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Subscribe to RSSThis weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots and the first time I heard race being discussed on television. I was 10.
The year before, I had watched the Rodney King beating on the news with my parents. I knew that white police officers went to court for nearly beating a black man to death. My mother's reaction to the verdict was telling.
I was precocious enough to know that since the white police officers were "acquitted" it meant that they had essentially gotten away with committing a horrible crime. The L.A. riots ensued, and I watched. I recall wondering if the burning buildings, broken windows, random acts of violence within violence were going to spread to my hometown. I wondered what would have happened if there wasn't a videotape of the beating. I imagined the reactions of both blacks and whites had the verdict been different.
I had so many questions about the L.A. riots and why the police officers were acquitted. As an 11-year-old African American girl in small-town Massachusetts, I wondered if my race made me a second-class citizen. The notion that children are color blind is debatable, but when an event such as the Rodney King beating and subsequent L.A. riots play out on the evening news, children are forced to think about race in a different way.
My parents used this opportunity as a teachable moment on race. We had several conversations about the L.A. riots and all of the subtopics that come with it -- police relations within the black community, poverty, justice (or lack thereof). They used language that was appropriate for my age. My dad asked me how I felt about the police officers not going to jail for what they did and if I thought the people should riot. I distinctly recall my mom asking if my friends at school were talking about the case. We had a dialogue. I knew my thoughts mattered.
That conversation cultivated my fearless passion to discuss race with people outside of my family. Since then, I've had numerous conversations about race with people from all walks of life to breakdown stereotypes and learn new perspectives.
The L.A. riots were a moment for my parents to capitalize on a conversation about race. And it is only through this conversation that Rodney King’s famous question can be answered: "Can’t we all just get along?" Not only are precocious 11-year-olds watching the news, but they are also listening and waiting for adults to facilitate positive conversations around race relations. Don't change the channel. Instead, talk about it.
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I didn't understand the L.A. riots at all. ALL races lost their minds!
No you didn't see it!
Why did the first jury deliver an acquittal?
Why did the second jury deliver guilty verdict to 2 of the 4?
Do Americans ever take a look at their society and wonder why you have so much racism in the first place? I've been living in Europe now for a while. I was interested to hear about the customs agents that work here and what their job is. They just randomly pull people over and search their vehicles. They need no reasonable suspicion, they can pull of whoever they want. You don't have to be speeding or have expired plates either. Of course this wouldn't fly in the U.S. because we all know what would happen. It would be the Blacks and Latinos that would mostly get searched, not caucasians. Yet here in Europe it's tolerated, because it's not race based. The customs agents pull over just as many new BMW's as they do old beat up cars and I see just as many whites getting searched as I do other races. You couldn't rely on a force like that in the U.S. You can't even rely on a justice system to not be racist. Come on, get it together America.
Dem in Texas FYI that is legal for the BP anywhere within 25 miles of the Texas/Mexico border. This green-eyed blond haired Texas resident has been stopped twice in thirty years for a good look over by the BP. You must be from North Texas.
Here what all Americans should remember: When we needed the police, where were they?
Protecting the rich in Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Malibu........
Americans living in LA had to fend for themselves.
Didn't Gates make the call not to send the officers in when it started? It's a bit fuzzy, but I think that call cost him his job didn't it?
Maybe that's more of a reflection on our justice system. Which already been shown to be racist in their sentencing practices just based on the statistics. A black has more of a chance to be sent to prison for the same crime a white person got probation for.
Its all about money....the best lawyer wins...that simple. You cant tell me OJ Simpson was innocent can you....jeez every one knows he killed his wife...DNA at 93 % Pleeease!
Its all about the dollar and who can pay their way out of it.
I knew a Chicago cop from the 60s and they knew how to handle situations. They never messed with choir boys. In other words, if your black and in jail, you belong there. They didn't plant evidence on people who weren't career criminals.
Look up Rodney King's record. The police didn't just see him walking down the street looking black. The police beating on that tape didn't show the car chase or how he attacked a female officer just prior to that beating.The media should have said that over and over but they didn't. They just showed the tape and let the world think the police just grabbed somebody and started kicking his ass.
So you knew a Chicago cop who admitted to planting evidence on suspects?
There's a term for that. Now what was that???????????????????
See that was LA that wasn't the town I lived in we had one riot in 1967. Nobody will ever try that again. Our mayor on the hottest day of the year invoked the snow emergency act and SHUT THE CITY DOWN for three full days. He put it under martial law and suspended the constitution in the entire city. He closed every bridge between the north side where the riot was and the south side. And invoked a 24 hour curfew for three days. He used the National guard to patrol the non riot areas of the city and kept local law working in the riot area. The riot was completely finished in three days. During his next election he got 67% of the vote citywide and 95% of the vote in the riot area.
I remember the event specifically. Everyone was well aware that King had been chased and attacked someone. The issue was excessive force, that simple. King was severely injured. There was a trend with Gates officers of being more aggressive in the black neighborhoods than the white neighborhoods. This was just the icing on the cake.
The frustration and anger hit a boiling point and everyone was out of control when the verdict was delivered. Some just took the opportunity to commit crimes freely while others were truly reacting to a frustrating situation that had developed over a long time period.
As far as Denny, he was rescued by black individuals and there was a public outcry on his behalf.
BTw-I am white but have a good memory.
Obamadrama. said: "Of course...liberal media at its best...just like the trayvon martin case. MSNBS has to be the most racist news organization out there...its sad come to think of it."
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Got fact-checked substantiation for your claim?
Think about what you just typed up, "Obamadrama." You're trying to associate being "liberal," as being "racist," and, that to you, it makes any news publisher that reports these major events -- and then looking back at it as a lesson in our history -- as somehow making their news outlet as being the "most racist."
Project much? Or are you taking narcotics or drinking as you typed that up, ...or do you have a psychosocial problem of some kind, with your inability to be rational with the existence of non-conservatives everywhere, and the legitimate reporting of news about riots and tragic homicides?
I have a good memory too I remember black leadership saying the mob action was because of Black rage. I remember the Black leadership saying it was the white mans fault because the young blacks were so angry. I remember learning no matter what I did all I would ever be in their eyes was white. Ask youself this 50 years ago our generation voted for things like affirmative action to help level the playing field. Did you think your grandchildren would still be dealing with that choice when you voted that way? Did you think it would become permanent in this country?
When was the last time you saw a white guy getting the $#!^ kicked out of him by the cops in a homemade video on the news?
Dem in Texas maybe it doesn't happen that often because from childhood on most of us teach our children to say yes sir and no sir when stopped by cops. It is so ingrained that even our 1%er bikers tend to say yes sir and no sir. You would be amazed how their demeanor changes with the first "yes sir" out of your mouth. A firendly greeting when they surround you goes a long way towards diffusing a stressful situation. So when you come to my area and BP stops and questions you on your citizenship or residency status to question #1 "Are you a US citizen" The answer is "yes sir" or "no sir" #2 "where were you born" The answer is the city followed by "sir" #3 "do you have ID" it is "yes sir" and give him your Texas DL since your birth certificate or residency papers are encoded in it. And BP knows if you have a Texas DL or ID you are legal.
I highly recommend reading Chapter 4 of this booklet on The Posse Comitatus Act and the US Army. It gives a clearer picture of what went on with the police, the National Guard, and then finally US Army troops sent to Los Angeles.
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/csi_matthews_posse.pdf
Well I have news for you Bullfighter Posse Comitatus has been removed from the military code. Our government can now turn our army on us whenever it pleases.
Obamadrama.
actaully since blacks are a small minority yet 65% of our natins prisons are filled with blacks...what does that tell you? Nuff said.
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America needs more prisons! You can't just say "Well, this means that black people are being treated unfairly."
Black people might be more inclined to criminal activity because they live in neighborhoods where it is more natural to be a criminal than be an upright citizen. Take a black person out of that neighborhood and into one where criminal behavior is looked down on and that person just might change.
The LA riots are easy to understand. The police took a hands off posture for 3 days and let them riot and loot to their hearts content. And this wasn't a Black riot as much as it was a riot of the gangs of LA. It wasn't until the Asian community started shooting to protect their homes and business that police began to bring things under control. And this delay wasn't the police at fault. They take their orders form the mayor's office. And from the Mayors point of view, things couldn't have gone better...only a few rioters were hurt, and a few police men...the other 60 who were killed were just victims of the riot. They don't count.
After the riots, a lot of decent black people that got swept up in the moment and looted stores actually felt ashamed and brought whatever they stole back to the stores they stole from. That is something I think is important to remember.
Black street gangs actually fanned the flames of the riot. It wasn't until the US Army showed up with M-16s that those gangs ran for cover realizing that soldiers won't care about the rights of rioters.
That US Army was the Califonia National Guard. The same as in 67 the US Army pointing a machine gun at me on my front porch was the Wisconsin National Guard. It doesn't really matter when you are looking down the barrel of their weapon you forget it was your governor who sent them not the president.
I knew a guy who was in the Army during WW2 and he told me a story of how he and his platoon was near a bridge somewhere in Germany. A bunch of Germans were walking over the bridge and towards his platoon, with hands up in the air, trying to surrender. His Captain told the platoon to fire on the Germans.
I said "What did you do?"
He replied " We shot em all dead"
End of story.
How many were black??
Bullfighter,
After the riots, a lot of decent black people that got swept up in the moment and looted stores actually felt ashamed and brought whatever they stole back to the stores they stole from. That is something I think is important to remember.
Bullfighter,
Are you kidding me? They felt ashamed and brought the stuff back...Where did you get that information? That is a lie...
Yes, Oprah did an entire show on the riots and had people on who stole then brought what they stole back the next day.
Oprah never lies!
I remember many things about the riots (no I was not there). One was a Black co-worker - bright, college degree, likable - who justified the riots with a wave of her hand, and the statement "well, they're upset." I was floored. They are upset, so they can riot, steal, and assault people?
The other thing that stood out was the news interviews with looters/rioters. Many had no idea what they were even rioting about. One was leaving a Target or K Mart - cannot remember - with an arm load of clothes. The reporter asked if she was looting because upset about the verdict. She said - and this is an accurate quote - "I don't know nothin about that, but I'm going to get me mine." Meaning of course, she was stealing just because she could get away with it. Wonderful.
"I don't know nothin about that, but I'm going to get me mine." Sounds like that person should be working on Wall Street. Or, maybe in the corner office, figuring out how to outsource jobs and raid the retiree's pension funds.
Nice job Sparky, I see that you're a student of the liberal talking points. Tell me which one is illegal, outsourcing jobs, working on wall street or looting a store. I'm guessing that you won't give me a straight answer.
I'm anxiously awaiting.....
If everyone treated each other the way they want to be treated then we wouldn't have this problem. If you want RESPECT then give respect, your rights end at your fingertips. Have DUI accident and kill someone, you should be treated as murder no matter your skin color. We need to teach our kids that right is right and wrong is wrong, Teachers are afraid of our kids and who loses in that? We all do.
Stop making excuses and own up to your mistakes and the Devil didn't make you do it, you choose do it... Skin color has nothing to do with it.
Go to a court and count the verdicts. You will see where the rage comes from. The whites will go home if they didn't hurt a white person. The blacks will be convicted, guilty or not.
Go and look. I have. And that is what I saw.
JohnSixty - is that called the "OJ Simpson rule" ? Oh wait, that would not make sense. Remember all those whites rioting when OJ got off? Oh wait, that did not happen. Never mind.
93 percent of the homicides of black people are perpetrated by blacks. That is the issue to work on. 93 percent. Work on that.
Most murders of whites are by whites. Same with Asians, Hispanics, etc.
You are just a bigot. We've tried America your way Lee. And what did we get? Race riots mostly by whites. Yes, Lee, most American riots historically are white led. Then other people like you Lee, brought slavery, Jim Crowe, Naziism, KKK, anti-semitism, xenophobia.
Why not do this: go find people like you. Move to some rural place where you can make your race jokes in peace and chew tobacco.
Yes, Lee, I am calling you a dumb country bumpkin full of venomous hatred and idiocy.
John Sixty then by their reckoning the time I was arrested since the complainant and the judge and all the cops were hispanic and I was white it should have been a slam dunk right. So how come the judge threw it out of court. Break the law you go down. Tell the truth and you were innocent you walk.
Hey Johnsixty. I'm from the Chicago metro area originally and landed in a place by your definition that would be considered "rural and country bumpkin dumb"--Cedar Rapids, IA. In the span of 5 years, I have witnessed a migration of "ethnic" folks enticed by section 8 housing that absolutely invade this town. Where there was once no more than a half a dozen shootings in one year, we have now equaled that in the month of April. Assaults are up, robberies are up, shootings are up. I won't tell you the color of the majority of these perpetrators but you can easily look up the news reports on the local newspaper and draw your own conclusions. Wonder why people are not color blind? Am I a bigot or a realist? There are people of certain cultures that invest all kinds of energy during cases such as Rodney King and Trayvon Martin.....when will these same community leaders begin investing similar amounts of energy addressing issues within there own race such as single parent homes, excessive crime rates and illiteracy? Seems like if the opportunity for Jesse, Al, etc does not provide a national platform, they want no part of it.
I await your well thought out response.
They never will Hawkeye. The same reason the KKK will not invest in ultra poor white areas. They make money from discontent.
In order for there to be a change, there must be a new great awakening. I don't mean white socialists with superiority complex playing superman, nor do I mean a magic negro among whites.
People have to see each other as individuals. Black culture is, unfortunately, based on 19th century redneck culture. Don't think of the redneck with a great job and is middle class. Think of the 19th century redneck like Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde (20th century), etc. They had the same financial opportunities as blacks today(few) and behaved the same way as so many.
Well Hawkeye I think quite a few of them came for the jobs. Tyson recruits in the Texas border area. We had so many Texans at the Tyson plant in Storm Lake we could have thrown a Texas Independence day party. And yes most were Hispanic. And when Texas played in the Rose Bowl "Hook Em Horns" was the sign of the evening in the lunchroom.
can one imagine all the lives saved, businesses saved, court costs saved if rodney had just stayed down as ordered?
I can easily imagine another riot in Los Angeles. The riot had less to do with racial disparity than it did with opportunism. The culture that made it possible before still exists. It's just focused on a case in Florida right now. When the professional antagonizers leave Florida they could easily land here and incite a riot.
I guess if we're going to excuse the rioters actions as those of people caught up in the emotion of it all, then the same could be said of the police officers that beat Rodney King. Both sides made mistakes, the police were in the wrong as well as the rioters, and thats the one thing we all have in common, we're human, and sometimes its hard to control our emotions. I remember watching the riots on TV, and thinking how is looting and burning down your own neighborhood going to prove anything. The real monsters in the end were the media, they downplayed the fact that Rodney King had assalted a police officer, drove through city streets at over a 100mph, and refused to comply with police orders, all while jacked out of his mind on pcp. Im not saying that what the officers did was right, but if your going to tell a story then tell the whole story. The media did everything they could to enrage the black community, and when it was all said and done , like Nero they sat back and watched Rome burn, and it all made for great TV, bring on the ratings. In the end the actions of Rodney King and the rioters dont represent all of black America, and the actions of the police officers and legal system dont represent white America, but it did show the evil that is the media.
We may get to see another one when GZ walks.
I seems like Sharpton and his ilk are trying to stir up more riots...to keep themselves in business. The Zimmerman case is nothing like the Rodney King case. It has not even been determined if race was an element of the case. As for the Simi Valley ALL WHITE JURY....Turns out there was a Hispanic, a Filipino, and a man name King who's father was black. He said his father didn't have a problem with the verdict, but his mother thought he should have not acquitted the police, what ever the evidence. Go figure. So I guess he was a "white" African American, kind of like Obama and Zimmerman and actually...me too??? They name us what ever is politically correct to get their message across. Pity!!
The ignorance on this site is unbelievable. It doesn't matter what he did in the past or for that matter what he did during the incident you don't treat a person that way. If I am white (which I am) and I am arrested under the same circumstances and am treated humanely, but a black person is brutalized then it's pure and simple, it's called racism. Unfortunately most cities in this country, including my own, York, PA still have Racist Police.
I would not be so sure of that... If you are jacked up on PCP, take the cops on a 100 mph chase, endanger lives, and then attack a female cop; I am willing to bet that you are going to take a beating (no matter your race) if you refuse to stay down and keep trying to get up.
Set fires, loot, destroy private property, maim or kill, all in the interest of justice (?). Puzzling, when they (whoever, whatever race) riot the destruction is usually their own neighborhood. Bad enough the reason, worse the reaction!
Here is a idea: They have 3 jurys in the zimmerman case (1 all black, 1 all white and the last have 2 hispanic 2 white 2 black 2 asiain and 2 indain). The mix jury will get his real name but the other will get the names that fit their race, all other facts about the case will be true they won't see the court room just hear what is going on. We will go with the 2 out 3 verdict.
Race is not a state of mind, race is clearly the fact that, each of us are different from each other. The pathways we each walk take us different ways, but in the end, all of the pathways lead us in a similar direction, so to speak. As for George Zimmerman, he got out of his SUV with a predetermined attitude about a person, walking in Zimmerman's Neighborhood, and George Zimmerman had a preconceived opinion about each of the break-ins that had occurred in Zimmerman's Neighborhood. Who are "Those People" as Zimmerman called the person walking in the rain with his hoodie pulled over his head? The facts are going to paint an image of a man who approached, challenged, and killed an unarmed person. Murder is not a state of mind, murder is a fact.
1943,1968,1992, it looks like it's to soon for another riot over Zimmerman, usually 25 years and it's only been 20.
Hey MSNBC. Maybe with a little effort you can get things started again. You know how much you want it. You've proven it through your outstand, fabricated Zimmerman coverage.
What's fabricated? If we accept everything that Zimmerman says, he is guilty by his own word. He admits to chasing a stranger while holding a gun without reason. This is enough under Florida's stand your ground law for Martin to use lethal force. Supposing Martins struck Zimmerman, he was justified to do so under the law. I realize you may not have the same academic interest in the law as I do, but I assure you, the law allows blacks to defend themselves too!
No Chicago at no time did anyone say holding the gun Concealed carry permit means exactly that you carry it concealed. We don't want to frighten little old ladies. Of course our little old ladies will attack you with household implements and bite your finger right through the bone. You might be better off if we gave them guns. And Chicago from a martial artist. At no time if a confrontation has been broken off are you allowed to then turn and throw the first punch. If you do that is assault. If during that assault you use a hard object such as concrete(the sidewalk) that is assault with a deadly weapon. Have somebody in the law school explain it to you. If GZ lost TM as chubby probably did. That ended the first confrontation. If TM then threw a punch he started a new one in which he was the aggressor.
I wonder how many dozens of photos MSNBC had to scour through to find a white rioter smashing a window, which they featured in the slideshow.
That was not representative.
MSNBC: All Race, All the Time
Looks like a bunch of commenters have never encountered that teachable moment. They are still stuck in their ignorant racist attitudes.
it is not racism, it is real life experience.
What a laughable article with such racial bias! A teachable moment, here is the teachable moment, Rodney King was a repeat offender, who resisted arrest, and had to be subdued by the police to be arrested.
So it was ugly, he made that decision when he decided to resist arrest.
Now Rev. Al and Rev. Jesse are basically implying the same thing should happen again if Zimmerman is eventually acquitted, provided it makes it to trial. But meanwhile all of their racial hatred they spout has led to several white people who had absolutely nothing to do with the Zimmerman case being beaten by black people because they're angry over the Zimmerman case.
Seems like instead of wanting equality and racial equity the black leadership has now decided they want to get even! I think Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. would be spinning in his grave right about now!
Personally, I think there were a lot of teachable moments but I am not sure everyone's teachable moment was the same.
Ayisi just stirring up trouble again by publishing this article.
The LA Riots were not like the Holocaust that requires remembrance.
That city and region is filled to the brim with drug-infested neighborhoods, crimes and thugs. I do not see why we must bring this up again and again. I'm sorry - but it is very different when a man that has a strong and notorious criminal record is taken down by the police and a middle-aged female for no reason other than speaking against a political agenda.
LA is no "Angels Keep".
Let it go.
I would have ended if the LAPD Lt. on the scene with a squad of armed and able officers made the decisions he was paid to make, did so, instead of asking his commanding officer who decided "it would be better" if he withdrew. Both of them were wrong. I was a member of the LAPD at the time and to this day am embarrassed when asked what went wrong. It was inexcusable.
Your mayor needed to take some lessons from Henry W Maier the mayor of Milwoukee for at least 20 yrs. In 67 your riot dragged on for weeks and so did the one in Detroit. He shut ours down in three days. But then you didn't have his snow emergency act to work with. It gave him the power to suspend the constitution within the city limits.