Rodney King

Thirty-two years ago in Los Angeles, four white police officers who brutally beat Rodney King were acquitted on April 29, 1992. This date marked the beginning of the six-day Los Angeles riots. It also marks the beginning of the film “1992” directed by Ariel Vromen and starring Tyrese Gibson, Christopher A’mmanuel, Scott Eastwood, and the late Ray Liotta in one of his last films. Gibson and rapper Snoop Dogg are executive producers.

Starting Aug. 28, the words of more than 40 Los Angeles community members impacted by the brutal police beating of Rodney King in 1992 will echo through the American Repertory Theater.

It’s a ritual with me. On the 10th, 20th, 25th, and now the 30th anniversary of the L.A. riots, I visit several of the same burned-out empty lots in South L.A. I ask: “Why, years after the riots, are these empty lots where thriving businesses once stood still empty today?”