For many people who could not identify with the protesters and watched the LA riots from the comfort of their home, it seemed like the protesters were making a mountain out of a molehill. They didn't understand the long history of brutality that those protesters had witnessed leading up to the Rodney King case. And the one time that their struggle with police violence was captured on film, the officers got off scot-free. All this tension that had been built up over time finally got released in the 1992 uprising.
Past history:
1838: The first American Police department was created in Boston. At first, European immigrants were targeted by the police. But as more and more African American citizens escaped the South during Jim Crow time, they were also subject to police brutality in the North.
1929: The Illinois Association for Criminal Justice found that even though African Americans made up just 5% of Chicago and Cook County's
population, they were the victims of 30% of police killings.
1932: The National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement published the “Report on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement”, which helped shed light on the history of police brutality.
1963: The famous March on Washington featured signs protesting police brutality (for example, the one donated to the Smithsonian by Samuel Egerton that reads; “We Demand an End to Police Brutality Now!”)
1965: The Watts Riots in LA began in response to the rumors that police had abused Marquette Frye and possibly his mother.
I967: Two Newark Police officers arrest and beat John Smith, an African American taxi driver. This incites the Newark Riots in New Jersey.
1988: The Tompkins Square Park Riot was used as an excuse for the police to indiscriminately assault the protesters.
**see: http://projects.nyujournalism.org/streetsofnewyork-northtompkins/2017/04/18/tompkins-square-park-riot-1988/ ... "Many of the
officers concealed their badges to protect their identities as they
indiscriminately clubbed and beat protestors and uninvolved bystanders
without arrest."**
1991: George Holliday videotapes the brutal beating of Rodney King.
All of these past riots and records of police brutality ultimately led to the LA riots in 1992.
Looking at your examples made me think of unheard cases that occurred before Rodney King's case. For example, in the book Twilight Los Angeles, 1992, there was a chapter on Harland W. Braun who mentioned a story about his son who was in a passenger in a car that an African American was driving. They got pulled over just because the officer believed the driver was a dope dealer driving a nice car in a wealthy city. This is just one out of many other injustice stops done by police officers. There are the very own Stop and Frisk that gives officers the right to stop anyone for suspected activity and usually only stop those of color just based on their skin color. Your examples are great! There are many more that are unheard of.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why it came out as unknown but I was the one to comment this.
Delete-Teresita Gaitan
Yes, this has been going on for a long time. It hasn’t stopped at all. You’re right nothing has changed and the likelihood of it changing any time soon is very small. Our president and his attributes are making racism worse in this country. There does even seem to be “a war between residents and police officers” since so many reports today have been stories of police shooting innocent black people who were never armed and were never dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThere is one hope. Due to the advancements on technology there are a lot more reports about violence. People are more aware of police brutality and it is refuted a lot faster. People can upload the news rather than waiting for a TV broadcast. There are even apps that can document police abuse. Still, it is hard to say when any of this will stop. Even with police body cams we seem to keep letting off officers who are responsible.