The Los Angeles Riots Revisited: The Changing Face of the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Challenge for Educators

Abstract

This article provides a brief history of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), including an analysis of the demographic shifts and the tensions between the African American and Korean American communities at the time of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. The article includes my own experiences teaching high school English during the uprising, and relies on some of the ideas of Critical Race Theory to stress the need for educators to hold uncomfortable discussions about race and racism in educational settings. The article further includes an examination of issues and concerns that faced the district in the years leading up to the King verdict (racial isolation, poor academic achievement in some schools, teacher frustration, and, an ultimate strike in 1989, gang violence), and provides a snapshot of current achievement levels for children in LAUSD.