Los Angeles Uprisings: Crash Course Black American History #45

In this episode of Black American History, Clint Smith teaches you about the complicated history of racial tension in South Central Los Angeles. You'll learn about the Watts Rebellion of 1965, a 6-day uprising in response to police brutality that shaped the landscape of racial tension in southern California for years to come. This tension culminated in two major events -- the murder of Latasha Harlins and the beating of Rodney King in 1991 -- which incited the L.A. Uprisings of 1992.
Clint's book, How the Word is Passed is available now! bookshop.org/books/how-the-wo...
VIDEO SOURCES
Oxford Language Dictionary
supreme.justia.com/cases/fede...
Lynn M. Itagaki, Civil Racism: The 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion and the Crisis of Racial Burnout (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2016).
Robert Gooding-Williams, ed., Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising (New York & London: Routledge, 1993).
Brenda Stevenson, The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins: Justice, Gender, and the Origins of the LA Riots (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013).
***
Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at / crashcourse
Thanks to the following patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever:
Katie, Hilary Sturges, Austin Zielman, Tori Thomas, Justin Snyder, daniel blankstein, Hasan Jamal, DL Singfield, Amelia Ryczek, Ken Davidian, Stephen Akuffo, Toni Miles, Steve Segreto, Michael M. Varughese, Kyle & Katherine Callahan, Laurel Stevens, Michael Wang, Stacey Gillespie (Stacey J), Burt Humburg, Allyson Martin, Aziz Y, Shanta, DAVID MORTON HUDSON, Perry Joyce, Scott Harrison, Mark & Susan Billian, Junrong Eric Zhu, Alan Bridgeman, Rachel Creager, Breanna Bosso, Matt Curls, Tim Kwist, Jonathan Zbikowski, Jennifer Killen, Sarah & Nathan Catchings, team dorsey, Trevin Beattie, Divonne Holmes à Court, Eric Koslow, Jennifer Dineen, Indika Siriwardena, Jason Rostoker, Shawn Arnold, Siobhán, Ken Penttinen, Nathan Taylor, Les Aker, William McGraw, ClareG, Rizwan Kassim, Constance Urist, Alex Hackman, Jirat, Pineapples of Solidarity, Katie Dean, NileMatotle, Wai Jack Sin, Ian Dundore, Justin, Mark, Caleb Weeks
__
Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook - / youtubecrashcourse
Twitter - / thecrashcourse
Instagram - / thecrashcourse
CC Kids: / crashcoursekids

[@ericduchossois8387]

It's sad how much we aren't taught in school or what details are left out.

[@ivyteacherwilson]

"Pressure doesn't always create diamonds; sometimes pressure creates explosions." --Clint Smith

[@StephySon]

Another thing people forget was uprisings happened all over the country. LA was the epicenter but several U.S cities also had sporadic amounts of violence. My father, then the young parent to my then 1 year old brother and my mother nearly themselves got caught up in it. Also many of the city gangs uniting in truces and stopping violence against each other "albeit temporarily" was also a thing which shocked man.

[@malic_zarith]

Please talk about Detroit in a future episode. I live right next to Detroit, and I want to learn more about it regarding black history there.

[@brettcomstock1156]

Oooh. I always like your conclusions. I love this one. “Pressure doesn’t always create diamonds. Sometimes pressure creates explosions”.

[@gcarsk]

The fact that Rodney King’s attack was filmed is an absolute miracle. Nowadays, everyone has a camera. But, the amount of horrific police attacks pre ~2000 that were committed without recorded evidence is astronomically more than the few we have recordings of.

[@yumyumsunkie]

If anyone wants to stomach through it, I recommend watching LA 92. It’s a bit visceral (it’s uses raw footage instead of people talking about what happened).

[@Spoot1RHGL]

This would have benefitted to invite a korean voice to tell a story, an often overlooked and silent minority which this video continues

[@joewilson3393]

I briefly lived in the area of the Rodney King incidents in the 2000's. It's amazing how the area still looks so much like the news footage from the time. You almost expect in your head to see it completely different, but the store at 10:26 looks exactly the same today.

[@tylishaqueenoceanriver1676]

Could you please talk about the central park five jogger case next please it is very interesting

[@heatherrene8129]

I was 6 years old in 1992. Needless to say my parents sheltered me from the news when this was happening. When I was older all I ever heard was, yeah the LA Riots happened and it was because of Rodney King but that's pretty much it. Getting a much more nuanced look into what happened and the conditions that led to the spark that caused the explosion so to speak is painful but in a good way, like the emotional version of post surgical pain.

[@Mr.Beauregarde]

Hi, Clint Smith. Keep doing the good work.

[@udsting]

As a Los Angelean it's difficult to express to young people the level of trauma these events left in our community.

[@haughtygarbage5848]

Thank you so much for all your great work on this series

[@joshuakang4980]

Thank you for treating the subject with respect and dignity and for not showing the Korean Americans as evil, white colonizers who purposely exploited the Black community. Growing up, people liked to just forget about the Korean and Asian American communities during what happened in 1992. Even now, I know people who insist that we’re white and that no violence or discrimination occurs to us

[@Joeylikeswakkie]

Don’t mess with rooftop Koreans

[@stax6092]

Great video, informative as always.

[@leonardmcdonald3928]

Amazing video. It just goes to show that nothing is as straightforward as is presented in media. I remember discussing this as the black community reacting to kings beating. It's obviously more nuanced than that.

[@ValiantVicuna]

The fact that this has so few views makes me sad 😔Thank you, Mr. Smith, for your hard work and such coherent history telling. I'm half Korean and lived in LA for two years, and my son went to a majority Black and Latino preschool in Hawthorne. They absolutely doted on him and adored him, and nobody ever treated us unkindly. Hopefully, the future will provide us with more peace and goodwill between minorities here in the USA. Here's to hoping

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

❤ when I was a kid, the riots and unrest were happening outside my door, and inside our family. May we all learn to love each other. To “just get along.”

[@adrianrivera8366]

Very good informing about the topic. I think should have went more detail the riots in the 60s and 90s and how racism and competition among our minority groups still go on to this day. I still like the series.

[@alizaali6152]

Thank you for making these videos

[@kindcoffeeart]

Thank you so much for covering this

[@GreenThingonTV]

The documentary "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992" goes into greater detail and I recommend it. Warning though, it is anger inducing.

[@alarcon99]

This series is so important for those of us who lived through those days but perhaps lacked the understanding of all the underlying issues. And it is also so important for those who did not live through this time so they may learn. Bravo.

[@TheLaxfizzle]

amazing channel and content. thank you.

[@wardatkins1320]

I guess living through it " I have a little more details but this is a brush over of those times and events.

[@sully5818]

Very interesting I never gave much thought to American history as an Australian I see now it's very important

[@raquelrodriguez6359]

My mom worked at a laundry in south central at that time and said she saw rioters destroying property and bullying all non-black people. She saw rioters smashing windows and pushing people. She told me she feared for her life and said I think what safe me was the fact that I was pregnant at that time so people just looked at me and let me be.

[@AlexChipman]

No metion of Roof Top Koreans. For shame.

[@Tragicmagicshow]

Another important facet to mention here is the racial tensions black people experienced in the areas surrounding the black communities. We were made to feel unwelcome in parts of the South Bay, San Fernando Valley, Ventura County, and Orange County. Plus, the rich areas like Beverly Hills and Bel Air were basically off-limits. If you wandered into many of these areas, you were guaranteed to get stopped by the police. This made it that we were confined to poor neighborhoods and unwelcome pretty much everywhere else.

[@Sugar3Glider]

This makes the convenience store scene in Don't be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood feel a bit more nuanced.

[@ciera_danyel]

“Pressure doesn’t always create diamonds… sometimes, pressure creates explosions” Greetings from Ferguson.

[@pongop]

Thank you Professor Smith for the poignant and relevant lesson!

[@Davlavi]

This channel deserves way more views. Keep up the great videos.

[@silversam]

Been loving the series, but this episode hit hardest so far. Thank you Clint Smith!

[@kab6754]

It's wild how wide ranging racist policies can have ripple effects on thousands of people and the places they live as a whole. And as a black man who's lived near Korea Town, I have a better understanding why I always got looks as a kid.

[@willmallory9085]

I love this channel

[@sophiaflagg4259]

How did I miss this episode

[@kairyumina6407]

I really appreciate the nuance that you bring to the conflicts that exist in the united states to this day. Such excellent work

[@thelastgreataudit8112]

I clicked on this video because I suspected it was a rebrand of the 1992 event with which I was already familiar. I didn't know what to expect to feel, but I like it. It's a good perspective shift, but not one I would have made myself. Thank you.

[@thelastgreataudit8112]

My only note is that "rebellion" and "uprising" are not really interchangeable in this context. Of the two, I would suggest that "uprising" better reflects the spontaneity, brevity, and character of the period of large-scale direct action. Thanks again.

[@Jay-ho9io]

This is a complicated one.

[@legoboy468]

This was a good video about a complicated and tough topic. Thank you for covering it

[@bens5859]

I wish the writers explicated this "pressure" felt by Korean/Black Americans. Which resources specifically were Black and Korean communities given too little of?

[@Nuthin141]

This episode of Crash Course was surprisingly honest and aware of it's content and how it could be interpreted. Thank you for your work!

[@boringturtle]

Man, this whole kicked off two days after I was born.

[@markfrank5937]

Crazy how community's speaking from generations of mistreatment, are often viewed as flawed, instead of looking at the "why".

[@vanyac6448]

I mean, about calling the events of Watts in 1965 and L.A. in 1992 riots vs uprisings vs rebellions: I don't know. I agree with you that words matter, and that "rebellion" or "uprising" helps spotlight the dynamite that had been building up for decades that led to the sometimes-violent events. But on the other hand, from the perspective of a bystander who has their hands full just getting through life who ends up in the middle of said events, the word "riot" does reflect what such a bystander sees, and the use of the word "riot" helps in being up-front about the dark side that emerges when people get desperate and frustrated and lose it, rightfully or not. Aside from that, pretty good and informative video.

[@donovank.6684]

National Geographic - LA 92, a great documentary that covers this subject in-depth. If you keep bullying someone, don’t be surprised when that person starts fighting back.

[@duckhouser]

I lived through this, the block was on fire.

[@ComputerElectronicTechnology]

I agree with everything in this video. I am a huge fan of technology. Technology is moving forward fast. Although none of this video can be denied it did happen in the past. I don't enjoy ignoring the past because sometimes it can repeat itself. But I feel like we are wasting time on what happened before instead of focusing on what we can do now. This is all history and in the past. How do we move forward? I have patience to see where people are coming from so I'll gladly listen. But if the amount of time listening to the past is greater than the amount of time devoted to moving forward and focusing on NOW, then it could be a waste....good luck to all. Bad luck lingers everywhere.

[@MiguelDomingos1979]

Great piece. Thanks

[@taytay4458]

As a Minneapolis resident, I can confirm that this city was a powder keg

[@cleverhandle420]

Literally the best crash course series ever. Gonna keep and rewatch. So important and it always hurts my heart but it’s so important. Pls do more of these. I’d like to see the indigenous be able to tell their history and fix the revisionist version taught in school as well.

[@JoyBarnesJohnsonEMC2]

1992 was such a watershed moment in Black History...in the same way that 2020, 1968,1963 and 1865 was. These uprisings, the recent appointment of CT to the SCOTUS and the strong lines connecting then to now...this is magnificent.

[@sonnycook5346]

Right On! From a LA Native!!!

[@neofulcrum5013]

✊🏾

[@wingingitmillennialpodcast5205]

This really explains a lot.

[@seanpoore2428]

Y'all are necessary. Keep it up 👍

[@anjetto1]

Why did you not mention that the national guard actually herded the rioting into the Korean neighborhoods? Like the government completely threw the Koreans under the bus to protect white neighborhoods.

[@tedcomet3121]

Source?

[@allenofatlanta]

In the words of Chris Gardner's mother: " The calvary ain't coming for us."

[@bbrev106]

🔥

[@fabledredeyes]

I'm just finding out about this video because of the new upload. It didn't show up for me when it came out even if I'm subscribed to the channel. Weird.

[@aratosm]

Why is this called uprisings and not riots?

[@kriskingsbury6658]

I don't even live in the US and i felt outraged at the RODNEY King verdict. I was 11 when it occurred. It was my first observation of systematic racism. I didn't know it at the time , but it was. Certainly wasn't the last. I was so angry something like that could happen. The injustices that are still occurring to this day infuriate me . Now that im a adult i try and be the best ally i can by not allowing myself to stay in silence or indifferent when im confronted with injustice or intolerance. I hope more people have the chance to do so as well. Thank You Crash Course for your continued education for everyone .

[@codekillerz5392]

Hi!

[@SONO4B11T]

Very informative🇿🇦

[@mouhameddia8995]

Do a Muhammad Ali video please.

[@bedrock6443]

All I heard before this video was the la uprising happened because of Rodney king. But now ik there’s more to it like a Korean buisnuess owner killing a African American girl. This stuff including soon ja do killing a person went international. My father was in South Korea when this happened. He read it in the newspaper. If that doesn’t say how widespread this was idk what does.

[@isaacong]

Scarcity: watch crash course economics

[@patrickferguson7603]

Why are there no viewpoints in the comments with counter points? Censorship perhaps?

[@VerhoevenSimon]

Once again a magnificent episode that sheds more light on an important period in history.

[@grapeshot]

And I was 5 years old I witnessed the McDuffie Rebellion in Miami Florida.

[@jazzypoo7960]

Comment.

[@alizamendoza5021]

It's so traumatic to see people in your community fight for crumbs off an institution who only see you has cheap labor. A common theme in the fight for equality, is fire. Will a tool that defines the human race be used to make further progress, or reduce us to ashes?

[@sangeethkumar2619]

🙁

[@DavidJamesHenry]

Can I have a source for the term uprising? I want to update the Wikipedia article to be more accurate and I need to come armed with a source.

[@sambathehusqueen9909]

I was living in east la, and in 2nd grade when that happened. I remember how scary it was, seeing the smoke fill the sky, and having riot drills. When i learned why it was happeneing, i didnt feel scared anymore. Even as a child, i understood that violence is sometimes the answer to social injustice. It made sense, that when people are pushed down, they need to push back with all youve got.

[@Ghee_Buttersnaps]

very nice work and enjoy your weekend with Kim Kardashian game and black perhaps other questions

[@mak7587]

So when someone enters a store to steal, the owner becomes judge, jury and executioner by shooting that person. So owning a gun gives you that right to become judge, jury and executioner.

[@TheDreezy2010]

.. .....

[@dincredible2933]

🔥🔥🔥🔥👍🏾

[@morinc75]

a comment to please our almighty overlord with engagement to feed the algorithm!

[@Jesus-rz8ik]

First?

[@natalieshepp641]

I love this show. And I wish they would reach this in schools. They trying so hard to suppress this information?? 🤬

[@dekaibrahim6749]

As a black person I never understood how other immigrants can act like they do towards people that were here before you and built the country. I need Asians and others to understand that black people were forced and didn’t come on their own, even so black people are the ones that fought to let you all live freely in this country.🙄🤦🏾‍♀️

[@gamechannelminecraft6583]

"Congrats to everyone Who is early and who found this comment 🐼...

[@tyffen123]

3:28 This exact moment is what killed America... 💔

[@user-sj5rb4ku5j]

I am a Korean... and I'm so shocked and sad that those people died because of some bad Koreans..