In 1991, Rodney King, who was Black, was beaten senseless by a gang of Los Angeles police officers. It was not a rare event, but what made it historic was the presence of a private citizen who filmed the beating from his apartment balcony. The incident exposed police brutality toward Blacks in urban metropolises in a graphic and horrific way, and shocked the conscience of all Americans. Footage of the incident was replayed endlessly, prompting calls for an investigation. Overnight, the era of the “viral video” — allowing ordinary citizens to hold police officials accountable for their unlawful behavior — was born.
King survived his beating, suffering multiple bone fractures, and the officers in question were forced to stand trial. But when a jury acquitted them of all wrongdoing, LA erupted in riots not seen since the infamous Watts Rebellion of 1965. The grim aftermath laid bare the enduring power of state repression but also prompted a surge in Black community activism. “The Rodney King video in and of itself ignited a culture of wanting to get involved,” says community activist Ameshia Cross. “It also showcased that you didn’t really have a choice to not get involved.”
The parallels between the King incident and last weekend’s shooting death of a White anti-ICE activist in Minneapolis are eerie — and disturbing. Once again, the authorities deny culpability, but multiple cell phone videos lay bare the truth that can’t be hidden by official lies. And yet, the prospect that those responsible will be held accountable for their actions is virtually nil. Americans, in fact, are still sharply divided over the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies; the most that can probably be hoped for in the short term is a temporary shift in tactics: a pullback from aggressive ICE raids in the cities and a renewed focus on deterring illegal immigration by other means. In all likelihood, the ICE officers responsible for this death — and those in the earlier killing of Renee Good — won't even be charged.
Have we learned anything in 35 years? Rodney King’s plaintive public plea as the LA riots unfolded — “can’t we all get along?” — challenged the world to find redemption in his pain, and in the pain of other victims of systemic oppression. For an all-too brief moment, we did, in fact. But even irrefutable photographic evidence was not enough to bring about real justice in the end. Today, as street protests continue to escalate in Minneapolis and beyond, and more violent confrontations with ICE loom, we face the same challenge of translating awareness into action. Make this a "teachable" moment; otherwise, these senseless deaths will have been in vain, and they may not be the last.