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HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > HONORING RUBEN SALAZAR BY HONORING EDUCATION
Article published - April 19, 2008
Credit: PRESS DEMOCRAT
Honor Ruben Salazar by honoring education
By PEDRO TOLEDO
On Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service will unveil a stamp honoring Ruben Salazar, a Mexican American journalist who lost his life while pursuing his passion. Salazar was a reporter for The Press Democrat and the Los Angeles Times in an era to which many of us can relate.
America was fighting an unpopular war, people were sacrificing at home, and families were struggling to make ends meet. Salazar fought injustice during a time when Mexican Americans were marginalized, prevented from regular participation in society and used as scapegoats. While not hard to imagine as a man of current times, Salazar actually almost lived five decades ago -- and died in 1970 after being shot by a tear gas projectile while covering an anti-war rally in East Los Angeles.
At the peak of the Mexican American struggle for justice in the 1950s and 1960s, Salazar emerged as a trailblazing leader for exposing the unfair treatment that Latinos faced everyday. In addition to rallying against the numerous injustices of the Vietnam War and exposing police brutality, Salazar penned his message of education inequality.
Salazar believed that quality education was a cherished right in need of constant defense. A champion of equal opportunity in education, he understood the link between academic achievement and strong communities. Salazar strived to protect education for Latino children, who faced astonishing hurdles in advancing through society.
In 1969, Salazar reported that 25 percent of Latino students dropped out of high school. Today, half of Latino students in California drop out of school. Without a strong commitment to equal access to quality education, we risk preventing an entire group of people from achieving the American Dream. We must renew our commitment to quality education so that all children are equipped with the tools to pursue their dreams.
Investment in education fuels community prosperity and youth achievement is a precursor to the future economic success of our community. Improving the high school graduation rates of Latino youth alone will help to fuel economic growth in Sonoma County. Educated people obtain better jobs and create a better quality of life for themselves and their families. We must treat education as a community investment, rather than a budget line-item.
We must ensure that our leaders remember that investing in the education of our youth will have the greatest return on investment.
Today's working families in Sonoma County struggle to make ends meet. Mothers and fathers seek work unsuccessfully and families regularly forgo medicine, buy fewer groceries and fall behind in rent and mortgage. Lines at food banks grow longer each week and churches labor to meet the ever-growing needs of their congregants. During these times of economic uncertainty, we need to protect our children's path to success by resisting funding cuts to education.
Every child who walks through the doors of elementary school should walk out of high school with a diploma. Educational opportunity must apply to all children. In addition to ensuring that our schools have adequate budgets, we must also address the other reasons behind the failure of our community to graduate all students. We must do all we can to help our youth overcome economic hardship, graduate from high school and pursue their dreams. Otherwise, we risk disempowering a generation.
Against the odds, Ruben Salazar pursued his passion and found his inspiration. Salazar reported for well-respected newspapers when such jobs were unavailable to Latinos. Armed with an education and a purpose, Salazar advocated for those less fortunate than him.
He used his pen to paint an accurate picture of the unjust world around him. Today, the opportunity to dream and aspire to become a journalist, a doctor, a firefighter or anything requiring higher education is a luxury lost too many youth in our community.
As a community, we have forgotten Ruben Salazar and his ideals. An advocate for education, a tireless activist for civil rights and man who elevated ignored social issues, Ruben Salazar gave us too much to be forgotten. Please remember Ruben Salazar's legacy when the Postal Service unveils the stamp this week.
Don't just buy a stamp, though. Tutor a child, mentor a teen and involve yourself in community decisions. Whatever you do, take the time to celebrate Salazar's legacy and help remind our leaders of where our priorities need to lie.
Pedro Toledo is a community activist and the director of community and government affairs for Redwood Community Health Coalition.
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