Race In L.A.
Twenty years after the riots, the city has a different complexion. So what does race mean anymore? Everything
Ours is a city of many voices and cultures, of disparate backgrounds and conflicting interests. Twenty years ago this month, those fault lines ruptured. Whether you call it an uprising, a riot, or civil unrest, what happened on April 29, 1992, changed Los Angeles and the people in it, prompting Rodney King to famously ask, “Can we all get along?” We still want the answer to be yes. But it’s complicated.
Slide show
Flash Point
Even photographers were targets during the 1992 melee. How one captured the chaos in black and white
The Riots
From the Chinese Massacre of 1871 to recent unrest on high school campuses, some moments in the city's past are among it's most troubles hours
Exclusive photos of the Los Angeles riots by Ted Soqui
Courtroom sketch artist Mona Shafer Edwards shares her drawings of the second Rodney King trial
Writer-at-large Ed Leibowitz on covering the Rodney King federal trial for the LA. Weekly
KCRW DJ and culture critic Garth Trinidad remembers the civil unrest of 1992 with an eclectic playlist
Editor-in-chief Mary Melton and the staff of Los Angeles magazine remember the L.A. riots
20 Years After
Portraits of seven people who were changed forever by the riots. As told to Dave Gardetta
A Matter of Perpspective
Worth 1,000 Words
Two images define the 1992 riots, but the circumstances behind the chaos were far more complex
By John Ridley
Hair is the great equalizer, as Erika Hayasaki discovers when she visits L.A.'s headquaters of weave
Too often Erin Aubry Kaplan finds she must choose between being polite and speaking the truth
Intermarriage is on the rise, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. Matthew Segal on building a better union
A British Indian living in L.A., Sanjiv Bhattacharya moves to a new neighborhood and finds diversity isn't what it's cracked up to be
A bilingual L.A. native, Ruben Martinez became a spokesman for being brown in 1992. It got old fast
The daughter of Korean immigrants who make a mean Philly cheesesteak, comedian Kat Ahn laughs in the face of stereotypes
While shooting his latest film, Mario Van Peebles got schooled in diversity
The LAPD has changed in its ethnic makeup as well as its attitude. Natasha Vargas-Cooper rides along
In the Mix
Imagine Pittsburgh moving into L.A.—that’s how much our city’s population has swelled in two decades
A chef, a DJ, and two gym rats prove how following your passions can bridge any divide. Profiles by Amy Wallace
Six Angelenos born in 1992 reveal how much and how little their mixed ethnicities define them. As told to Ann Herold
Five essential ethnic dishes represent L.A.'s racial diversity while making for one heck of a tasty lunch. Here's where to get them
Read more coverage of the L.A. riots from the archives of Los Angeles magazine
[June 1992]
The Issue at Hand
Lew Harris addresses the Los Angeles riots in his June 1992 letter from the editor
[June 1992]
War Heroes
Good guys who did the right thing during the Rodney King riots
[May 1997]
Happy Fifth Anniversary!
How could anything good have come out of the '92 riots?
[May 2002]
Smoke & Mirrors
Ten years later, what do we see when we remember the riots?