The stories shaping California
Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Thirty years ago, the police officers who beat Rodney King were acquitted, and L.A. burned.
Today, a Mexican American family still grieves for their father, shot dead in his car after running an errand for a friend. A supermarket rooftop patrolled by Korean immigrants with guns is a hangout for hipsters. Parts of South L.A. are gentrifying, while other neighborhoods are filled with empty lots. Many Angelenos are deeply pessimistic about race relations.
Times journalists reflect on the scars that remain from those violent days and what has risen from the ashes.
The stories shaping California
Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.