For younger Californians and new Californians who have little knowledge or understanding of what transpired 50 years ago, AirTalk hosts an historical primer on the riots.
What were the demographic and economic realities of the time? Why did a police stop of a young man spur six days of rioting over miles of LA that culminated in $200 million in fire damage alone? And, in the aftermath, how did it impact politics of Angelenos?
Joe Hicks and his young family were living in Watts at the time. What he experienced over those six days inspired him to become a civil rights advocate and spend his career focused on race relations.
Professor Lorn Foster of Pomona College was fresh out of high school and living with his family just outside the curfew zone. Larry speaks with Foster and Hicks to recount race relations at the time; a contentious chapter in LAPD history; and their personal experiences as the riots surged.
If you were living in LA at the time, what are your memories and takeaways?
Guests:
Lorn Foster, Professor of American Government and Politics, Pomona College; Foster's current project is "Black Migration to Los Angeles, 1910-1950: the Role of the Black Church in Social Mobility;" Foster grew up in Los Angeles
Joe Hicks, Vice President of Community Advocates, Inc., a nonprofit organization that advocates innovative approaches to human relations and race relations in Los Angeles city and county; Hicks grew up in Watts