News Me Baby: Rodney King & the LA Riots- 17 years later

The story of Rodney King is one that the world, and Angelenos in particular will always remember. It's on par with the asassination of JFK or MLK Jr., the Northridge quake, and 9/11. In our 90's, we'll still be able to recall where we were, and what we were doing when we first heard the news.

The brutal beating of a man named Rodney King, off a deserted Los Angeles freeway in March 1991, was the catalyst that sparked the LA Riots just over one year later. On April 29, 1992, the officers involved in the beating were acquitted, and chaos ensued.

The LA Riots were a defining moment in the history of our fair city. Racial tensions came to a head once again- decades after the Civil Rights Movement, and the fight for equality took over this country.

In 1992, I was 8 years old. Growing up with a mother who was constantly glued to the news, I was used to the bad stuff. But scenes of looting, fire, and the live near-death beating of Reginald Denny stuck with me. If I knew what the word apocalypse meant at the time, I'm sure that's how I would describe the events in LA.

17 years to the day after the riots began, I'd like to think that something like the Rodney King incident couldn't happen again. But who knows? With the exception of a brief stint in Memphis, I've never been subjected to any kind of racial anxiety, and with the color of my skin I doubt I'll ever come close to the kind of prejudice those LAPD officers exhibited back in 1991. If I did, I doubt I'd have the resilience and strength to forgive. Fortunately, Rodney King is a much stronger man than I.

In honor of the anniversary of the riots, LAist.com has posted an interview with Rodney King, written by Caleb Bacon. It's a hell of a story...

King’s Hyundai was speeding west on the 210 freeway north of Los Angeles. His intoxicated mind swam with childhood memories of his father getting “stomped and kicked on by the police,” he said. “I never thought I’d get caught up in one of those kind of beatings.”
“I knew what kind of dudes followed a police chase,” said King. He finally stopped on Foothill Boulevard in Lake View Terrace near Sylmar. Multiple police cars surrounded him. “I knew it wasn’t going to be nothing nice.”

King was first met by Officer Melanie Singer. Behind her, King could see the other officers readying their billy clubs. “I told her 'tell them they don’t have to do this.'" Non-responsive, she walked away as the other officers charged King.

Despite the presence of African-American officers, the words of the charging officers was “straight racist,” he said. Standing aside, the African-American officers did not participate in The Beating. "Whoever black that was standing around was probably scared for their job. It was like a routine that you just know goes on.”