In the 20-year anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots, a documentary is examines the self-destruction of an urban melting pot.
"Clash of Colors," a film by David D. Kim, a Korean-American lawyer who urged Koreans to defend themselves during the Los Angeles Riots, examines an American tragedy released on the 20-year anniversary of the Riots.
Similar to the “change and hope” of a black president running the most powerful country in the world, Los Angeles in the 1990s had a black mayor. Like the advent of the Riots, the economy is in a state of recession. A tension threatens with publicized stories like the black Florida teen’s death at the hands of crime watch volunteer.
“Clash,” which Kim began in 2003, tries to answer why a tragedy happened, resulting in 55 deaths and $1 billion in property damage. Most of the property damage was suffered by Korean Americans in the neighborhood, the group with the largest number of self-employed businesses.
However, the infamous video that sparked the Riots 20 years ago was due for a closer look. Rodney King was driving drunk and speeding. A group of white officers struggled to subdue King, a formidable man, before they pulled out their batons. This portion leading up to the video aired on television remains mostly unseen.
What aired on TV were the truncated versions of the Rodney King which created an expectation that the four white officers would be convicted.
The officers were acquitted of their beatings and the rage flared among the community.
It catapulted when the media reported on the death of Latasha Harlins, a black teen who had argued with a Korean liquor store owner, Soon Ja Do. After Harlins was accused of shoplifting, Do shot the black teen.
Do was also acquitted like the white officers involved with Rodney King. When Do’s sentence was reduced to community service, indignant rage from Rodney King trial exploded. Do’s liquor store was burned. Other Korean businesses were burned. Chaos ensued and television continued to play the edited video clips.
Security camera footage filmed Do and Harlins. However, the truncated clip broadcast on television only showed the Korean woman shooting the teenager and skipped the part in which the teen reached over the counter to slap the Korean merchant.
Calls to the police made by Koreans were made and ignored. The police did not come; the department advised Koreans to just abandon their businesses.
At first, the Radio Korea also advised Koreans to close up their businesses and stay home. Then David D. Kim went to Radio Korea and urged Koreans to arm themselves and defend their businesses.
"Koreans were pioneers," Leo Estrada, demographer and UCLA faculty professor said, "when nobody else wanted to invest in South Central LA, entrepreneurs from South Korea came into this area."
Koreans owned and operated many liquor stores in South Central, which was considered black territory. Black newspapers had front page headlines of Koreans taking over black neighborhoods.
Most people of Los Angeles are probably not aware that the familiar video clips of Rodney King and Latasha Harlins were shortened versions. The images of Rodney King and Latasha Harlins -- the frequency of images of blacks being attacked and then framed as racial conflicts was not truthful because most exchanges between blacks and Koreans did not result in conflicts. Unfortunately peace does not make headlines. The media provoked the riots by frequently airing only violent images.
The potential for another uprising is always there," said Estrada.
With rising poverty and discontent, the potential for conflict and scapegoating grows, especially, in a multicultural city. David D. Kim’s “Clash of Colors” urges remembrance and caution.
As the historian George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
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| "Riot Riot" by Lauren Arévalo @laarevalo |
@CollegianWired
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