Rooftop Koreans or Roof Koreans refer to the Korean American business owners and residents during the 1992 Los Angeles riots who armed themselves and took to the rooftops of local businesses to defend themselves. The unrest in urban areas was sparked by the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers in the beating of Rodney King and resulted in rioting, and looting, along with widespread violence and arson throughout the city. [1] [2]
Tensions had existed between the Korean and African American communities in Los Angeles. According to some Koreans, there was a feeling among blacks that Koreans were taking from the community, via the operation of small businesses in the area, which led to racial resentment. [3] Previous violent incidents including the 1991 killing of Latasha Harlins, an African-American teenager who was fatally and controversially shot by a Korean-American convenience store owner, Soon Ja Du. [4]
Du was tried, convicted, and given ten years in prison. However, the sentence was suspended, and she was instead placed on five years' probation with 400 hours of community service and payment of $500 restitution, as well as Harlins' funeral costs. [4] [5] The sentencing was widely regarded as extremely light, with a failed appeal reportedly contributing to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. [6]
Following the Rodney King verdict, Los Angeles police were unable to provide protection to many affected areas due to the overwhelming scale of the riots. Controversially, they opted instead to set up a defensive perimeter around the Beverly Hills and West Hollywood cities, cutting off Koreatown and abandoning other minority and low-income communities, leaving the Koreatown community to mostly fend for themselves. [7] In response, many Korean business owners and residents took matters into their own hands. [8]
Local Korean radio stations in Los Angeles put out a call to help Korean business owners, leading to volunteers arriving with their own firearms. The intersection of 5th Street and Western Avenue served as a flashpoint, where the California Market (also called Gaju or Kaju) Korean grocery store was a major point of conflict. Other locations that were defended by citizens with firearms, included 8th and Oxford, as well as Western and Third Street. [8] The Los Angeles Times stated there were multiple people on the roof of the grocery with "shotguns and automatic weapons". [2] [4] Ebony magazine noted the use of "rifles and handguns." [9]
Because South Korea had at the time a thirty-month mandatory military service for males, it was noted that many Korean immigrants had experience with handling firearms. [10]
The actions of the rooftop Koreans sparked debates about gun control and vigilantism, while simultaneously spurring praise for the residents' bravery and resourcefulness. [11] Edward Song Lee, a Korean American was shot and killed mistakenly by his peers when protecting shops near 3rd street. Hector Castro, a Latino was also fatally shot in Koreatown during the riots. Authorities could not determine who killed him, as both merchants and rioters were shooting in the area. [12]
Police were on "tactical alert" thus not responding to any calls from citizens. Order was not restored until President Bush invoked the Insurrection Act (declaring it an insurrection) deploying 15,000 troops. Order was restored almost immediately. [13]
The rooftop Koreans have been cited by gun rights advocates for the value of citizen ownership of firearms and "being your own first responder." [14] [ better source needed ] In recent years, it has also been the subject of social media memes, contributing to ease of tensions with African American communities especially in the 2014 Ferguson unrest, [15] the emergence of Black Lives Matter, and the increased racial tensions around Stop Asian Hate. [10] [11]
Rodney Glen King was an African-American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high speed pursuit for driving while intoxicated on the I-210. An uninvolved resident, George Holliday, saw and filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and sent the footage, which showed King on the ground being beaten after initially evading arrest, to local news station KTLA. The incident was covered by news media around the world and caused a public uproar.
Koreatown is a neighborhood in central Los Angeles, California, centered near Eighth Street and Irolo Street.
A Koreatown (Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula.
The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after a jury acquitted four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. The incident had been videotaped by George Holliday, who was a bystander to the incident, and was heavily broadcast in various news and media outlets.
Joyce Ann Karlin Fahey is an American lawyer and politician. She served as both a federal prosecutor and a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. She is known for having sentenced Soon Ja Du, the merchant who killed 15 year old Latasha Harlins with a fatal shot to the back of her head, to only five years' probation and 400 hours of community service, with no jail time. The sentence was widely condemned, including by the LA County District Attorney and black community leaders in Los Angeles, and has been cited by some as a catalyst for the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
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This article lists examples of the ongoing influence on popular culture of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
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Latasha Harlins was an African American girl who was fatally shot at age 15 by Soon Ja Du, a 49-year-old Korean American convenience store owner. Du was tried and convicted of voluntary manslaughter over the killing of Harlins, based in part on security camera footage. The judge sentenced Du to 10 years in state prison but the sentence was suspended and the defendant was instead placed on five years' probation with 400 hours of community service and payment of $500 restitution, and Harlins' funeral costs. The sentencing was widely regarded as extremely light, and a failed appeal reportedly contributed to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, especially the targeting of Koreatown. The killing of Harlins came 13 days after the videotaped beating of Rodney King.
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