Anger over verdicts at Parker Center, Downtown
Every year I post this small reminder of what happened in Los Angeles 19 years ago today. And well this event has been explored, analyzed and written about over the years, I often feel like the whole story hasn’t been told. The story of the people who actually participated in the events or uprising or riots…whatever you want to call them. So here’s your space to share your stories, remembrances and reflections. Or perhaps even predictions for future similar events here in this city. The conditions seem about right.
I know it was one of the most amazing times in this city, people helping each other out, stepping back into the field of play when we’d always been relegated to the sidelines. Yup, I loved the riots.
In 1992 in April, I was not but 9 but I remember being in Lincoln Heights and seeing the ashes floating into my backyard where I most of much my time. I remember watching everything unfold on TV and although I did not understand much of what was happening in its entirety I did not feel that the anger expressed was misplaced at all. If anything, I wondered what confined most of it south of us. Even then I felt the injustice of what sparked the LA Uprisings.
I remember on the show Celebrity Rehab a couple of years ago Rodney King went back to the spot where the LAPD assaulted him and apologized for his role in the riots. This man is basically apologizing for getting his ass kicked by the cops, for someone taping it, for that person giving the tape to the press, for the press playing it, and for the ensuing reaction by the community. What a load to carry on your shoulders. It’s no wonder he’s had drug problems. Rodney King IS the real victim in all of this. Side note…I can’t believe it was almost 20 years ago. That footage in the youtube looks so ancient, the way everyone’s dressed. So much has changed since 1992. It’s almost a different world now. Although some things are obviously the same.