4.29/ Saigu/ LA Uprising

April 29, 1992, known in the Korean American community as Saigu, was a watershed moment in Los Angeles. Some have named this event as the L.A. Uprising, Riot, or Rebellion. Even after thirty years, we still have a difficult time agreeing on how to name the event because it impacted the diverse communities so differently.

We gathered 30 years later to remember and testify.  We remembered that 30 years ago, violence erupted in the city we live and love.  We testified that on March 3, 1991 Rodney King, a black man was involved in a high-speed chase which resulted in his brutal arrest. Four officers tasered, struck, kicked and tackled him excessively. Unbeknownst to the police and King, the incident was captured on a camcorder by a local civilian and released to the world to see. We remembered that on April 29, 1992, the jury acquitted all four officers of assault and acquitted three of the four of using excessive force. The cup of oppression flowed over right here in South Central Los Angeles where many knew that what happened to King was the reality of so many black and brown brothers and sisters. We remembered that as the anger and rage was unleashed, our government, law enforcement, and the media did not act responsibly. Communities were pitted against one another destroying lives, neighborhoods and livelihoods. 53 lives were lost, 2,000 businesses destroyed, and over a billion dollars in property damage were incurred.  We also remembered the devastation and trauma on the Korean community who incurred over 45% of the billion dollars of property damage. They witnessed the fragility of the American dream as their life’s savings and dream were burned and destroyed in the ashes without political or police protection. But we also gathered to remember the words of Min Jin Lee who wrote in the first line of her book, Pachinko: “History has failed us, but no matter.” Government has failed us, but no matter. Law enforcement, the media, and sometimes even our church has failed us, but no matter. God is with us. And thirty years later, the Holy Ghost is reminding us to remember, to name the hauntings, to face them with courage- together. 

See photos from the commemoration HERE

Healing Our Hauntings 30 Years Later- Webinar (April 22, 2022)

In-person gathering at Family Mennonite Church in South Central Los Angeles (April 23, 2022)

25th Commemoration

On April 7-9, 2017, Angelenos gathered to "remem-bear" the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising/Riot. We gathered to do our work around history, unresolved trauma, and how it impacts justice issues today. 

Friday evening centered around the stories of Korean Americans and how Saigu (4.29-the date when the verdict for Rodney King's trial came out) traumatized this immigrant community). Many Korean-owned businesses were targeted and looted incurring 45% of the one billion dollar property damage.

The Uprising/Riot for 1.5 and second generation Korean Americans  was a wake up call that we needed to prioritize engaging in our local communities. This unrest instilled in a generation of Korean-Americans, the importance of engaging with civic organizations, being activists, about caring for all members of the community to fight racism and economic inequality.

Morning Panelists: Remem-bearing 1992 - Art Cribbs, Michael Mata, Daniel Lee, and Leonardo Vilchis (Video by Kang Soo Yu)

The panel session was followed by workshops:

• Faith-focused organizing (Art Cribbs)

• Koreatown from 1990-2015: What does statistics tell us? (Soyeon Choi, Junghyun Choi, Cheolho Lee)

• Social investment and community building in an age of gentrification (Leonardo Vilchis)

• Women doing justice (Elaine Enns, Grecia Reyes, Elizabeth Leu, Sue Park-Hur)

• Organizing urban communities for transformation(Michael Mata)

These workshops helped us to dig deeper into the roots of the Uprising/Riot and find ways to connect with each other for the future.

In the afternoon, we had a panel of young adult community leaders, Hyung-In Kim (Fuller Seminary), Grecia Lopez-Reyes (CLUE), Jason Chu (Jason Chu Music), Elizabeth Leu (DOOR LA). They were not living in Los Angeles during the 1992 Uprising/Riot but we asked them where they saw hope as they work in the city and what they envision for the future.