Remembering the Los Angeles Riots

Listen to the full audio story

Download the MP3

Nineteen years ago this week the Los Angeles Riots broke out in the heart of South L.A. following the announcement that police officers involved in the Rodney King beating were acquitted from charges of assault and use of excessive force. For six straight days, looting, violence, arson and murder erupted throughout urban L.A. as racial, cultural, and social tensions reached a peak. Shopping malls and residences directly across the street from USC’s campus went up in flames from the rioting.

Gladys Castaneda has served at USC’s University Club for over 27 years. She was in the neighborhood when the riots began in April, 1992. Listen as she recounts her memories of that tumultuous time.