1. Race in Modern America

2. Rodney King Beating/LA Riots
2 Major Events…2 Films
Rodney King Beating/LA Riots
and
OJ Simpson Trial
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Crash
Boyz in the Hood

3. Rodney King Beating
African-American construction worker who became well known after being beaten by Los Angeles police officers following a high-speed car chase on March 3, 1991
A resident in the area videotaped much of it
The footage shows seven officers surrounding King and striking him repeatedly…Whether or not King was resisting is a contentious point
Three of the officers were acquitted and the jury failed to reach a verdict regarding the fourth
Acquittals triggered the 1992 LA riots

4. LA Riots (1992)
The verdicts were broadcast live and word spread quickly throughout Los Angeles.
For the next three days violence and mayhem ensued.
Mayor Tom Bradley imposed a curfew; schools and businesses were closed.
Gov. Wilson dispatched 4,000 National Guard troops to patrol the streets.
Live TV coverage showed fires raging throughout the city, innocent bystanders being assaulted and looters sacking businesses.
The toll from the worst civil unrest LA had experienced since 1965 was devastating: more than 50 killed, over 4 thousand injured, 12,000 people arrested, and $1 billion in property damage

5. Rodney King Beating and LA Riots: Links
ABC News Report
CNN Documentary
Reginald Denny Beating Video

6. OJ Simpson Trial Hall of Fame football player, broadcaster, actor
Nicole Brown (OJ’s ex) and her friend Ronald Goldman were murdered on June 12, Simpson was charged with their deaths.
After failing to turn himself in, he became the object of a low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco SUV
The pursuit, arrest, and trial were among the most widely publicized events in American history.
The trial, often characterized as "the trial of the century," culminated on October 3, 1995 in a jury verdict of not guilty for the two murders.
The verdict was seen live on TV by more than half of the U.S. population, making it one of the most watched events in American TV history.
Immediate reaction to the verdict was notable for its division along racial lines: polls showed that most African-Americans felt that justice had been served by the "not guilty" verdict, while most white Americans did not.
**In the unanimous jury findings of a civil court case in February 1997, Simpson was found liable for the wrongful death of Ronald Goldman and battery of Nicole Brown.

7. OJ’s White Bronco “Chase”

8. OJ Simpson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydFuYxwSmnU (Part 1)