Library of Congress Acquires 17,500 Images by Pioneering Photographer Raúl Ruiz

May 15, 2025

Pesala Bandara

Two sheriff deputies in helmets take cover behind a Los Angeles County sheriff car, aiming guns at a building with images of women and signs reading "The Silver Dollar." The scene appears tense and urban. — Raúl Ruiz’s photograph of the scene of the sheriff deputy’s killing of Los Angeles Times journalist Rubén Salazar in Los Angeles, 1970. The image shows a sheriff’s car parked in front of “The Silver Dollar” bar and café, with two armed cops aiming at it.

The Library of Congress has acquired the images of pioneering photographer Raúl Ruiz, who advocated for the rights of Chicanos (Mexican Americans). Ruiz captured the iconic picture of the scene where L.A Times journalist Rubén Salazar was killed by police.

Ruiz was a leading photographer, journalist, and activist in the Chicano Movement in Los Angeles during the 1960s and 1970s. Inspired by the success of the African American Civil Rights Movement, the Chicano movement was the largest and most widespread empowerment effort by Mexican-descent people in the U.S.

Ruiz was perhaps best known as the editor of La Raza newspaper and magazine, a publication started by Chicano activists and creatives in the last half of the 1960s. The late photographer’s images for La Raza captured the struggles of the Chicano community in Los Angeles.

A man and woman stand at a protest; the woman holds a sign that reads "VIVA," and both wear sunglasses. People in the background raise fists and participate in the demonstration. — Participants in a Chicano Movement protest in Los Angeles.

A person stands in the street with arms outstretched, wearing a long white garment with a cross on the front. People walk behind them during what appears to be a parade or public gathering. Signs and flags are visible.

A woman stands on a city street, covering her nose and mouth with a tissue. The background is hazy with smoke or smog, and storefront signs and a parked car are visible behind her. — Woman covering mouth during Chicano Moratorium protest in Los Angeles, California in 1970.

The Library of Congress announced that Ruiz’s daughter Marcela Ponce and his close friend Marta E. Sánchez had donated a vast collection of the photographer’s images and manuscripts on Thursday. The archive contains an estimated 17,500 photos by Ruiz (prints, negatives, contact sheets, and transparencies) and original page layouts for La Raza newspaper and magazine.

Included in the trove of images is Ruiz’s famous photograph of the scene where Rubén Salazar, a civil rights activist and a reporter for the L.A. Times, was fatally struck by a round of tear gas fired by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy during a protest against the Vietnam War.

In August 1970, over 20,000 people gathered in East Los Angeles for the National Chicano Moratorium, a protest against the high number of Mexican American soldiers dying in the Vietnam War. Among those present was Salazar, the most prominent Mexican American journalist of his time. He was covering the demonstration as the news director at a local TV station and a well-known columnist for the L.A. Times

As tensions escalated and police intervened, the protest turned chaotic. Ruiz captured images of officers firing tear gas canisters into the open entrance of the Silver Dollar bar. One of those canisters struck Salazar in the head, killing him instantly. His death became a pivotal moment in the Chicano movement, especially since no criminal charges were ever brought.

A group of people sit and stand on the back of a pickup truck holding flags and cameras during a parade or protest on a city street; liquor and bail bonds signs are visible in the background. — Chicano Movement/Moratorium 1965-1975.

Two young women stand side by side in a crowd at a protest, one raising her fist and the other holding a sign. Both look determined and confident. Other people and protest signs are visible in the background. — Girls pump fists at a Chicano Movement protest in Los Angeles.

A young woman stands behind a metal fence, gripping the bars and looking through them. She is partially obscured by signs and papers, suggesting a protest or demonstration. Other people and handwritten posters are visible in the background.

Ruiz’s photographs ran on the front page of the L.A. Times under the headline in English and Spanish: “The Murder of Rubén Salazar.”

After the dissolution of La Raza in 1977, Ruiz became a college professor, teaching Chicano studies and journalism at CSU, Northridge, until his retirement in 2015. He died in 2019.

“The Ruiz collection speaks to the heart of the Chicano Movement and will be an important resource for the study of journalism and Latino history and culture at the Library of Congress,” Adam Silvia, curator of photography in the Prints & Photographs Division, says in a statement.

The acquisition was one of the last obtained under Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden before President Trump fired her. She was reportedly dismissed due to her focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Image credits: All photos by Raúl Ruiz/Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.