1992 LA Riots
By the early 1990s, the unemployment for African-American men in South Central LA was 45%, well above the national average of 5.6%. Additionally, polcie brutality was rampant during this period, with LA Police Chief Daryl Gates initiating violent programs such as Operation Hammer, an attempt to crack down on gang violence in LA. Similarly, during the 1984 LA Olympics, in an attempt to keep the the city calm, Police Chief Gates kept entire areas of the city, such as South Central and East LA entirely under military occupation. Politicians and judges conspired to revive old, anti-syndicalist laws to jail masses of black youth. From 1984-1989, there was a 33 percent spike in citizen complaints against police brutality; the complaints went nowhere. Finally, as a result of the "Bush Recession" of 1992, the economy began to shift from industrial to a service economy, resulting in de-industrialization and the loss of union jobs.
By the early 1990s, the unemployment for African-American men in South Central LA was 45%, well above the national average of 5.6%. Additionally, polcie brutality was rampant during this period, with LA Police Chief Daryl Gates initiating violent programs such as Operation Hammer, an attempt to crack down on gang violence in LA. Similarly, during the 1984 LA Olympics, in an attempt to keep the the city calm, Police Chief Gates kept entire areas of the city, such as South Central and East LA entirely under military occupation. Politicians and judges conspired to revive old, anti-syndicalist laws to jail masses of black youth. From 1984-1989, there was a 33 percent spike in citizen complaints against police brutality; the complaints went nowhere. Finally, as a result of the "Bush Recession" of 1992, the economy began to shift from industrial to a service economy, resulting in de-industrialization and the loss of union jobs.