ey King's struggle as a minority against the LA police force. It was this problem over the years that had been festering in minorities and lower income areas that stood behind the "No Justice, No Peace" outcry of LA people and rioters. President of the Brotherhood Crusade, Danny Bakewell says, "the African American community has a paranoia when it comes to justice" (Lacey). Smokey, a former gang member reinforced that statement by saying that "You can't trust the justice system a bit. There ain't a brother in the neighborhood that thinks he's gonna get a fair trial" (Lacey). This is an ideal that must be changed if we are to move on and steer clear of a similar problem in the future. Maxine Waters, congresswoman in South Central proposed her idea to combat police brutality on citizens to the President. She suggested that the Justice Department should do something about excessive force used by police departments in cities such as LA and should step in when "police departments are out of control." Otis Chandler, a LA citizen echoed Water's remark by saying, "We need to get a handle on this situation. It may take five years or ten years, but this is going to be a safe, pleasant city for everybody regardless of where they live or what they do or what the color of their skin is. Somehow we have to make that dream come true."The Los Angeles riots in'92 were not just about Rodney King, they were about more significant underlying issues of economics and race that had been existing and growing ever since the Watts riots in '65. Perhaps if these issues had been addressed adequately and repaired then, the destruction and violence that occurred on the streets of South Central Los Angeles in 1992 would not have to have been endured. We cannot make the same mistake by overlooking the racial and economic problems facing Los Angeles citizens. Now in the 90's, we must make sure that we take care of the racial divisions, inequality of police...
