Flashpoint of 1992 LA Riots Becomes a Place of Unity After Derek Chauvin Trial
The place where Florence and Normandie avenues meet is indelible in the history of the city of Los Angeles. Next week will mark 29 years since the intersection became a flashpoint for violence after the Rodney King verdict came down.
By Stefanie Dazio ••
NBC Universal, Inc.
A site of violence nearly 30 years ago becomes a site of relief and joy. Beverly White reported on NBC4 News on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
Two Black men. Two big cities. Two horrifying videos. Two different verdicts.
In 1991, four Los Angeles police officers brutally beat motorist Rodney King and their acquittal on state charges a year later prompted one of the worst race riots in American history.
In 2020, a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd ’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as he gasped repeatedly, “I can’t breathe.” The excruciating bystander video touched off protests against police brutality and racial injustice worldwide.
On Tuesday, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvinwas convicted of murder and manslaughter. The verdict was met with both joy and sorrow nationwide — especially at an infamous intersection in South Los Angeles.
The place where Florence and Normandie avenues meet is indelible in the history of the city of Los Angeles. Next week will mark 29 years since the intersection became a flashpoint for violence after the King verdict came down.
The cross-streets are where, in the aftermath of the jury's decision, Black men dragged white truck driver Reginald Denny from his big rig and beat him nearly to death. Denny survived the attack, which was captured on live TV.
The uprising spread as the city burned. Hundreds of businesses were looted and destroyed. Entire blocks of homes and stores went up in flames. More than 60 people died by shootings or other violence.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
Peoplke cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn.
AP Photo/Brittainy Newman
Peaceful protesters rally outside Barclays Center on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
A man waves a Black Lives Matter flag out of a car as people celebrate after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
A small group of protesters gather after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was announced in Times Square, New York, Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Joseph Ravago wipes tears from the eyes of Kamaile Elderts on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, after the verdict in Minneapolis, in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was announced.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Andrew Hartin gesture to the crowd at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial on April 20, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
AniYa A motions as she walks through Times Square in New York, while talking on her cell phone after a Minnesota jury found Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn.
AP Photo/Ben Gray
People gather before a march in Atlanta, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A person reacts on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House after the verdict in Minneapolis, in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was announced.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Lisa Robinson of Washington, reacts on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, as the guilty verdict in Minneapolis, in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was announced.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
London Williams, 31, of Harrisburg, Pa., bursts into tears on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, after hearing that former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Lee Singleton reacts in Houston to the verdict in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after listening to the verdict in the neighborhood where George Floyd grew up.
AP Photo/Michael Perez
People gather after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at City Hall in Philadelphia.
AP Photo/Ben Gray
Destiny Britt, left, and Qri Montague embrace during a gathering and march in Atlanta, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
People gather at the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Austin, Texas, after the guilty verdict in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, in the death of George Floyd, was announced.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
People celebrate after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis.
AP Photo/Brittainy Newman
Police officers enter their van as Shermaine Lester, rallies outside the Barclays Center on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in Brooklyn, New York.
On Tuesday, however, the intersection was a place for celebration in the wake of Chauvin’s guilty verdict. A racially diverse group of several dozen people gathered to praise the jury’s decision and call for continued accountability.
A Black man in a Lakers cap danced on the street corner, chanting: “Get used to this, get used to justice!”
Passing cars blared their horns as demonstrators waved signs and Black Lives Matter flags. Music and the smell of fresh tacos were in the air.
“Justice has been done,” said Sherri Burks, 52, as a man walking by added “finally!”
Burks lives around the corner from Florence and Normandie and recalled the 1992 riots.
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 12: People gather at the intersection of Florence and Normandie to protest the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 12, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The intersection became famous as the flashpoint for the 1992 Los Angeles riots following the brutal police beating of African-American Rodney King by white officers. The shooting of Wright took place about 10 miles from where Derek Chauvin is on trial in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
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SHERMAN OAKS, CA – APRIL 20: Supporter Katie Mau, left, embraces Latora Green, right, as the verdicts are read in the Chauvin trial on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in Sherman Oaks.
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People celebrate the guilty verdict of former police officer Derek Chauvin in Los Angeles, California on April 20, 2021.
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People celebrate the guilty verdict of former police officer Derek Chauvin in Los Angeles, California on April 20, 2021.
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People celebrate the guilty verdict of former police officer Derek Chauvin in Los Angeles, California on April 20, 2021.
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LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 20: A group of people peacefully gathered on the corner of Beverly Blvd and Fairfax in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, April 20, 2021. They kneeled on the pavement for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. The same amount of time the police officer Derek on George Floyd’s neck before he was killed. About 20 people have gathered here peacefully. Today former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of all counts, including murder, in the death of George Floyd. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 20: A group of people peacefully gathered on the corner of Beverly Blvd and Fairfax in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, April 20, 2021. They kneeled on the pavement for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. The same amount of time the police officer Derek on George Floyd’s neck before he was killed. About 20 people have gathered here peacefully. Today former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of all counts, including murder, in the death of George Floyd. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Los Angeles, CA – April 20: A motorist celebrates from his car along with cheering demonstrators as they celebrate the news of the Chauvin verdict at corner of Florence and Normandy Avenues in South Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. The LAPD has issued a tactical alert following the verdict. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“I was right here,” she said. “Burning everywhere, stores getting busted up.”
Randy Dulaney, 62, of Pasadena, lived not far from the intersection. He came back to visit an aunt Tuesday and went to the intersection to join the celebration and “to show love back to the neighborhood.”
“Today we have more power,” Dulaney said. He wore a cap embroidered “I can’t breathe” and a T-shirt with pictures of late civil rights leader and U.S. congressman John Lewis.
Joyce Robertson, 69, stood on the curb Tuesday, her arm outstretched in triumph as passing cars honked in support.
“I was here, how many decades ago, on the same corner,” she said.
But Robertson said there is still work to be done. She saw parallels between King's beating 30 years ago and the police treatment of Black men today.
“It’s a different time but it’s very similar conditions,” she said. “They just don’t get it.”
