A Brief history
On April 29, 1992, the lower income areas of Los Angeles erupted with violence, pent up anger released after the acquittal of four white police officers accused of beating Rodney King after a high speed pursuit.
Digging Deeper
The black community was on edge after the video taped beating of an African-American male (Rodney King) by the LAPD and the shooting death of a 15 year old African-American girl by a Korean grocer for stealing a drink worth less than $2.
When the verdict from the all white jury was announced, African-Americans took to the streets in an angry and vengeful mood. The greatly outnumbered LAPD was taped fleeing from confrontations with the mobs and also ignoring violence as it occurred.
Over the next 3 days violence claimed between 53 and 63 lives (depending on the source of your statistics) and hundreds of injuries. Over a billion dollars of damage was done to municipal and private property and almost 3,800 buildings were burned. Eventually it took 13,000 police, National Guard, and Marines to restore order.
Korean businesses were especially targeted as resentment against them had been building for a long time. Reasons for resentment were the above listed killing and the feeling that Koreans looked down on African-Americans and were profiting from the black community with excessively high prices . Koreans of course had their own perspective, which was that prices had to be high because of either extremely high insurance costs or refusal of insurance companies to insure “ghetto” stores. Additionally, a high theft and vandalism rate mandated high prices.
Almost half of all the private property damage done was to Korean owned properties, and the Koreans, frustrated with the perceived unwillingness or inability of the LAPD to protect them, fought back hard with firearms, firing thousands of rounds of warning shots and sometimes shooting looters. Less than a quarter of the 2,600 ruined Korean businesses were reopened.
The Hispanic community also suffered, with almost all the other half of commercial losses incurred by Hispanic owned businesses. About a third of the people killed were Hispanic, as well as nearly half of those arrested.
Ironically, the African-American community suffered the most, with more than half of the fatalities and injuries and the majority of the arrests. Of the thousands arrested, many were later released without prosecution because of the inability of police officers to identify individual people with specific crimes.
The Caucasian community actually suffered the least, with only a few of the deaths, although here and there white people such as truck driver Reginald Denny were viciously assaulted, apparently just for being white. (Denny’s beating was also filmed.)
The 1992 Los Angeles riot was the second deadliest in US history, second only to the 1863 New York City anti-draft riot. Few burned out buildings were replaced, and a large shift in population has occurred, with many African-Americans moving out and Hispanic-Americans moving in. Although distrust and tensions with the police remain, that tension is far less than it was, and tensions between ethnic communities has also eased somewhat.
Numerous movies, books, and popular songs have featured aspects of the 1992 riot, so many that we cannot list them all here. Skeptics have alleged that the subsequent federal trial of the police officers resulted from a government effort to ease racial tensions and even that O.J. Simpson was found not guilty just to prevent new riots. Question for students (and subscribers): Did the riot hurt or help the African-American community? Was the rioting, looting, murder and arson justified? Did the media instigate the violence? Was the temporary ban on firearm and ammunition sales a safety measure or did it leave helpless citizens unable to defend themselves? Tell us what you think in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Koon, Stacey. Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair. Regnery Publishing, Inc., 1992.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1971 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1971">34 Comments
This is crazy that this happened not that long ago and that so many people were affected. I do not think that the people involved in this were justified in resorting to violence to get their point across and it doesn’t seem like the media helped alleviate the tension. Looking at the statistics, I think the African-American community was hurt by this event, but it is unfortunate that they felt it necessary to start a riot in the first place.
I don’t know if we will ever understand human nature. As much has been accomplished to educate people to be tolerant of each other, I still, today, hear certain people utter incinderary remarks about people that they don’t understand.The potential for situations like the Rodney King incident and the 15 yr old girl of another race being shot over a $2.00 botlle of pop are still close by.
I remember watching this when it happened and the media always plays apart in everything be it good or bad. However the Rodney King beating was ridiculous and those police officers were in the wrong and should have been punished. As for the 15 yr old girl, no she should not have been shot, however she should not have been stealing either.
Cannot believe anyone would kill a 15-year old girl for stealing a drink. That’s awful.
I will never understand how people can be so ruthless to other human beings.
Awful how people can treat each other like this.
It was no coincidence that earlier that same month (April 1992) John Gotti was convicted and sent to prison on the testimony of a murdering rat. Between the recent end to the Cold War with the Soviets, and the mortally wounded hegemony of strength based upon Omerta, just as uncivilized barbarians were the death nail to the Roman Empire, so beginning in the spring of 1992, America embarked upon a new era of ‘equality’. Now thugs of every race, nationality, origin, poured in to fill the newly created power vacuum, and their violent race to the bottom has never abated. Within less than a month America went from Frank Sinatra, spaghetti, and romance, to Snoop Dog, fried chicken, and booty calls. Since the, there have been countless other thugs whom rioting and looting thugs have used as their excuse to rape, pillage, and plunder from the fruits of the labors of others, and yet Reginald Denny’s blood still cries out.
I think some people just look for an excuse to start a riot! — DAVID WARDLE
People are always looking to start something. Horrible that they can be so mean to one another
The riots are without question bad for the african american community, and completely unjustified.
I think people just want a riot so that they can loot stores. If you’re going to riot, do it peacefully for pity’s sake.
Starting riots are pointless, they go no where.
The rioting wasn’t justified. Having lives taken away for political reasons like that is not justified.
Billy Joel needs to make another “We didn’t start the fire,” covering ’90 to this and on up. Long time brewing.
Reading this is just sadly illustrating that we still have not escaped these problems
One of the most tragic incidents that have ever occurred. This was outright ridicules.
What the police do is totally un called for. Anyone no matter of race would be upset about this attack. Rioting does not get anyone any where though it just causes more problems and more people hurt.
Riot is not the answer to the problems here. The police officers were found not guilty (as they should have been) after Rodney King resisted arrest. Just because the video was played out of context to the news and the reporting was way off people acted uncivilized and felt the need to steal from others who worked for a living. Just like with Ferguson, there are much better ways to get your message across without acting like total idiots!
This rioting seemed a little extreme to say the least.
Riots over race so sad…..
once again another race topic, not something i like to talk about. but having riots do not always fix the problems here. a civil protest would have been better for this situation.
First it starts with anger about a event then it turns into outrage which leads into people rallying in the streets. Next thing you know A riot breaks out. Riots does not accomplish anything but destruction.
Racism can destroy a country. We’re still seeing this stuff today, we just had riots in St. Louis within the last year. I don’t understand how they got off with video taped evidence. They don’t seem like the answer but what was the community supposed to do, let it slide? It’s sad but sometimes true.
After reading this article, I can see anger arising out of the shooting of the 15-year old girl for stealing a cheap drink. I would be angry too. But I think rioting is never a solution, just as we continue to see now. Dr. King would disapprove of the violent reactions.
killing a girl over a stolen drink omg i don’t know whats wrong with people!!!! despicable the riots does,nt make it no better but you can see that racism will never end.
I understand their anger but ya cant be going around doing stuff like this.
I believe riots like this actually make the cause their going for get hurt more than help all their doing is pissing people off by these riots and costing citizens tax dollars.
I don’t understand why the riots are necessary, destroying things doesn’t make your case. I do think this is a factor in why OJ Simpson was acquitted though.
Riots only ever make things worse. They’re so pointless
Really a little girl was killed over a stollen drink! what the heck
This riot cost more lives than the incidents that happened before. Riots are not the answer.
People kill others for no reason whatsoever. I feel sad for that little girl’s family.. they lost their daughter over something so little! so unnecessary
So they found OJ Simpson not guilty to avoid another riot when they might have had enough evidence to put him away for murder?
I don’t think violence is the answer for any of this. Rodney King should have went quietly with the police. People shouldn’t hurt others to prove a point. A young girl shouldn’t have been shot for taking a drink without paying.