By Karry Kim Class of 2025

Media Coverage of the Rodney King Civil Unrest: An Examination of Ethnic and Mainstream Press

Editor’s Note: The History Fellowship program offers students the opportunity to conduct college-level independent research on a historical topic of their choice, resulting in a substantial academic paper and oral presentation. Through guided discussions, structured support, and access to both on- and off-campus sources, students learn and apply the practices of professional historians.

“People, I just want to say… Can we all get along?” a Black man pleaded in a quivering voice, struggling to hold back his tears. His lips trembled and his breath hitched as if tears would start streaming down his eyes any second, and his unsteady gaze remained facing the ground as if he had done something wrong. Dozens of photographers and reporters surrounded him, documenting the moment on their cameras and scribbling down his words in their notebooks. The man continued his plea to “get along”: “I mean we’ve got enough smog in Los Angeles let alone to deal with setting these fires and things … It’s just not right. It’s not right, and it’s not going to change anything… I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s, you know, let’s try to work it out.” This man was Rodney King, whose brutal police beating ignited the most violent and destructive civil unrest in Los Angeles’ history.

It was the third day of the civil unrest when King appeared at a news conference to give this speech. As demonstrators were burning down Los Angeles, he stood before the entire nation, desperately calling for peace.

The Rodney King Civil Unrest, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest, erupted about a year after four police officers beat Rodney King on March 31, 1991. News outlets widely broadcast a blurry recording of the beatings, revealing to the world how the officers had struck King over fifty times with batons after stopping him for a traffic violation. Many Angelenos, especially Black Angelenos, were enraged. On April 29, 1992, the acquittal of the police officers involved in King’s beating sparked outrage. Anger exploded, with immediate protests, looting, arson, and assault, lasting throughout the next six days.

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