This book is great for anyone who is into American history or sociology. “Rising from the Ashes” by Paula Yoo covers the tensions between the Black Community, Korean American Community , and the LAPD before and after Rodney King’s police brutality case. While this book goes over sensitive topics such as racism and violence in Los Angeles. This book covers many perspectives from each community, and the cases that were very controversial such as “The People of the State of California V. Lawrence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, and Stacey Koon”, and “The People of the State of California V. Soon Ja Du”. Even though this book doesn’t have a plot, it shows how many people's lives from different ethnicities were affected by the Rodney King Case. It was very interesting how Korean American lives were changed completely after the non guilty verdict of “The People of the State of California V. Lawrence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, and Stacey Koon”. You get to learn about the victims of violence of Sa I Gu, the riots that happened after the non guilty verdict. You also get to learn how people cope with the trauma of this event. When I read this book, I didn’t even know that the Korean Americans had tensions with the Black American community in 1991. It made me realize how bad racism was compared to today. Overall, this book was enjoyable to read because of its various perspectives and history. The pictures that were along the book helped me visualize how serious the issue was at that moment.
About This Book
Paula Yoo’s latest is a compelling, nuanced account of Los Angeles’s 1992 uprising and its impact on its Korean and Black American communities. On April 29, 1992, following the acquittal of four police officers charged with the beating and arrest of Rodney King and the earlier killing of teenager Latasha Harlins, the city of Los Angeles erupted in violence. Many of these events were centered on the city’s Koreatown, where tensions between the Black and Korean American communities had simmered for years, fueled by economic challenges and redlining and enflamed by sensationalized and racist media. Based on more than 100 personal interviews, Rising from the Ashes follows these events through the eyes and experiences of the families of King, Harlins, shooting victim Edward Jae Song Lee, and dozens of business owners, journalists, police officers, firefighters, activists, and other community members. Deeply researched and compulsively readable, this is a vivid, propulsive, and moving story of a pivotal moment in recent American history that continues to resonate today.
