1992 - LA RIOTS

1992- LA riots

1. Cause:

* Surface cause:
In 1992, Rodney King and his two other friends were driving west on the freeway, and got pull over by four members of LAPD( Los Angeles Police Department). And, King was hardly beaten by the four LAPD with clubs, and the incident was recorded by a person who live in nearby at the area. This evidence, the recording film, released to the public, and LAPD said that the Rodney King was resisting. However, the resisting part was not recorded. In the court, the four officers acquitted on almost all charges because the part of the film was so blurred that jury cannot see what was exactly happened. Therefore, court decision was not quality because it was self-defense.

*LAPD beating the Rodney King.:

*Underlying cause:
There were tension between African American society and Korean American society because a Korean American shop-owner shot and killed an African American Girl. But, courts decided that she is not guilty, but it gave her five years probation. Moreover, increasing number of the Korean American stores and employees started hurting to African Americans’ employment. Also, Korean American store owners refused to hire African Americans at that time. Hence, this incident was also counted as partial reason of the riots.


2. Riots:
After the recording was released, all the African Americans got upset what was really happened. Therefore, the riots began. It began in April 29 by African Americans who were pulling over the one white driver and attacking. Since the incident, the violent riots expanded most of the Los Angeles city especially the Korean town. The main targets of the violence were white and Korean Americans’ store. The riots went through six days. There were curfew and National Guard with U.S. Army. After riots, fifty three people died, 2000 people got injured. Property damage might be $800 million up to $1billion losses, and the riots destroyed 1,100 buildings with fire.

3. Analysis.
Because of the riots, 90% of Korean town were destroyed. Even though other area were well protected by U.S. Army, Korean town was right in middle of the riots. Korean Americans had been trying hard settling down in the new environment. However, all their efforts destroyed by just few days. The number of unemployed African Americans was increasing, while the number of Korean immigrants was well settling down with owning their own stores. Hence, African Americans thought that Koreans took their wealth. And the young African American girl’s death was the trigger to their hatred against to Koreans. Even though Korean community well settled in LA, they had a huge problem that communicates with other communities such as African American. They got lesson from the riots, so Korean community in LA has kept trying to harmonize with other community. For example, it presents the fifteenth anniversary marching with all the different minority race communities in Korean town on April 22nd.
The riots became big motives for American pop culture such as film, literature, plays, television, and music. For examples, Ice Cube, a gangster rapper, wrote a song called “We Had to Tear This Motherfucka Up,” which expresses the sentiments similar to the rioters. Moreover, his another song, “Black Korea” on his 1991 album was about the racist characterization of South Korean store owners. In literature, Len Deighton’s novel, “Violent Ward” in 1993 was about a detective mystery in the Raymond Chandler vein set against the background of the riots. Also, Marvel's comic series “Runaway” makes several references to the riots. Early in the series, one character says "every time you see something you don't understand, you call it evil and start throwing chairs through a Starbucks window". Later, when fighting off advancing policemen, Chase shouts "This is for Rodney King, y'all!" Finally, when she hears a report on something attacking Starbucks buildings, Nico comments "I didn't know that protesters were back in town". Finally, GTO(Grand Theft Auto: Sand Andreas) reminds with the riots, with setting the final missions as killing the acquittal of two extremely corrupt police officer, whom causes riots in the city like 1992 riots.

1999. Wen Ho Lee

1. Wen Ho Lee’s Biography

He is a scientist and a specialist about nuclear weapon designer. He was born in 1939 in Taiwan China. Later He moved to the United States in 1965, and continued to study engineering in Texas A&M University. In 1974,He becomes a U.S. citizen and in 1978, he got hired as scientists in weapon design at Los Alamos’ National Laboratory in New Mexico. He accused as a spy, who steal nuclear information from Los Alamo’s National Laboratory to Chinese government in 1999.

2. Nuclear Spy Scandal

Since Wen Ho Lee was invited to China to speak with scientists in the 1920s. Even though he actually met the Chinese scientist who questioned him about the high technology information in order to build the nuclear missile, Wen ho Lee said that he never answered any questions, which is related to the classified information as required by security regulations. Later, he got suspected as a spy by the secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. In 1999, he got arrest by FBI because of taking top secret information to China, and he got 59 counts of illegally downloading classified data from the computers at the Los Alamos weapon lab. As a result, he was in jailed in solitary confinement for nine months, and released on the time when government could not probe any things. In fact, he was charged only one count of mishandling sensitive documents, and he did not require pre-trial jail because other 58 illegal actions were dropped.
* Wen Ho Lee's Story*

3. Analysis.

He was treated as a spy regardless of his the U.S. citizenship, and loyal works to the U.S government in order to make the U.S stronger. Because of the bias thought at that time, he was totally treated as a Chinese. Without a real trial and clear evidence, he was in jail and his name was mentioned on the media such as newspapers and television that were unfair and illegal treatments. On the U.S. constitution, all the U.S. citizens have to be protected by the U.S. and all the humans have to be treated equally. However, a lot of the Asian Americans often treated very unequally as other race of U.S citizens such as white and African American. It is very hard to prove that Asian American’s loyalty toward the nation just like the Wen Ho Lee. However, the Supreme Court judge, Jame A Parker, and the U.S. president, Bill Clinton, officially apologized to the unfair and unequal treatment of Wen Ho Lee. This means a lot to Asian American citizens because American presidents and Supreme Court judge are the top leaders of the U.S. Not only did they aware of the illegal treatments to Asian American, but they also try hard to protect Asian Americans from the bias or stereotypical unfair treatments just like Wen Ho Lee.

Event list

1986- Immigration Reform and Control Act creates an amnesty progrma for undocumented immigrants and installs employer sanctions; Jhon Waihee becomes Hawaiis governor and is the first Hawaiian to be elected to that office.

1987- Navroze mody killed in jersey city, new Jerseyl constitutional convention for a hawaiian nation meets and drafts a constitution

1988- civil right act, offering redress and reparations to Japances americans, passed by congress and signed by president ronald reagan; Hirabayashi vs, U.S

1989- Jim Loo killed in Raleigh, north carolina; massacre of asian american schoolchildren in stockton, california, by a gunman who killed five and wounded twenty; china's government suppresses student uprising at Tiananmen Square; Communist governments collapse throughtout eastern Europe.

1990- Murder of Hung Truong in Houston, Texas; bombing of Kaho's olawe suspsended.

1992- LAriots in which Korean american businesses in particular were targeted results in osses of exccedin g$350 million

1993- U.S congress passes a joint resolution, signed by president Bill clinton, apologizing for ameircan roles in the 1893 overthrow of queen Lili uokalani

1994- California passes proposition 187, which denies rights and government services to undocummented immigrnat.

1996- llegal immigration reform and immigrant responsibility act curtails the rights of undocumented immigrants to receive federal enlightment, limits due porcess for political asylum applicatns and increases enforcement of immigration laws: CA passes proposition 209, which eliminates governmental affimative action progrmas

1999- FBI areests Chinese american scientist Wen Ho Lee and charges him with mishandgling resticted nuclear data at the Los Alamos National Labortatory.

2000- U.S Justice and interior departments releases a draft report recommending sovereignty for hawaiians, resident Bill Clinton signs executive order 13125 establishing the president's commission on asian americnas and pacific islanders to improve the quality of life for thoses groups; federal government drops fify-eight of fifty nine charges against we ho lee, who pleads quilty to a single charge of mishandling nuclear secrets and judge james a parker apologizes to lee for the unfair manner in which he was held.