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The beating of Black motorist Rodney King by LAPD officers ignited citywide civil unrest. | Photo courtesy of ATOMIC Hot Links/Flickr (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
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Los Angeles officials, law enforcement personnel and faith and community leaders launched the “SAIGU Campaign” Tuesday to begin commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1992 LA riots.
April 29 will mark 30 years since the city erupted in violence following the acquittal of four members of the Los Angeles Police Department on charges of using excessive force in the videotaped beating and arrest of Black motorist Rodney King.
SAIGU, which is the Korean word for the date that the riots began, is also used by the campaign to stand for Serve, Advocate, Inspire, Give and Unite.
Officials say the purpose of the campaign is to build bridges between communities and combat myths that keep communities divided.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, LA city councilmen John Lee, Mitch O’Farrell, Paul Koretz and Kevin de León and councilwomen Nithya Raman and Monica Rodriguez joined Faith and Community Empowerment (FACE) President and CEO Hyepin Im to launch the campaign Tuesday outside City Hall.
“A united L.A. is a stronger L.A.,” Garcetti said on Twitter Tuesday following the launch of the campaign.
FACE also launched the SAIGU Campaign in 2012 and 2017 to commemorate the 20th and 25th anniversaries.
“Thirty years ago, the violence of Los Angeles Riots erupted as a result of failure of government, law enforcement, and even the media to act responsibly. Communities were pitted against one another destroying lives, communities and livelihoods. 53 lives were lost, 2,000 businesses destroyed, and over a billion dollars in property damage were incurred. For the Korean community who incurred almost 50% of the billion dollars of property damage, they witnessed the fragility of the American dream as their life’s savings and dream were burned and destroyed in the ashes without political or police protection,” FACE said on its website.
The campaign will close with a commemoration service on April 29 at the Tapestry LA Church, which Im said is expected to draw hundreds of people. People can RSVP to the event at https://bit.ly/3NOXERM.
