Often times when thinking of the 1992 LA riots, it is thought of as an isolated incident. Some people may believe that the beating of Rodney King was the first instance of the police brutality truly being brought to light. Though it was the first video of police brutality to become international news and really reach the mainstream media, it was far from the first "warning" to the public that these were major issues in the world and specifically LA during this time. The NWA was a major rap group that has been praised as one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time. Their album Straight Outta Compton was released in 1988, four years before the riots in LA. This album featured strong political lyrics depicting the lives that these young African-American men encountered in LA at the time. One of their most talked about songs on this album is "Fuck The Police" in which lyrics like "they have the authority to kill a minority" and "cause my identity by itself causes violence" bring to light the nature of police brutality leading up to the LA riots. This album sold three million copies, and so its hard to believe that their message didn't reach the general public.
This being just four years before the 1992 riots, it goes to show that these circumstances of racism and blatant disregard for human rights were very prominent. The riots in 1992 were in response to not just the Rodney King beating and acquittal of the officers, but to years of oppression and that ultimately boiled over into an expected and justified uprising. The years leading up to the LA riots were an opportunity for change that was ignored by the majority population. The responses to the NWA's album were overwhelmingly negative. They were criticized heavily for their truthful lyrics and this method of disregard was mirrored in the response to the riots in 1992. The specified areas of police protection for "high-class" neighborhoods along with media attacks on the the meaning and motives behind the riots attempted to downplay and disrespect the rights of the marginalized people who were just fighting for their lives.
The 1992 riot certainly brought the police brutality issue to the forefront of news across the world, and also created a situation that could no longer be denied or ignored by the racist people and police who seemingly thrived in this broken system, but given how long it has been since the riot I beg the question of have we really progressed? Racism is arguably still very heavily rooted in our society today. Police brutality like that which was depicted in the Rodney King beating is strewn across the internet today. Have people not learned from these iconic events or have people fallen back into familiar routine of disregard and dismiss? One way or another, a change must be made.
Isaac Polkinhorne
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