Los Angeles, 1992

Yesterday, I spent part of my night watching an episode of the Smithsonian Channel's "The Lost Tapes" (1).  

On this occasion, the topic of discussion was an event that occurred thirty years ago, in the city of Los Angeles.  Let's rewind our tape a bit, and go back to 1992.  

In the "city of angels", racial tensions were running high.  A year earlier, in the course of a traffic stop, African-American Rodney King had been mercilessly beaten by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department.  The assault had been captured on videotape; its footage was seen on television stations from coast to coast.  

Subsequently, criminal charges (regarding excessive use of force) were filed against LAPD personnel involved in the incident.  Many people expected that the case would end in guilty verdicts towards the officers.  

Nevertheless, on April 29 1992, all four officers were found not guilty of the charges filed against them.  This sparked anger and rage in black communities, beginning a chain of events that would result in the largest and most destructive riot in modern American history (2).  

Surprisingly, this kind of destruction had happened previously in Los Angeles.  

Twenty-seven years before, in a similar situation, 21-year old Marquette Frye (a black man) was assaulted and beaten by white police officers.  The result was the Watts Riots, and the burning of many parts of the city (3).  

Now back to 1992.  

Law enforcement was overwhelmed; the LAPD found itself unable to deal with a rapidly escalating situation.  As such, governor Pete Wilson called the California National Guard into service, ordering them to assist police and fire personnel.  Meanwhile in Washington, President George HW Bush invoked the Insurrection Act (4), calling the provisions of such law into effect for the first time since 1968.  

When the riot finally ended five days later, sixty-three people were dead, and approximately two thousand four hundred others injured.  A countless number of business lay in ruins, and many Los Angeles neighborhoods had been burned to the ground (5).  

And what have we learned from the violence and destruction associated with this event? Apparently, not too much.  

You would think that people would reflect on this terrible history, and resolve not to let such a tragedy happen again.  Unfortunately, this has not been the case.  Just two years ago, Los Angeles was again engulfed in riots; looting and violence raged in response to the death of George Floyd (6).  

Today, racial tensions in America remain very high, perhaps worse than they ever have been.

So what do we do concerning the issue of race relations in America? 

I believe that we desperately need to educate our citizens regarding this subject, especially our children.  Not only do people need to be taught not to hate someone of a different color, they need to learn of the history behind race.  

Speaking of history, it has a way of repeating itself if it is not studied.  It is only by reflecting on the mistakes of the past that humans can understand, and learn from, such errors.  

Let us remember what happened in Los Angeles thirty years ago.  That's the only way that this fire will ever be put out.  

"What these people did, they lit the fuse to a bomb" -- Filmmaker John Singleton (1968-2019) (2)

Sources:

1. Smithsonian Channel. "The Lost Tapes: LA Riots (Full Episode)." 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK88wmL1EZk&ab_channel=SmithsonianChannel. Accessed 1 May 2022.  

2. “Rodney King.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King#1991_police_assault_in_Los_Angeles. Accessed 1 May 2022.

3. “Watts Riots.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_riots. Accessed 1 May 2022.

4. “Insurrection Act of 1807.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurrection_Act_of_1807. Accessed 1 May 2022.

5. “1992 Los Angeles Riots.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots. Accessed 1 May 2022.

6. “George Floyd Protests in Los Angeles County, California.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd_protests_in_Los_Angeles_County,_California. Accessed 1 May 2022.