Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising (Paperback)

~ (Editor) "The defense attorneys for the police in the Rodney King case made the argument that the policemen were endangered, and that Rodney King was the..." (more)
Key Phrases: genealogical exposure, effigy protest, normalized community, Los Angeles, Rodney King, Korean Americans (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 17 often insightful essays, academics and social critics explore the connections between the Rodney King incidents--the beating, the trial and what the editor terms the subsequent "uprising"--and conditions in America's cities. Though some essays suffer from redundancy and overly academic language, others offer provocative observations. Houston A. Baker finds King's silence during his trial emblematic of the enforced silence of African Americans during the age of slavery. Arguing that the King verdict was not a unique failure of justice, Kimberle Crenshaw and Gary Peller suggest that lawyers for the Los Angeles police officers used the same tactic of decontextualizing evidence that the U.S. Supreme Court used in a decision weakening the claim of minority-owned businesses for "set-aside" government contracts. Describing the failure of police to protect Korean merchants, Sumi K. Cho observes how the Korean community, though stereotyped as a "a model minority," was sacrificed in the interests of white dominance. Gooding-Williams teaches philosophy and black studies at Amherst College.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

. . . very impressive . . . These works are not about race and urban uprising. They are about all of us, not the American Dream but the American Real.
–The San Diego Review

The book Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising offers a timely reminder that the beating of Rodney King, the outcome of the Simi Valley trial of the police officers involved in it, and the subsequent uprisings in response to the verdict are best understood in social, cultural, economic, and political contexts. The authors demonstrate that a critical analysis of popular representations of these events can illuminate the larger subject of race relations in American society. The book suggests that a multidisciplanary approach is needed to appreciate fully the vast and interlocking dimensions of the problem..
–Gail Lee Dubrow, Journal of the American Planning Association

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (April 19, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415907357
• ISBN-13: 978-0415907354
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #809,035 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)