A glimpse at the aftermath of the L.A. Riots

A Glimpse at the Aftermath of the L.A. Riots

"Black/Korean tensions have been widespread for years, reflecting patterns of antagonism between low-income communities and the "middleman minority" entrepreneurs who provided to services to them" (Omi and Wynant)

The short video clip below illustrates the effects of the boiling point of racial tensions within central Los Angeles. During the 1990s, many Koreans owned small merchant businesses in hispanic/African-American communites because of the low rents and reduced competition. On the flip side, many African Americans resided in these same areas and for these black residents, the Korean owned businesses appeared to offer inferior products at high prices; seemed to "crowd out" potential black-owned competitors. Due to the already heightened tensions between the two racial groups, the tragic incident of the shooting of 15 year old Latasha Harlins sparked rage within the black community and ignited a fire that would rampage throughout the downtown Los Angeles area.

The youtube clip below shows the immediate reactions Koreans had to the burning of their businesses. The devastation, anger, and sadness is clearly discernible even through the lens of a 3 minute clip, and, as you can see in the video, one female Korean is captured on film crying, expressing her confusion as to why her hard earned business that took twenty two years to create is crumbling down before her very sight. Throughout history, innocent civilians too often suffer the brunt of the damage caused by the hands of a wrongful few, and the 1992 L.A. riots, from my perspective, tells a similar narrative. Misunderstanding and the indefensible, unjustified actions of one individual (Soon Ja Du specifically in the case of the L.A. riots) creates overwhelming sorrow and devastation for hundreds of families who just wanted to work to achieve their dreams. Most definitely, the L.A. riots is a lesson for all of us, and I hope that from this point on we can all strive to look past our physical differences and learn to respect and appreciate the diversity of cultures that exist within our world.

-David Park