Stacey Amery Dela Serna
AP English
Byrne
November 21, 2017
Smashed Windows and Snipped Ties Mahatma Gahndi once said, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” Hatred blinds people from acknowledgment and acceptance, and instead steers people towards ignorance. Quarreling amongst citizens of the United States is not an uncommon occurrence, especially when the topic focuses on racial backgrounds and biases. The LA Riot of 1992 is no exception to this category of discourse. A black person beaten up by a group of policemen was a usual event that happened frequently. Rodney King’s arrest was a special case. In a drunken state, King led the police on a “high-speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles (“Riots Erupt in Los Angeles”).George Holliday, an ordinary passerby, recorded Rodney King’s assault by the police on March 3, 1991. This infamous event urges the nation to examine the
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Although the violence that day was severe and did not particularly benefit LA financially nor socially, this day marked a change from the culture of hate and stereotypes to eventually understand and quell the tensions in backgrounds. There is a necessity to contemplate on explosive events like the LA Riots in order to not repeat the same mistakes. Otherwise, how could the United States of America be associated with “unison” when the government and citizens raise hell over colors of the skin? There are still hate crimes brewing in this country of freedom and a tone of animosity on the political stage that is even present in every day news channels. The LA Riot of 1992 is only a single event. However, the outcomes brought mixed reviews. On one hand, the Riot revitalizes the minority communities to stand up against oppression.
Though sparked by the Rodney King verdict, there were many other causes of the riots that erupted on the streets of Los Angeles on April 29, 1992. The Los Angeles riots in 1992 were devastating. The obvious issue portrayed through the media was black versus white. If you did not live in Los Angeles or California chances are you did not hear full coverage of the story, you heard a simple cut and dry portrayal of the events in South Central. If you heard one thing about the riots, it was that there was a man named Rodney King and he was a black male beaten with excessive force by four white Los Angeles police officers on Los Angeles concrete. The media portrayed the riots as black rage on the streets due to the
For decades racial discrimination has been a reoccurring issue that has shaped the relationships across the country. Riots, in the case of the L.A. riots, are a form of venting and a negative form of freedom of expression. Almost immediately after the jury`s decision to seize the officers of charges that included assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force towards King, riots broke out across Los
“April 26th, 1992, there was a riot on the streets, tell me where were you!? You were sittin' home watchin' your TV, while I was paticipatin' in some anarchy,” these are the lyrics Sublime uses in their song ‘April 26, 1992’ to describe what happened during the Los Angeles Riots of 1992. “First spot we hit it was my liquor store. I finally got all that alcohol I can't afford. With red lights flashin' time to retire, And then we turned that liquor store into a structure fire,” people ,running through the streets, had no pity when demolishing small businesses and taking what ever they may want from them. The streets, neighborhoods, businesses were destroyed by angry protesters. Their reasons were clear, all they wanted was some
Even before the Crown Heights Riot of 1991, there has been a lineage of earlier incidents between African-Americans and Hasidic that foreshadows what was to come. “In the summer of 1986, blacks had allegedly beaten a Hasidic man to death in a subway station; in April 1987, some 400 blacks engaged in a protest march against what they considered to be Hasidic surveillance harassment; in March 1989, several Hasidic Jews reportedly crowded around and beat a young African-American, Chris Gilyard, who was 16 years old, who they suspected of slashing a Hadisic man, Shalom Rabkim, and his mother, Shoshana Rabkim, during a robber” (1). This goes to show how a riot occurring was all in the works- yet, the severity of it was definitely not predetermined by these incidents. All in all, the disparity and distrust between African-Americans and Jews in Crown Heights as well as the distrust of police along African-Americans definitely contributed to the increased rate of violence in the Crown Heights area in 1991.
On April 29, 1992, the City of Los Angeles was surrounded in a riot in response to the "not guilty" verdicts in the trial of four white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers accused of unlawfully beating Rodney King. Six days later, when the fires were finally extinguished and the smoke had cleared, "estimates of the material damage done vary between about $800 million and $1 billion, 54 people had been killed, more than 2000 injured, in excess of 800 structures were burned, and about 10,000 people were arrested."(Khalifah 89) The 1992 riots in the City of Los Angeles were arguably the most devastating civil disturbance in the history of the United States.
The 1960s was a time for change. It promoted on going expectations of equality for all races. This proved to be difficult for minorities. In August of 1965, civil unrest broke out, which lead to six-day revolt called the Watts Riot. Nearly thirty years later another riot broke out which caused even greater damage and left an even greater impact in our history, the Rodney King Riots. Both of these events share similar qualities and devastating damages, however, their meanings are much harder to decipher from one another. These impactful events in our society demonstrate how much there needs to change in our society, especially when dealing with minorities.
Racial injustice against people of colour is an immense, ongoing issue that has not only targeted lives but has also taken many innocent lives. In America, these racial divisions date back to the days of slavery, where black people were denied of their basic human rights because of discrimination. In present day, some individuals view America as a post-racial environment, due to such victories as electing a black president; but the brutal, fatal and unjust events in Ferguson, Missouri prove that these divisions are still present. On August 9th, 2014, an unarmed, 18 year old black teen was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The events that led to the death of Michael Brown occurred on an early morning where Mr. Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend after leaving a convenience store. An altercation occurred which prompted Mr. Brown to flee and officer Wilson to begin shooting. The death of Mr. Brown caused the city to stand up against police brutality through peaceful protest, looting, and even violence, to gain justice for Mr. Brown and his family. As the protests grew, the police used military tactics such as, tear gas, to “maintain order” during the unrest of the city. In recent, news the grand jury decided that Officer Darren Wilson was not responsible for the death of Michael Brown, which led to a larger public outrage not only in America, but also across the
Race riots are one of the major news items we hear about via the media when a social crisis occurs. The riots in Baltimore, however, were not so much about race, but more about economic and social class separations. The riots began as a peaceful protest amongst the citizens of Baltimore over the death of one of their own, Freddie Gray. Gray was a young, African-American, from a financially lower class area of Baltimore. Unfortunately, he died while in custody of the Baltimore Police. While this is a tragic loss, he was unlawfully detained by the police (Sarlin, 2015) during this ordeal. On the surface, the riots may appear as a cut-and-dry race provoked, once they are looked into further, that is not necessarily the case.
African Americans in Los Angeles and throughout the United States have experienced racial oppression for centuries. (Background about racial oppression by the LAPD). Rodney King was an African American motorist who inspired positive police reforms after he had a brutal conflict and was beaten by four members of the LAPD. Rodney King’s encounter resulted in a social and legal compromise because the incident made people aware of police brutality, gave African Americans a voice against police abuse, and resulted in reforms to the way that the LAPD responds to communities of color.
The beating of Rodney King from the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991 and the Los Angeles riots resulting from the verdict of the police officers on April 29 through May 5, 1992 are events that will never be forgotten. They both evolve around one incident, but there are two sides of ethical deviance: the LAPD and the citizens involved in the L.A. riots. The incident on March 3, 1991 is an event, which the public across the nation has never witnessed. If it weren’t for the random videotaping of the beating that night, society would never know what truly happened to Rodney King. What was even more disturbing is the mentality the LAPD displayed to the public and the details of how this mentality of policing led up to this
Early 1990’s was a difficult time, especially for the south central. During 1991 and 19992 was the worst record for crime; the murder rate was the highest in LA in history. There were about 1077 murders many of which came from gang violence in south central. The match that set off the 1992 LA Riots. Was the videotape of Rodney King being brutally beaten by five police officers, as well as the murder of Latasha Harlins in 1991. The officers were found not guilty by a mostly white jury, so the African American grew angry and disappointed. The Korean woman who killed Latasha didn’t serve jail time, which caused a deep strain on the relationship between Korean and Africans. White people were the main targets, but Koreans also experienced gun battles
How did the Los Angeles Riots help bring a change to the community and to the LAPD? Rodney King was an African American motorist who inspired positive police reforms after he was brutally beaten by four members of the LAPD. Rodney King had an impact on the lives of everyone. He was an inspiration to most of the black African Americans. He was their voice.
In 1965 riots in L.A. occurred after a routine stop by the police involving drunk driving. This stop occurred very close the driver’s residence where massive crowd began to build. When it was all said and done
The history of African-Americans in the United States is full of many periods of achievements, as well as periods of struggle. The Los Angeles riots of 1992 were the result of many years of systematic racism in the United States following the Civil Rights Movement. The beating and unjust trial of Rodney King exposed the unfair and brutal treatment of African Americans by the police. As well as the shooting of 15 year-old Latasha Harlins 2 weeks after the beating of Rodney King to further ignite hatred within African-Americans in Los Angeles. What came forth was a week long riot not only changed Los Angeles, but the United States. That is why the Los Angeles riots was the most devastating, yet consequential, civil uproar in the history of the United States.
In 1995, new immigration laws transfigure the American society. As a result, races group together to defend their customs. The current immigration problem also increases the racial tension facing America today. One result of racism in the United States is hate groups and gangs. Both have only one thing in common--violence! The very use of the term of color - which embraces blacks, . . . Asians, Native