“The police are trained to look at black men as criminals first and citizens second,” a concerned citizen said during one of many public forums in response to the 1991 beating of Rodney King by four Los Angeles police officers during a traffic stop. His voice was one of many that echoed a familiar frustration as part of the footage included in the upcoming National Geographic Channel documentary “LA 92.”
“Get out of the car, [n-word expletive]. Assume the position [n-word expletive],” another man said. “Get on the ground, [n-word expletive]. This is what we are confronted with. But then when we speak out, the first thing they say is ‘Why are we getting so restless?’”
The comments made by the residents came nearly a year before the racial tension between law enforcement and African-American community was ignited when the officers who nearly beat King to death left the court without any criminal repercussions.
Directing duo Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, who won a Best Documentary Oscar in 2012 for “The Undefeated,” remind viewers from the very beginning that when the world watched the city unravel a quarter-century ago, it was nothing new.
“LA 92” opens with footage of the turn of events leading to the 1965 Watts riots. The audio of the police casually identifies the passengers in a vehicle as “four [n-word] expletives suspects.” The passengers claimed police brutality. The community stood behind their claims and protests ensued. Watts went up in flames. In that footage, another man promised that history would repeat itself if the issues weren’t resolved at the root as opposed to simply quelling unrest.
He was right. Nearly 30 years later, the city was in ashes again. The juxtaposition made the story especially compelling. Given the countless black lives lost at the hands of law enforcement, his words from 1965 still ring true today.
“LA 92” premieres this Sunday, April 30 on the National Geographic Channel, but St. Louis audiences will have the opportunity to see an advance screening of the film at a theatre on Saturday, April 28. The screening is free, but RSVP is required.
This region can relate all too well with the subject matter of “LA 92.” Though smaller in scale and far less violent, local viewers will be reminded of the months of unrest they saw unfold as a result of the police killing of Michael Brown Jr. and the non-indictment of then-Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
The public cries of being targeted for the color of their skin, being abused by law enforcement by officers who face no consequences for their actions and the “us versus them” mentality between people of color and the police often spoken of during protests in Ferguson sounded straight out of Los Angeles in 1992 – and 1965.
But “LA 92” gives graphic, haunting insight as far as the level of crisis for the events leading to that tragic moment and the tipping point itself.
Rodney King is beaten mercilessly. Less than two weeks later, 15-year-old Latasha Harlins (who was born in East St. Louis) is fatally shot when a Korean shop owner wrongfully assumed she was attempting to steal a bottle of orange juice. Though convicted of voluntary manslaughter, the store owner was sentenced to community service and a fine. Both videos – and footage from the trials – are included in the film.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), a native of Kinloch, is at the heart of it all. She calls out the justice system for lack of consequences for the offenders. She also urges for calm and order during the thick of the unrest.
“LA 92” gives the ugly truth of the riots, but from several vantage points. Even as communities come together to heal, the viewer is left with the feeling that until the systems are dismantled that create the opportunity for tragedies like those of Rodney King and Latasha Harlins to occur, history is doomed to repeat itself.
The film ends just as it begins, with footage from the Watts riot that prophesize what’s to come in the next 30 years – and 25 years after that.
The St. Louis screening of “LA 92” will take place 3 p.m. Saturday, April 29. The screening is free to the public, but an RSVP is required. The screening location will be disclosed upon RSVP confirmation. Those interested in attending can RSVP at LA92Stlouis.eventbrite.com.
