Caden O’Farrell
November 6, 2020
Prof. Klann
History 110
Rodney King I-Search Paper
According to the Los Angeles Times, the riots of Rodney King left 54 people dead and caused nearly a billion dollars in property damage. How did the police brutality of Rodney King really affect Los Angeles and it’s residents?
Prior to this assignment I had heard of Rodney King before in high school. Sophomore year in high school I learned about King in my American History class. In this class, I read about the riots and beating of Rodney King. However, my class passed over the topic rather quickly and focused more heavily on characters such as Martin Luther King Jr. and their impact on civil rights. I have also heard a Sublime song called “April 29 1992” that talks about the riots of Rodney King. This song’s lyrics discuss looting, arson and riots all over America. The name of the song refers to the date when the verdict of the police who beat up Rodney king was released as not guilty, and riots began in L.A. From these sources I learned vaguely about the brutal beating of Rodney King and of the massive riots it caused in L.A.
I believe this is a very relevant topic because of the recent riots due to the death of Jorge Floyd. The death of Jorge Floyd was from a cop using unnecessary deliberate force, very similar to the beating of Rodney King. Both of these events were similar in that they were both spread by video footage. The releventsy of this topic as well as the massive influence over America not only racially but also politically is what really sparked my interest to dive deeper into this topic. I wanted to learn about the devastating effects of the L.A riots and how long they lasted. I was also intrigued on how these riots affected the community within L.A. My question is “How did the police brutality of Rodney King affect Los Angeles and it’s residents?”
I initially searched for the original video of Rodney King being beaten by police, just so I knew what I was talking about. Once I had seen this video I felt I had established a foundation and began the rest of my research. I ended up on Wikipedia because I was looking for more information on the events that led to the police pulling Rodney King over in the first place. Wikipedia gave me a good overview of the whole event so I started to look for primary sources. I believe the original video of Rodney King's beating was a necessary primary source so I searched for old News coverings that included the video. I found a great video on youtube for my first primary source titled “Rodney King Beating,” that included the original video and included lots of first hand information from the event. This particular News Casting on Prime Time included the whole story of why King was pulled over and how he was beaten. This video was special because it included first hand accounts of bystanders and cops that were involved in the beating. Since this source had the Rodney King video and first hand accounts of bystanders I made it my first primary source.
For my second primary source, I decided I needed something that had to do with the riots in L.A. The reason I wanted my second primary source to include the riots is because my question focuses on the effects the riots had on L.A. I initially looked up primary sources that entailed first accounts of the riots. Most of the information I found didn’t qualify as a primary source and the ones that did lacked content. I ended up looking for footage on youtube. I found an abundance of videos that contained footage of the L.A riots. I watched many long and short videos and eventually found a video called “Man Watches Helplessly as His Store Is Looted in LA Riots.” I chose this video as my secondary primary source because it showed the devastating effects of the riots in L.A. It showed black business owners watching their stores fall apart as looters broke, robbed and set fire to their businesses. This video also included firemen on the job at the L.A riots and their take on just how many fires they were putting out.
After I found my primary sources I began to look up statistics and articles about the incident. I discovered a Los Angeles Times article that contained an interview of Rodney King and his views of the night he was Beaten. I also discovered more Primary sources in news papers that discussed riots here in San Diego and other parts of America. I found that the beating of Rodney King had immense effects on Los Angeles and affected America as a whole. This event inspired social change across America and accountability of police alike.
Through this paper I learned the full story of Rodney King. I discovered that police attempted to pull over Rodney King for speeding, however King evaded the police for eleven minutes and was eventually pulled over. He was then questioned and beaten by police. Rodney’s beating had been filmed and went viral. Police went to trial for unnecessary force and the police were found not guilty. This outcome caused widespread riots and civil unrest, especially in L.A. The riots of Rodney King caused numerous deaths and close to a billion dollars worth of property damage. King’s beating inspired social injustice movements. These movements and the influence of King’s video are still relevant in society today.
I don’t believe any historical research is easy because finding quality research is time consuming. However, I felt my topic was more accessible because of the time period in which it took place. This made my historical research easier than other topics I was considering prior. The historical research changed my understanding of the topic because it gave me multiple viewpoints on a singular event which broadened my knowledge and understanding. Looking at multiple primary sources also helped me form my own views on the topic at hand.
The primary sources I found did have an impact on the question I chose. Originally I was focused on answering the long lasting effects of the riots, such as how racial equality and police accountability had changed in America because of Rodney King. However, my primary sources focused on Rodney King's beating and the riots in L.A, rather than America as a whole. Since my primary sources did not include the riots all over America I focused on the riots in L.A. Additionally, my primary sources are taken from such close proximity to when the riots happened that it is hard to make any concrete claims about the effect this incident had on racial equality and police accountability. I am able to make inferences according to my primary sources that would suggest change would be made. However, since my primary sources did not deliberately state this change, I did not make it the focus of my question. The heart of my primary sources was the effect Rodney’s beating had on L.A, so I made this the focal point of my new question. My question asked, “How did the police brutality of Rodney King affect Los Angeles and it’s residents?” The riots of Rodney King had devastating effects on L.A. Charels Jones from my second primary source discusses the violence, telling of a Koren man who was shot and killed directly in front of his liquor store. Jones further explained the effects of destroying community businesses. Telling the newscaster that six families relied on his liquor store for income and that many of the businesses being burnt down will put other families and individuals out of work. Captain of the fire department, Mr. Kephard described the severity of the fires in L.A. Kaphard said that not only were businesses on fire but houses and apartments too. The video also stated that smoke from the fires became visible from as far as 70 miles away. 1700 local firefighters as well as 36 teams of firefighters from other countries came together to fight the fires created by the L.A riots. My sources also suggest a greater division between race, as African American rioters targeted other ethnicities in their cars who were then not only beaten and mugged but in some cases killed as well. There is no doubt that the killing of Rodney King also created a greater division between citizens and police. Economically the riots of L.A cost close to a billion dollars. Many were killed, injured and mentally distraught. Lively hoods were lost, homes burned and divisions intensified. That is why the beating of Rodney King had a negative effect on L.A. and it’s residents.
I would say that the beating of Rodney King positively affected America as a whole because it created more racial equality and helped police accountability. The video was responsible for this change because it was one of the first video’s of rasism and discrimination that was brodcasted and seen by all of America.
Primary Source One “Rodney King Beating”
Primary Source Two “Man Watches Helplessly as His Store Is Looted in LA Riots”
Secondary source “Rodney King Verdict: The Morning After on Today NBC”
Secondary Source, Sublime - April 29, 1992 (Rodney King Riots Video)
Secondary source “UCSD Students Protest Verdict In police Beating”
https://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb5909491t
Hi Caden! I really love that you found video footage for your primary sources. It might be interesting in the unessay to explore the way the riots were discussed by the news media--and maybe compare it to the way the protests after George Floyd's death were discussed. There are some potentially valuable comparisons you can draw too between the characteristics of both Floyd's death and the beating of King (both were filmed, both sparked outrage and protest, etc.)
I'm also interested in one of the elements that drew you to the topic--the Sublime song! Is there something to explore further about how we remember/memorialize the LA Riots?