Daily Bruin File Photo Two looters run past a burning building
on Vernon and Vermont Avenues in South Central during the 1992
riots, during which several hundred businesses incurred losses due
to looting and burning.
By Catherine Jayin Jun
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
CATHERINE JAYIN JUN/Daily Bruin File Photo Pyung Soon Lee
volunteers to assemble American flags at a rally in Koreatown, held
to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Los Angeles
Uprising.
Rising from the ashes, communities throughout the city sift
through the events of the fiery Los Angeles uprising upon its 10th
anniversary today. Sparked by the acquittal of the four officers in
the Rodney King beating, the Los Angeles uprising resulted in
violence, looting and the burning of neighborhood stores. It lasted
nearly four days throughout parts of South Central and Koreatown,
leaving 55 dead, 2,235 injured, and nearly $1 billion dollars in
property damage. It became one of Los Angeles’ most
economically crippling events. But for many students and others
throughout the city, its social consequences remain a prominent
issue for Los Angelinos today. “The L.A. riots (were) a wake
up call “¦ (They) questioned authority, and what was behind
it,” said Candice Kortkamp, a third-year American literature
student. The past decade gave the community a chance to question
and challenge the belief that the uprising was simply an ethnic
conflict between African and Korean Americans. Many now attribute
the cause to frustrations toward a slumped economy and an
indifferent city government, which hit hard in impoverished
neighborhoods such as South Central, which “are not being
uplifted but ignored,” said Robert Battles, chairperson of
the UCLA African Student Union.
The Associated Press Smoke covers L.A. on April 30, 1992, as
fires like this one near Vermont Avenue burn out of control.
But many believe such social problems continue to persist today,
clouding the outlook for a future unmarred by another uprising.
“There (has) been some progress (since the riots), some
sincere and some token. But not much has changed,” said
Kublai Kwon, a spoken word artist who aims to raise ethnic
political consciousness. His sentiments mirror those of several
other community members, whose examination of the uprising and its
effects during the past decade leads them to believe that there
still remains much to be improved, through increased communication
between various communities.
Members of the Korean American community march down the streets
of Koreatown in Los Angeles with an outspread American flag to show
solidarity with the surrounding communities on Saturday.
Despite many beliefs that another uprising could occur, those
who experienced the riots look upon the tragedy as an experience to
glean insight and the lessons needed to avoid past mistakes. It is
an event that can recur but can be prevented as well. Darrell
Nelms, manager of Art’s World Famous Chili Dogs on the corner
of Florence and Normandie, where much of the uprising took place,
maintains optimism for the future ahead. And in spite of
challenges, he believes, “things are getting a lot
better.”
The Associated Press Rodney King makes his
first statement after the beating.
CATHERINE JAYIN JUN/Daily Bruin File Photo Art’s World
Famous Chili Dogs stands unscathed on the corner of Florence and
Normandie Avenues.