Hundreds of people rallied Saturday to honor the Chicano Moratorium in East Los Angeles, where some 30,000 activists marched 50 years earlier to protest the disproportionately high deaths of Mexican Americans during the Vietnam War, per the Los Angeles Times.
Why it matters: The protesters had marched peacefully in L.A. on Aug. 29, 1970, in what was then the largest anti-war action by a minority group in the U.S. They were met with tear gas by sheriff's deputies storming into Laguna Park, leaving three people dead. Activist and war veteran Cruz Becerra told ABC7, "It is part of our history. We took a stand against an unjust war and that mattered."
On the corner of Alma and Whittier Boulevard, hundreds gathered at #RubenSalazar Park in East LA on Saturday afternoon for the 50th anniversary of #ChicanoMoratorium @DailySundial pic.twitter.com/yk4hQ3vgyw
— Samantha Bravo (@samanthavbravo) August 30, 2020