The Process of Riot and Stories of Police Brutality in Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, a Book by Anna Deavere Smith

In April of 1992 a jury in LA comes together to declare a mainly non-guilty verdict on al charges against the police officer that beat Rodney King. In what begins as a peaceful rally against this verdict turns into a three day long riot in the streets of LA. A few years later a woman named Anna Deavere Smith, in an attempt to creatively document these riots publishes a book entitled Twilight Los Angeles 1992, full of monologues made up entirely of interviews she held with the many different types of people this occurrence affected. Smith has broken down the series of stories she collected into an order that helps one see the process of a riot. She begins with angry stories of police brutality then verging into the fear of those the riots surrounded and then ending with words of hope from the wisest souls of all Smith took stories that emphasized each of these points and put them next to each other. Since each group of monologues emphasizes one specific point through many sorts of voices. The reader is given comprehensive understandings as to how these riots could have taken place. Many voices speak much more loudly than one.

One is first presented with interviews that explain the backdrop to these riots. The first section of Smiths book is appropriately entitled The Territory. In this sense.

The Word territory pertains to the idea of LA being broken down into parts, racially, socially economically etc. and the strong sense of rule each part wants to have over some section of the city. In the first set of interviews I examined, both the men who spoke were struggling to understand their personal and societal space they are meant to fit into. The first to speak was Rudy Salas Senior, a Mexican American man whose experience being beaten by the police in 1941, as a teenager is only the beginning of the racial oppression he has had to continue to endure. This extreme police brutality has not only left him mostly deal but also with an uncontrollable sense of anger. I. I had a hate in me, even now. I dont like to hate, never do, the way that my Uncle Abraham told me that to hate is to waste energy and you mess with man upstairs, but I had an insane hatred for white policemen.

These powerful words are followed by a police officers monologue. These stories are beginning the powerful, eclectic ideas that are going to come out of this book and leave the reader with a long lasting impression of the many different aspects of these riots. The police officer emphasizes Salas views by representing his anger for police brutality while expressing his views through someone who has been at both ends and is confused about his territory and why that is important. Officer Sheinbaum knows that he is unlike most policemen, in that other police see men like Salas as the enemy. Sheinbaum however, still agrees with Salas disappointment in hatred and classifications. His resentment towards the white polices need to box people into categories, is best represented when Sheinbaum is told by white policemen that he must choose a territory, essentially deciding who he must hate. So which side are you on? When I said, I said, its my answer was Why do I have to be on a side? Yu, yuh, yeh know. Why do I have to be on a side? Theres a problem here. Sheinbaum is left dumbfounded by the other officers demand. While one officer is entirely unaware a problem even exists, the other is left unclear how he should even respond. Both of these men represent the foundation of anger these riots were built upon.

As the anger builds and the riots begin, the fear in the people of the city grows. To those who have spent their life aware of the racial problems and police brutality that exists in LA their response comes from fury instead of the surprise someone unaware might feel. For the most naive of the city, white USC sorority girls, young wealthy white real estate agents, the intensity of the riots comes as much more of a shock. Smith emphasizes this level of ignorance by putting these monologues from the very least with political involvement back to back. Each of these women represents the confusion their communities feel and the inability to comprehend the severity of the situation of LA in 1992. By putting the stories of the sorority girl and the rich divorcee together one can more easily understand that ignorance is a common state of being for many of the people in this city, despite the severity of these problems. Many white women arent used to violence and are generally untrained as to what would be an appropriate reaction to such brutal troubles.

The woman who seems the most ignorant speaks first. Elaine Young tells of her fear of being alone Now, mind you, im only three weeks separated and didnt want to be alone. She represents herself as afraid of dates canceling and worry that there will be no place to dine. That is how she sees the riots effect on her. And though she insists she in no way means to sound flippant, she ends her interview by describing her date and the others that were eating out the evenings that the riot took place. It was like people hanging out together, like safety in numbers. No one can hurt us at the Beverly Hills Hotel cause it was like a fortress. Right afterwards a young anonymous woman at USC tells her story Smith takes the extremity in Youngs tale and develops the idea of misdirected concern. Similarly, the girl from USC has a lot of misdirected fear. All i can think of one bottle in my fathers car, he will diel He will die. He collects many cars, he has about fifteen different kinds of cars. In putting this story second though, she shows that though naive some were aware their wealth would no longer offer complete protection. If the stories had been reversed one would have gone into Youngs story and been much less shocked by her ignorance. And if one read the anonymous story first, it would have been much easier to miss and not appreciate the small attempt at compassion this girl is trying to represent. As the book develops it is important for ideas to develop and as Smith is trying to show fear she puts the woman that is more afraid second. Ive never felt so scared as frightened, in my life. Um, and it was a different fear that Ive ever felt. I mean I was really afraid. At a certain point it dawned on us that they might try to attack the row, the sororities and the fraternities. In affect to all ideas involving twilight Smith builds on these stories filled with fear before she branches out into hope. The darkest hour always comes before dawn. The last two stories in Smiths piece come together as one entity.

These pieces are made up of similar ideas from similar people with a similar sense of hope. These people are used to represent that these dreamers. In using more than one person Smith draws Strength from that idea. If enough lights come together things like these riots can be prevented in the future. The last two monologues both speak of being put off as idealistic. Both of the people grew up in bad neighborhoods where many of the adults surrounding them were bitter and disillusioned from years of the same problems that caused these riots in the first place. From their idealism both arrived at nicknames involving the concept of light, the young woman, Lucia and the man Twilight Bey. Their nicknames come from admiration and appreciation for their brilliance, from their friends and family Light is a word that symbolizes knowledge, knowing, wisdom, within the Koran and the Holy Bible, The hope this book ends with represents Smiths belief in change. These two hopeful voices complete the book with a lot of strength. And one of the things we have was faith, convictions. That we have the power within ourselves, that we can change things.

The 1992 LA riots that took place can never be excused. Neither can the police brutality nor endless years of oppression that lead to the riots for that matter. It is important however to not only know the history but also gain an understanding as to how they could have happened in order to prevent something similar happening in the future. Through the stories Smith collected and the unique order she placed them in one can easily gather an idea of what things led to the next, which people were affecting which and how things managed to get so out of control. Smith neatly places these stories from all different sorts of people in an order that makes it easy to gain an understanding as to how things took place and something so seemingly terrible can have such a clear beginning middle and end.

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