Salazar’s death as a loss of innocence for the Chicano movement. For many, however, it was the beginning of a lifetime of activism and a moment that would forever encapsulate the community’s struggle for racial equality. Many prominent Chicano artists, activists and politicians were present at the rally. The former Laguna Park is now called Ruben F. Salazar Park.