Race Riots In Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

“Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” introduces us to a select few members of society in a way more uncommon to modern day literature. They happen to be accounts of people. For some, the story is a way to evoke emotion and tell a story. Anna Deavere Smith had another idea – bring to light the socio-racial situations behind what was really going on in Los Angeles in 1992. This includes, but is not limited to, the rocky inter-racial foundations and the intra-racial social-based foundations. 1992 had an influx of race riots in Los Angeles. Race has always been a hot topic in the United States since the formation of the colonies and the introduction of slavery. But these riots were based on the attacks by L.A.P.D. officers to a black motorist by

He blurts out the following, “if the police had me and a couple other guys in the middle of the street on your knees, the older people would come out and question. They like… ‘Take ‘em to jail,’” (948). He also signals in his monologue that there is a loss of respect between the younger generation and the older generation. This could explain to many why he chose to be a former gang member – he would rather not be associated with a social crowd which implicates a negative stigma onto him. Unfortunately, as many people know, the stigma tends to stick no matter how long one has been away from that crowd since they were the

This event occurred at 5:25 p.m. on April 29, 1992. A liquor store owner, former, by the name of Mrs. Young-Shoon Han recalls many events, especially from 1992. Emotionally, she is still distraught by the events that have happened to her. Mrs. Young-Soon Han expresses how mainly the Black gang members were the individuals that constantly robbed her store of expensive beers and alcohol (950-55). Instantly, her story is captivating due to the nature of the emotion she encases us in with the events before and following the riots. Due to the nature of her race, Korean-American, she is not qualified for medical treatment, food stamps, welfare, and many prominent necessities poorer Americans need and receive from the federal government. What’s enlightening, in the negative connotation, is the fact that we learn about how “Many Afro-Americans…who never worked…get [the] minimum amount” where they are unable to get all of that since many Korean-Americans have a semi-successful business and have the luxury of having cars and homes while being high taxpayers. From this, we can determine that not only is there a highlight of racism between the white Americans and the Afro-Americans, but there is evidence of mistreatment of these Korean-American people that have come to the United States for freedom and to live a better life, which may or