History Of The 1992 Los Angeles Riots

The 1992 Los Angeles Riots was a series of riots and civil disturbances that include lootings, arsons, and racial attacks. The acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Deparment officers who excessively beat an African-American male on film and the murder of a teenage African-American girl ignited the riots. The aftermath of the Los Angeles Riots resulted in 55 deaths and approximately $1 billion in property damage.1
There were many factors that triggered the riots besides the beating of an African-American male and the murder of a young African-American girl. The Cold War ended in 1991 and China entered the global market. This caused a GM plant to close down in Los Angeles, and many people lost their jobs.2 A great deal of the people that lost their jobs were minorities from South Central Los Angeles. Many corporations either moved out of Los Angeles or went to other countries such as China for workers3; furthermore, many job opportunities were lost. California’s unemployment rate rose 7% in 1991 and became the third-highest unemployment industrial state.4 South Central Los Angeles was where many minorities lived, and it was where the poverty was. Many parts of South Central Los Angeles were never rebuilt after the 1960s Watts Riot which was similar to the Los Angeles Riots.5
Although Los Angeles had elected their first African-American mayor, Tom Bradley, there were many racial conflicts that were occurring in the city. Many minorities believed they were being harassed and targeted on the basis of their race by the Los Angeles Police Department.6 Los Angeles had a long history for racial tensions because the city was very segregated in the 1940s and 1950s.7 In the 1960s, approximately 95% of African-Americans in Los Angeles Coun...

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...domestic abuse, and drug intoxication even after his incident.79 King walked around with a bullet proof vest due to receiving many threats, even years after his incident.80 On June 17, 2012, King was found dead in his swimming pool in California at the age of 47.
Although it’s called the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, many call it the Los Angeles Civil Unrest because they believe it was more than just riots. Riots did not only occur in Los Angeles, but they sparked in Oakland, San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Las Vegas, and Chicago as well.81 What really started the riots was the decades of oppression the minorities felt. After the King beating and the Harlins incident, the minorities believed the only way to be heard was to start riots. Although the minorities were blaming “the white man,” they ended up destroying their own neighborhoods, harming their own communities.