The 1992 Los Angeles Riots: The History of the Civil Disturbances across LA after the Beating of Rodney King

Summary

The fight for civil rights was at the forefront of inspirational, high-octane movements that took 20th century America by storm. It was a long time coming, to say the least, and yet, while some headway was made, progress was difficult and painfully slow. The historic advancements achieved during the Reconstruction Era were reversed by the Jim Crow law, a hideous set of statutes that enforced racial segregation. Although some of the most “progressive” northern states outwardly opposed those laws, black civilians and veterans alike who resided in these liberal states were still regarded as second-class citizens whose occupations were limited to farming, factory work, domestic service, and other low-wage jobs.

Time and again, black Americans had no choice but to take to the streets and demand their rights. It was only through the resilience of the black community, and the powerful, peaceful protests they mobilized that they were finally granted voting rights and equal employment opportunities as archaic segregation laws were formally dismantled. Sadly, not all Americans celebrated these momentous milestones for minorities, which were long overdue, and discrimination still reared its ugly head in many forms.

One of the most common complaints minorities had centered on the use of police brutality, an issue that remains at the forefront of the conversation today. While protests emerged after the death of George Floyd in 2020, perhaps the most notorious example of police brutality in modern American history was the beating of Rodney King, whose arrest was caught on video. The trial that followed and the acquittal of the police officers who attacked him touched off violence, much of which was captured on video and broadcast around the globe.