May 1, 1992

On May 1, 1992, the third day of the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King appeared live on CNN attempting to appeal for peace and the end of the looting, arson, assault and murder at that had plagued the city after the acquittal of four police officers who were videotaped beating King after a high-speed pursuit. Visibly shaken, King asked:

” People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?…It’s just not right. It’s not right. It’s not, it’s not going to change anything. We’ll, we’ll get our justice….Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out.”

A curfew was implemented and California’s National Guard, federal troops and United States Marines were sent to cease the violence. In the end, about 53 lives were lost during the unrest, 2,000 people injured, 3,600 fires set 1,100 buildings destroyed and 10, 000 arrested. It was estimated that the total material damage varied between $800 million and $1 billion

Rodney King Speaks