Figured it’s a good time to discuss the “Roof Koreans.” Thread below:

The 1992 LA Riots began after four LAPD officers were acquitted on charges of excessive force against Rodney King during a traffic stop in 1991. Thousands of people took to the streets in protest, beginning a six-day wave of riots which quickly overwhelmed the police.

This moment was pivotal for Asian-Americans, particularly Koreans. As the LAPD retreated to defend upper-class White neighborhoods, it was a rude awakening for the residents of Koreatown, who were largely left to their own devices.

It showed them the fragility of the “model minority” myth- that when things got serious, no amount of “model” could wash off the “minority” on their skin. As rioters descended upon Koreatown, the only recourse for the residents was to take up arms themselves.

Armed storeowners and residents stood post outside shops, some of them assuming positions on the roof (hence the name “Roof Koreans”). Many of the Koreans had military experience due to South Korea’s conscription policy.

News media captured the firefight between the Koreans and armed looters, and the Koreans successfully forced the looters to retreat. That said, some Koreans were caught in the crossfire (see Edward Jae Song Lee), and thousands of Korean-owned businesses were damaged or destroyed.

The story of the "Roof Koreans" is often told as a heroic defense of their own community against looters with little help from the police. As true as I believe that to be, these stories often fail to mention the reason why many Korean businesses were targeted.

In 1991, during the same month as the Rodney King traffic stop, Korean shop owner Soon Ja Du shot and killed 15-year-old Latasha Harlins. Du accused Harlins of shoplifting a bottle of orange juice. It was later discovered that she was trying to pay.

Regardless, Harlins was killed and Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. The jury recommended the maximum sentence of 16 years, but the judge sentenced Du to 5 years’ probation instead. This sparked a year of serious tension between the Black and Korean communities.

That said, it’s too simplistic to call this a Black vs. Asian fight, and some far right-wingers will portray the story like this in order to promote race war narratives, often without mentioning the Latasha Harlins shooting.

The looters that descended upon Koreatown during the LA Riots were not Black, but instead a mix of all races. Similarly, when cleanup occurred, neighbors of all races came out to help.

The events of 1992 convinced many Koreans to begin adopting a Korean-American identity, becoming active in politics, and working to mend bridges with other ethnic communities.

In response to Minneapolis, I wrote up this thread to promote the full story of the "Roof Koreans" while encouraging Asians to stamp out anti-Blackness in our own communities. 28 years on, another Latasha Harlins incident seems improbable, but still conceivable.

Thus, we still have work to do.

Asian ethnicities cannot not just exist in America in a homogenous space- they are woven into the fabric of a multicultural society and have a responsibility to stand up for others while addressing their own shortcomings.

Sources: NPR, Huffpost, LA Times, CNN, CityLab, NBC News
https://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/524744989/when-la-erupted-in-anger-a-look-back-at-the-rodney-king-riots

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographers-los-angeles-riots_n_5902c4ffe4b02655f83b5a86

https://www.npr.org/2012/04/27/151524921/how-koreatown-rose-from-the-ashes-of-l-a-riots

https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/28/us/la-riots-korean-americans/index.html

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-riots-unity-meeting-20170429-story.html

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/04/what-was-lost-in-the-fires-of-the-la-riots/524145/ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/25-years-after-la-riots-koreatown-finds-strength-saigu-legacy-n749081