Raul Ruíz (11 July 1940 – 13 June 2019) was an American journalist, professor, and political activist for

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

during the

Chicano movement The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento (Spanish for "the Movement"), was a civil rights movements, social and political movement in the United States that worked to embrace a Chicano, Chicano identity and worldview that combated ...

and for the

Peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pe ...

of the 1960s and '70s.

Early life and education

Ruiz was born in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

but moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in his teen years. He attended

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

(Cal State LA) where he earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. He received his doctorate from the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first ...

in 1988.

Career

As a reporter, and editor of ''

La Raza In Mexico, the Spanish expression ('the people'; literally: 'the race') has historically been used to refer to the mixed-race populations (primarily though not always exclusively in the Western Hemisphere), considered as an ethnic or racia ...

'', Ruíz covered the

Chicano Moratorium The Chicano Moratorium, formally known as the National Chicano Moratorium Committee Against The Vietnam War, was a movement of Chicano anti-war activists that built a broad-based coalition of Mexican-American groups to organize opposition to the Vi ...

. He notably photographed the police aiming tear gas launchers at the Silver Dollar Café, where

Ruben Salazar Ruben Salazar (March 3, 1928 – August 29, 1970) was a civil rights activist and a reporter for the ''Los Angeles Times.'' He was the first Mexican journalist from mainstream media to cover the Chicano community. Salazar was killed during the ...

was killed. Ruiz's photo, considered an essential historical image of the Chicano movement, ran on the cover of the L.A. Times and was reproduced around the world. Ruiz was a candidate for La Raza Unida Party, a Chicano political party. He ran for the 48th Assembly district seat in Los Angeles in 1971, gaining 8 percent of the vote. In 1972 he ran for the 40th Assembly district seat, covering East L.A., under the La Raza Unida ticket, gaining 13 percent of the vote. Ruiz taught for many years in the department of Chicano Studies at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

Death

Ruiz died in Los Angeles on June 13, 2019.

Legacy

On May 8, 2025, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

announced that it had acquired “photographs, manuscripts and periodical collection of Raúl Ruiz." The Raúl Ruiz Chicano Movement Collection includes photographs, manuscripts, and other papers and was donated by his daughter Marcela Ponce and Marta E. Sánchez, one of his close friends. The collection will be housed in the Library’s Prints & Photographs Reading Room, Manuscript Reading Room, and Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Raul American male journalists American writers of Mexican descent 2019 deaths 1940s births Mass media people from El Paso, Texas California State University, Los Angeles alumni California State University, Northridge faculty Editors of California newspapers Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Journalists from Los Angeles