Tag Archives: Rodney King

“Teaching” Alice Walker

In preparation for a lecture in the course I teach, African American Literature in the 20th Century, I am re-reading excerpts from Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. In her prose, Walker makes nearly perfect sense. … Continue reading

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On this day in history, May 4, 1992 — Worst of Los Angeles Riots Ends

The 1992 Los Angeles Riots erupted on April 29, 1992, after police officers who were videotaped beating Rodney King, a black man, during a traffic stop were acquitted of criminal charges. Initially peaceful protests grew larger and turned violent, as … Continue reading

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“Violence is as American as cherry pie”

H. Rap Brown, now known as Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, famously proclaimed in the ’60s that “violence is as American as cherry pie.”  Little wonder, in the aftermath of the no indictment of the Ferguson, Missouri white police officer who killed … Continue reading

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