The 1992 Los Angeles Riots, a reaction to the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police, was one of the most significant events in twentieth-century American history. The riots began as a response to the court decision following the beating of King after a high-speed chase for his drunk driving arrest. A camcorder video captured four police officers repeatedly beating King, a Black man, long after he was unable to resist arrest.[1] Technological limitations in 1992, such as the lack of smartphone cameras, meant that incidents of police brutality were rarely recorded, despite occurring frequently.[2] Having concrete video evidence that documented King’s beating provided hope for the Black community that the officers would be held accountable. The court verdict, however, found the four officers not guilty of any charges except one against Laurence Powell for excessive force. A few hours later after the verdicts were read, Angelinos began to protest in the street, sparking what would later be known as Los Angeles Riots. Local businesses were looted, white motorists were pulled out their vehicle and beaten, and buildings were set on fire.[3] After four days of civil unrest, thousands were injured and over fifty people were killed.[4]
The 1992 riots brought national attention to the daily problems Black people have faced in America for decades. To fight for equality and express their emotions, some chose to participate in peaceful protests, some resorted to violence, and some even coped through art. Black people used murals in particular to call attention to African American (word repetition) concerns, to challenge negative stereotypes, and to unify communities.[5] After King’s beating, themes of police brutality and racism became especially prevalent in murals. One example is Noni Olabisi’s
Freedom Won’t Wait (1992) (fig. 1), which depicts several Black faces in agony mourning for the brutality that King endured and other historical instances of violence against Black people, such as lynching. One of Olabisi’s other artworks,
To Protect and Serve (1966) (fig. 2), commemorates the Black Panther Party, a radical activist group active from 1966 to 1982 that declared it would defend itself from police brutality through armed resistance. Olabisi uses her artwork as a call for systemic change in police brutality and to promote resistance.[6] Art continues to be a source of expression for the Black community to voice their pains and struggles.
It has been thirty years since the riots, yet police brutality against Black people continues to be a recurring problem. One viral video in June 2020 captured the murder of George Floyd, a Black man arrested for suspicion of using a counterfeit bill, during which officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes until Floyd was left unconscious and pronounced dead an hour later.[7] In a separate incident on March 13th of 2020, Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker, was shot by white Louisville plainclothes police officers after entering her apartment with force for a drug dealing investigation.[8] During the LA riots, it was mainly an inter-minority effort. Since then, these events have changed overtime as protests against unjust violence have slowly become more “multiethnic, multicultural, and even multigenerational.”[9] In the wake of Floyd’s murder, society began to empathize with the Black community, as the viral video provided indisputable evidence that racial violence remains a daily part of American life. The increasing awareness of racial issues in the community resulted in an abundance of murals and
social media accounts, along with
hashtags and
activist posts that aimed to spread awareness of Black issues (fig 3). The mural in Figure 3 was created on May 25th of 2020 in Minneapolis and serves to remember the life and death of George Floyd after his murder. Chauvin was found guilty in April 2021 of all charges, most significantly for third-degree murder. This was a historical event as it was only the second time a cop was convicted in court for police brutality in Minnesota. The persistent pattern of racial discrimination highlights that Rodney King’s beating was not just a singular event, but one of many unjustified incidents of racial violence that occurred before and after it as well.[10] While progress has been made after decades of inequality in America, there is still a lot more work that needs to be done until racial barriers no longer exist.
Notes
1. “LA 92 (Full Documentary),”
National Geographic, Accessed April 10, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaotkHlHJwo&ab_channel=NationalGeographic.
2. “Rodney King: Camera That Captured 1991 Beating to Be Auctioned,”
BBC News, Accessed April 9, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53565749.
3. “When LA Erupted In Anger: A Look Back At The Rodney King Riots,”
NPR, Accessed April 10, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/524744989/when-la-erupted-in-anger-a-look-back-at-the-rodney-king-riots.
4. “Los Angeles Riots of 1992,”
Encyclopedia Britannica, Accessed April 11, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/event/Los-Angeles-Riots-of-1992.
5. “Visiting African American murals: a content analysis of Los Angeles, California.”
Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, Accessed April 11, 2021.
6. “14 Black Muralists in LA You Need to Know,”
SPARC, Accessed April 11, 2021, https://sparcinla.org/14-black-muralists/.
7. “George Floyd: What Happened in the Final Moments of His Life,”
BBC, Accessed April 8, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52861726.
8. “A Year After Breonna Taylor's Killing, Family Says There's 'No Accountability',”
NPR, Accessed April 9, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/03/13/973983947/a-year-after-breonna-taylors-killing-family-says-theres-no-accountability.
9. “USC Professor on How Protests Have Changed Since LA Riots In 1992,”
NPR, Accessed April 10, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/867195883/usc-professor-on-how-protests-have-changed-since-la-riots-in-1992.
10. “USC Professor on How Protests Have Changed Since LA Riots In 1992,”
NPR, Accessed April 10, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/867195883/usc-professor-on-how-protests-have-changed-since-la-riots-in-1992.
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