Yesterday (August 29) marked 46 years since an important, if overlooked, chapter in Vietnam War protests—the 30,000-strong National Chicano Moratorium march in East Los Angeles. 

"The disproportionate death rate of Chicanos in Vietnam, which was the primary motivation [for the march], was part of a whole web of repression," said Rosalío Muñoz, co-founder of the Chicano Moratorium, in a new video from Fusion’s Jorge Rivas. The Chicano Moratorium grew out of organizing efforts prior to the August 29, 1970 mass march in East Los Angeles. According to Fusion, Mexican-American soldiers made up 20 percent of Vietnam casualties, despite being 10 percent of the population in Southwestern states.

The video also describes how police violently broke up the protests including the killing of Mexican-American journalist Ruben Salazar. Salazar’s death, as noted by Fusion, remains shrouded in questions about the official record. 

"This sparked a movement in defense of Latinx lives," read a description by Fusion. "It wasn’t exactly a Black Lives Matter moment. No two moments in history are the same. But it was the beginning of a Latinx-led push for civil rights and part of U.S. history that many in the community are making sure is not forgotten four decades years later."

Check out the video above, and read more here.