The 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion

About this episode

This episode discusses the 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion triggered by the acquittal of police officers in the Rodney King case.

When a Simi Valley jury announced the “not guilty” verdictsin the case of four police officers charged in the beating of African American motorist Rodney King on April 29, 1992, Los Angeles erupted in a firestorm of anti-police protest. Written by Max Felker-Kantor. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B.Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/may-2017-1992-los-angeles-rebellion-no-justice-no-peace . Learn more about the L.A. Riots: Abu-Lughod, Janet L. Race, Space, and Riots in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007) Cannon, Lou. Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD (Boulder: WestviewPress, 1999) Davis, Mike. “Who Killed Los Angeles? A Political Autopsy.” New Left Review 197 (1993): 3–28. Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, “Report of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department,” (Los Angeles: The Commission, 1991) Stevenson, Brenda. The Contested Murder of LatashaHarlins: Justice, Gender, and the Origins of the LA Riots (New York: Oxford University…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle

Topics covered

• Los Angeles Riots
• Rodney King
• police brutality
• racial tensions
• historical perspective

Keywords

• Los Angeles
• Rodney King
• 1992 Riots
• police officers
• racial injustice

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD, Race, Space, and Riots in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins: Justice, Gender, and the Origins of the LA Riots, The City in Crisis: A Report by the Special Advisor to the Board of Police Commissioners on the Civil Disorder in Los Angeles

Places: Los Angeles

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