The United States has been the center of migration in recent centuries, therefore, one of the biggest social problems that exist in the North American country are those related to race, in particular, the African-American (black) community has been the one that most He has suffered damages against him and had to advocate for the respect of his rights. Have you heard of the Los Angeles riots of 1992 or the Rodney King riot, what happened?
Just think that what happened to Rodney King in 1992 and the successive riots in the city of Los Angeles It happened only 27 years ago. The abuse of the authorities, generally of white people over other groups, is one of the social issues or problems (scourges) that most affect the United States.
These tensions experienced in 1992 involved not only the whites and blacksbut were also involved latinos and koreansto such an extent that relations between the Asian country (South Korea) and the United States became tense, as a result of what happened in Los Angeles.
The trigger for this explosion of race conflict It was due to the persecution and subsequent beating of an African-American taxi driver named Rodney King, who, although he was under the influence of alcohol and, possibly, drugged, was brutally attacked by four white members of the Los Angeles Police (LAPD). ).
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This was recorded and spread, generating a violent reaction of hatred and revulsion from the African-American community to the white population, thus exploiting a breeding ground that had been cooking for many years.
Racial tensions in Los Angeles in 1992
Like most cities in the United States, Los Angeles had and still has a large concentration of different races in its city, that is, whites, blacks, Latinos, etc. coexist.
The majority of the Afro-American community was dedicated to owning businesses such as grocery stores and/or liquor stores, however, the arrival of Latinos and Koreans (the role of Koreans is important, since they will be the ones who will end up fighting the most with the African-Americans) generated labor competition that caused many of these businesses run by blacks to lose sales or, directly, that the sources of work decreased.
Parallel to this, there will be an event that will change everything, that is, it will be -almost- the straw that breaks the camel’s back in the Californian city; the gardening companies that were in charge of the care of the city center were owned -mostly- by Koreans and blacks were the ones who formed the majority of the payroll, this will change with a series of dismissals and massive substitutions in the 80s in favor of Hispanics/Latinos, who were paid half as much as blacks.
This would generate a great tension between koreans and blacksto such an extent that we will see how it transcended until it reached the field of culture, with musical compositions such as the Ice Cube song called “Black Korea” in which it refers to these shopkeepers who were racist.
Thus we arrive at March 3, 1992when they give beating rodney kingAfrican-American taxi driver who would never imagine how his suffering became a general feeling in the community to which he belonged.
The sequence of the riots in Los Angeles 1992
The riots come six days after the majority white jury rejected all but one indictment at the Rodney King trial on April 29, 1992:
- April 29: authorities declare themselves on the case, President Bush asks for calm and says that justice has acted; the mayor of Los Angeles, for his part, says that these images can never be forgotten.
- In addition, two unfortunate episodes occurred, two beatings, a Guatemalan and a white truck driver (Reiginald Denny), who were beaten and in the case of the Guatemalan painted his trunk and genitals black, luckily, he even managed to recover the hearing that he had lost after the beating.
- April 30: this day the violence got out of control and we could say that it became generalized, to such an extent that it was necessary for the National Guard to be deployed throughout the city, although it took 24 hours to do so.
- May 1: the suspension of many of the activities that were planned for the day, such as basketball or baseball games, stands out. Likewise, the most violent areas suffered a blackout at night (in order to calm them down?).
- May 2: the National Guard manages to take control of the city.
- From then on, the security of the United States managed to ensure that calm reigned and that only isolated cases remained. However, many soldiers remained in the city until the 27th of the month, meaning they were prepared for the violence to continue on the streets of Los Angeles in 1992.
What happened to Rodney King?
Basically his statements were eagerly awaited in the days, however, he was probably affected by the violence that reigned in the city, to the point where he declared that if it was not possible for everyone to live together in peace.
He continued his life quietly until he died in 2012 at the age of 47, not violently, but in a swimming pool after abusing the use of alcohol and drugs.
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Consequences of the Rodney King case
It is probably the case that, as we discussed at the beginning of this article, it reminds us how racism is still present in today’s societies; all this will have a consequence in cultural media such as music or television.
Movies like Malcolm X make reference to what happened in Los Angeles in 1992 and even put the scenes of the beating of Rodney King in order to make it a fact that will never be forgotten, thus claiming the rights of the African-American community in the United States. .
Necessary movements so that the rights of each one are worth the same and that there is no supremacy of some over others, whoever they are, let us all live in peace together!
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