Conflict and compromise is an imperative and inevitable part of global history. One memorable instance of this was the Korean community’s forced involvement in the 1992 L.A. Riots. When a conflict of rioters, looters, and arsonists persisted, Korean-American rivals in business came together to protect their families, culture, and businesses against the unifying cause of a common enemy. In doing so, strengthening the community and fighting for the future of their families and lives. This is important for the future generations to understand the compromises to this conflict, and grow and learn from the actions of those who came before us.
A video of a man named Rodney King went viral when a man named George Holliday recorded the scene of King
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Yet, no actions were taken towards the police, who were tried for aggravated assault, creating outrage among King's supporters. On April 29, 1992, it was announced that the officers Sgt. Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Theodore Briseno, and Timothy Wind were acquitted and released. In the early 1990's, a spike of Korean immigrants occurred. There was double the amount of immigrants than prior years, especially in the California and Los Angeles areas. This lead to the creation of Koreatown, a congregation of Korean businesses. In this town, there were countless Korean families who began their businesses from the ground up to achieve their version of the "American Dream".
At this time, race was regarded as a divider between interactions ergo, racial tension was present in the community. With the pent up anger and tension, the result was violence and the beginning of the L.A. Riots. However, the riots began as the African-Americans were protesting against the police in the name of Rodney King and the injustice that was inflicted on him. During the process they began to loot stores and set fires in Koreatown, forcing the involvement of the Korean
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Rioters began violence at the famous corner of Florence and Normandie where they threw beer cans at surrounding cars and attacked any passing people. Around the same time, protesters gathered and rallied around news stations like KTLA. Daryl Gates, the chief of the LAPD, originally claimed the police had the issue under control, but it progressed into the declaration of an official "State of Emergency."
Two thousand National Guard troops are deployed to popular spots to prevent violence. Later that day, Gates announced that there were four thousand more National Guard members requested and intended to be deployed the next day. At the same time, the Koreans in the area started noticing that not a single troop was in sight. In actuality, the troops were blocking the entrances to the rich white neighborhoods, leaving the Koreans to fend for themselves against the angered looters, arsonists, and the violence-prone rioters. So these newly found soldiers armed themselves with weapons and began defending their homes.
Horrified people in Los Angeles wanted nothing more than an
Racial tensions between African Americans and Koreans had always been present especially after the incident with Latasha Harlins. When Latasha Harlins entered into Soon Ja Du’s store she was accused of stealing orange juice. “A year prior to the Los Angeles riots, storekeeper Soon Ja Du physically confronted black ninth-grader Latasha Harlins by grabbing her sweater and backpack over whether the 15-year-old had been trying to steal a bottle of orange juice from Empire Liquor, the store Du's family owned in Compton. After Latasha hit Du, Du shot Latasha in the back of the head, killing her. (Security tape showed the girl, already dead, was still clutching $2 in her hand when investigators arrived.)
The same tactics used to make the Korean’s obedient also created a hatred among the people instead of creating a people that were grateful or content in any way. Strategies used that were previously mentioned, such as the elimination of Korean culture, with the addition of those that installed fear into the people that blanketed Korea in suffering. With the people’s culture and identity being taken away, the addition of fear and oppression added to the anguish of country. Fear was instilled by means of people being “forced out of their land and their homes by the Japanese, who are buying up land cheaply by threat and coercion” (Kim, p.17). The people also had the fear that by saying the wrong thing or getting on someone wrong side they would face grave consequences.
A Korean Communist man told his life story to the author of Songs of Ariran, Helen Foster Snow, in which he commented “This [the March 1st Movement] was my first awakening to political consciousness, and the power of mass movement shook we to the very roots of my being…. I learned the meaning of force and futility of non-resistance.” . This holds significance to the fact that Korean people were feeling empowered for the first time since the annexation, and recognised the hope that was among many people who were now able to identify the actions it took to spark a movement. This recognition and identification were important to the progress within the Korean Independence Movement which later caused greater liberation, improving the lives of many
This is a time where racial oppression in LA begins to affect each race in a different way, which then produced a different reaction from both races (37). The African Americans had an easier time getting housing since they were actually seen as citizens, unlike the Japanese. Black homeowners and civil rights lawyers worked together on the housing front to break restrictive covenants whilst Japanese consular officials decided their best course of action was to avoid racial conflict and just let things be (37). However, once being “subjected to violent attacks” and witnessing the “racist structures affect[ing] all communities of color,” they changed their minds and began to look to the African Americans for help (37). The Japanese continued to have similar reactions towards racism when they started a massive “campaign against discrimination and ‘Yellow Peril’” when they received major opposition for the creation of a subdivision in Jefferson Park (91).
Some shots were fired igniting riot with 10,000 whites with police on their side. White women were looting Black 's homes and white men were setting Greenwood on fire
“During the war years, the LAPD routinely pulled over cars driven by Mexican-Americans to conduct ‘field interrogations.’ In 1942 they began making mass arrests, blockading streets in the barrios and detaining teenagers and young adults on vague charges, such as vagrancy or unlawful assembly.” (WOLCOTT). The police department in Los Angeles specifically targeted Mexican-Americans for years, blatantly showing their racism. Even the theme of unfair arrests had started a year before the actual riots.
We learned that over the last 40 years the police department of the City of Miami and Miami- Dade County have experienced their share of civil disturbances. To illustrate, there have four cases of race riots between both police departments which led to innovation to be involved in their pursuits to better their responses. These were the race riots in 1968, the Liberty City Riot, 1980, the McDuffie Riot, 1982 Luis Alvarez Riots, and 1989 Loranzo Riots within the Liberty City over town areas. However, the article stated that these riots were resulted by either police shooting of young black men, or thanks to the federal government the deporting of a young Cuban boy. Thus, it was not until the civil arrest of the 1980’s McDuffie Riot which seemed
But it wasn 't only the firefighters that were having struggles. Police had the task of retaining the rioters from other parts of the city. They also dealt with the brunt of the violence. Police were being pegged with stones, bottles and were even being stabbed and shot by some rioters. Police had reported many casualties from the deadly event on 12th street.
Furthermore, the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone) mentioned in Vowell’s essay was the line where families were torn apart due to the seizure of power by the a dictator. Vowell ties a link to the separation of a family caused by a
Introduction The hope for this research essay is to try to implement and understand the role of democracy in the case of the Korean War. This research essay will look in depth to see if democracy can truly prevent war and bring peace or if it is irrelevant in what causes war in the international realm. This concept is also known as the Democratic Peace Theory. The Democratic Peace Theory is probably the most popular theme or theory in trying to understand what causes war and what causes peace.
Persecution amongst the rich and the poor had colossal influence in not just The New York Draft Riot of 1863 additionally the Watts uproar of 1992. Bigotry likewise brought on the tragedies that spread all through New York City and Los Angeles. April of 1863, President Lincoln issued a decree calling for 300,000 men, and if your name were called, you were going to battle in the common war unless you had 300 dollars, then you could purchase out of the draft. The Los Angeles uproar was the most noticeably bad mobs in the United States. The uproar was brought about by the absolution of policemen who wrongfully beat an African American man after he was pulled over for speeding.
After all of these drama in the south, a lot of African Americans decided it was time to move on to the North. When they move to the North it did not stop them from the “racial prejudice” however they were free to apply for lower jobs . Because of the shortage in the job market during World War 1 in 1917 the white laborers had to also compete with the blacks. With the competing of employment and housing it brought “racial violence” in East St. Louis . Chicago faced a white race riot in the year of 1919 where Irish and Polish laborers were killing men in black hoods
“No matter what race we are, what ethnic background, sexual orientation or what views we may have, we are all human. Unfortunately not all humans see it that way” (Gruwell, Erin. The Freedom). Throughout history there has been discrimination, but in 1992 there was one of the most destructive outbursts against it: The Los Angeles Riots of 1992. After the Los Angeles Riots of 1992, there was an outpouring of gangs and the violence the riots created.
Koreas tangled past helps outsiders better understand the relations between the people in the North and the South. Many historians who study Korea look back to its colonial period from 1868-1945 to understand how Koreans not only view themselves but the outside world. For Europeans, nationalism has been a part of their culture and heritage for years that it’s hard to separate one from the other. But for Koreans their nationalism was repeatedly taken from them by other powerful “mother nations.” The Sino-Japanese war is a prime example of the power struggle over Korea in the late 19th century.
People commonly simplify the relationship between Korea-Japan and Korea-America during the Japanese colonial period as the former being pessimistic and the latter being optimistic. This notion is legitimate to the extent that Koreans did feel betrayed toward Japan and America did represent ‘hope’ for Korean people in its early years. However, after the United States’ failure in aiding Korea during several significant historical events, the role of Japan and America was overturned. If people continue to neglect this shift in influence, they would fail to recognize the status of Korea within the relationship and will not be able to understand the historical reality portrayed in literary novels of the time. Therefore, this paper aims to illustrate