As National Hispanic Heritage Month gets underway, the city of San Diego on Monday unveiled a new exhibit at City Hall documenting the Chicano Movement.

The exhibit is part of the inaugural “Telling Our Stories and Preserving Our Histories” series and is a collaboration between the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center and the City Clerk’s office.

It features historical images, city records and documents that provide a comprehensive view of the Chicano Movement in San Diego. The movement started over a broken promise to build a park in Logan Heights.

It is especially poignant for City Clerk Diana Fuentes.

“As the first Latina city clerk for the city of San Diego, this is the first year that I got to put my thumbprint on the archives exhibit,” she said.

In the 1960s, the city started building highways through communities of color, which usually had fewer resources to fight back. That was happening in Logan Heights.

Interstate 5 and the Coronado Bridge construction divide the neighborhood in half, separating residents from their church, library and post office. The southern half of Logan Heights is now called Barrio Logan.

The community was promised a park, but in April 1970, the city tried to build a Highway Patrol station. That was what led to the Chicano Movement in San Diego.

“What I want people to get is to understand the history that happened in Chicano Park, and how that has really just evolved and shaped the history of San Diego,” Fuentes said. “To show the artifacts, show the documents, and let people make their own conclusions as to what history was being created and what effect it had on the city and its citizens.”

As visitors walk through the exhibit, there are colorful replicas of the murals on the freeway pillars at Chicano Park and documents recording the park’s history.

Alberto Pulido from the Chicano Park Museum said the exhibit is important to show the history of Logan Heights, which is rarely talked about.

“People don’t know that Logan Heights is the first neighborhood of this region,” he said. “Logan Heights went through major changes (due) to the arrival of Interstate 5 and the arrival of the Coronado Bridge. It was rezoned into an industrial zone. So a neighborhood of 20,000 people vanished.”

San Diego City Councilmember Vivian Moreno, who represents the neighborhood, said that history is recorded on the murals at Chicano Park.

“The vibrant murals painted on the freeways, pillars and walls depict powerful images of social justice, resistance and pride, reflecting the community’s fight for civil rights and its deep connection to the land,” she said.

Inside the exhibit is an interactive installation telling the story of the impact of the Chicano Movement.

Afterward, visitors are asked to reflect on what they would have done in the Chicano Movement era and leave a note on the decision tree, which will become a part of the exhibit.

“Telling Our Stories and Preserving Our Histories: The Chicano Movement in San Diego” is on exhibit at San Diego City Hall, 202 C St., through Oct. 18.

Re “The city’s plan to build a homeless shelter on former Navy land is illegal” (Sept. 12): Wow!  A commentary from a housing developer, who lives in Coronado, scolding the city of San Diego and the Coastal Commission for wanting to use the former Naval Training Center for the benefit of citizens.  A new low for the newspaper and Corky McMillin Companies?

—  E. Lunn, Serra Mesa

“Everybody’s jaw dropped,” said Corey Gustafson, chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego, reacting to the news of another attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump.

The FBI confirmed it is investigating an attempted assassination on Trump at his West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course.

A source familiar with the matter told Scripps News that Secret Service agents engaged with a suspect armed with a “long gun” outside the grounds of Trump International Golf Club.

According to the Associated Press, authorities have identified the person taken into custody as Ryan Wesley Routh.

RELATED STORY | FBI unable to identify a motive in Trump assassination attempt

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the suspect fled in an SUV before being apprehended nearby. An AK-47-style rifle with a scope was recovered close to the golf club.

Earlier, the Trump campaign confirmed the former president was unharmed after shots were fired in his vicinity.

“This is now two attempts on the president’s life. We have to give him more protection,” Gustafson said.

Local Republicans are also calling for increased security for President Biden, amid what they describe as a growing trend of political violence.

“But we can’t let this become the new normal in America,” Gustafson added. “Just because this happened two months ago doesn’t mean it should happen every month.”

Gustafson also noted that the way political debates are handled may contribute to the rising tensions.

“On both sides, we need to stay away from personal attacks and focus on whose ideas are better for the American people. If we do that, maybe the temperature in the room will drop,” he said.

Authorities are expected to file charges in the case in the coming days.