On the recordMarch 3, 2021
30 years ago today, Rodney King was viciously beaten by police officers in Los Angeles. It would be the first time the world would witness what African Americans had been organizing, marching, and trying to change for over 100 years. Personally, I was hopeful that once everyone saw what happens in Black communities, policing in America would change. I was certain no one would deny what they saw with their own eyes and that the officers would be convicted. But they were acquitted. Some were even hired by other police departments. The sad truth was, when people told their stories of abuse or even murder at the hands of police officers, they were simply not believed. The story was always the same: I was in fear of my life. I thought they had a gun. The person was resisting arrest. The individual attempted to assault me. That is all that was needed for the beating or murder to be discounted, dismissed. The individuals' lives had little value. Even children. These are children here. This is an 8-year-old, a 10- year-old, a mother, and another child placed on the ground because the mother was suspected of stealing a car. Several years after Rodney King's beating, cell phone cameras were invented. It has taken technology and active citizen involvement to document and expose this reality. And now there are many tapes, many examples of individuals being shot and killed by officers, yet transformation of policing in America has still not happened.…
