Twighlight LA 1992

Twilight is dedicated to the citizens of LA

Anne Deavere Smith the author/play writer of Twilight  interviewed over 200 people in research of civil disturbances in Los Angeles.  I would enjoy seeing one of her plays live that act out and portray on stage scripts based on her interview material.  April 29, 1992....This is an important day in Los Angeles history! The Watts riots is something I never even heard much about until recently and why?
Watts riots were one of the biggest riots ever recorded!!! & has Los Angeles changed?  Are we still facing racism and prejudice authority? 

 "How has the race canvas changed since the Watts riots?  Los Angeles shows us that the story of race in America is much larger and more complex than a story of black and white. There are new players in the race drama."(Smith, xxi). 

 This relates to everything we have been reading in class.  Tatum writes about the dominants and subordinates and how we portray each other and how subordinates need to be aware because its survival.  In the novel, White Like Me, we see Wise explain how he sees racism and he is a "dominant" figure.  Wise is the privileged one, but he can not sit back and watch this unjust world crumble!  In class, we watched videos about the McDonalds scandal, and Milgrams Experiment about being obedient to authority....is this what is happening?  Are people not applying their self?  Are people ignoring their own thoughts because they are scarred?  What is next???

Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965 – June 17, 2012)
RK was an African-American construction worker and serial criminal who became nationally known after being beaten by Los Angeles police officers following a high-speed car chase on March 3, 1991. A local witness, George Holliday, videotaped this from his balcony.
The footage shows five officers surrounding King, several of them striking him repeatedly, while other officers stood by. Part of the footage was aired around the world which outrages the public and raised concern about police treatment of minorities.
Four officers were charged with assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force. Three were acquitted of all charges. The jury acquitted the fourth of assault with a deadly weapon, but failed to reach a verdict on the use of excessive force. The jury deadlocked at 8-4 in favor of acquittal.
The acquittals are generally considered to have triggered the1992 Watts Riots, in which 53 people were killed and over two thousand were injured, ending only when the military were called in. The case was then re-tried by a Federal grand jury. The trial ended on April 16, 1993, with two of the officers found guilty and subsequently imprisoned. The other two were acquitted.

http://youtu.be/SW1ZDIXiuS4

Does this still happen today?  How do we stand up to authority?  What do we do about it when it is out of our hands?  I knew nothing about Rodney King and I had to research him while beginning to read Twilight. 

"Yet more than twenty years later, living conditions for blacks and Latinos in Los Angeles have hardly improved, and Rodney King's beating was only the most visible example of years of police brutality toward people of color." -Introduction in Anna Deavere Smith Twighlight