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Rodney King's Contribution To The Reconstruction Era

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A question has arisen concerning a certain event that occurred in American history which helped contribute to the Reconstruction Period that took place during the 1990s. Dr. Cassandra Chaney of Louisiana State University and Dr. Ray V. Robertson of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette co-wrote a moving article based on Rodney Glen King, a man who quickly became the face of police brutality after a tragic event occurred that no one would ever forget. On March 3, 1991 Rodney King was a victim of a merciless beating by four Los Angeles Police Department officers. With the helpful use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Chaney and Robertson take twenty of King’s most well-known quotes to reveal his true feelings …show more content…

The professors use hard hitting facts that demonstrates the truth behind African Americans and the way the law enforcement perceives them, giving the reader some distinctive insight. The history of the law enforcement along with the criminal justice system has portrayed that they are disproportionality race-based. Blacks are more likely than whites to be racially profiled (Staples 2011), to be stopped by law enforcement, and receive harsher sentences. Unfortunately, it has been shown time and time again that judges, jurors, and the law enforcement finds it challenging for them to sympathize with African Americans. All in all this body of academic work has highlighted external factors that have shaped the lives of Blacks in America without giving due attention to the words of Rodney King, the man who became the face of racial injustice (Chaney and Robertson 2014). Four themes were unveiled in the analysis King’s quotes: appreciation for the struggles of former Civil Rights Activists, appreciation for the legal system, personal feelings related to police brutality, and the desire for non-violence as a catalyst for positive …show more content…

He showed a unblemished appreciation for former Civil Rights Activists. Because he was born in the 1960s, he was able to see and experience the racial struggle first hand by hearing from the people in his life and learning about it in school, he was able to speak comfortably on the issue at hand. This allowed him to show a true thankfulness for his current position in the social order as a Black man to publicly speak on the injustices of police brutality and acknowledge the sacrifices made not just by African Americans, but by people of many races. King believed the best way to honor his multi-ethnic ancestors and forerunners was to actively diffuse negativity rather than exasperate it (Chaney and Robertson 2014). His appreciation for the legal system was expressed publicly that he had faith in and valued the legal system. Despite how he was treated by the Los Angeles Police Department officers, which was similar to the abuse his ancestors experienced, the president undoubtedly reestablished King’s appreciation by prosecuting the four officers that beat him ruthlessly. The city of Los Angeles was sued and rewarded King of $3.8 million in addition to the $1.7 for attorney’s fees. The majority of quotes from King were openly regarding his feelings of police

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