"Soldiers of the (Mechanized) Artillery, 40. Infantry Division (California Army National Guard) patrol the streets of Los Angeles, USA"

"Soldiers of the (Mechanized) Artillery, 40. Infantry Division (California Army National Guard) patrol the streets of Los Angeles, USA"

This photograph is of California National Guardsmen patrolling the streets of Los Angeles during the now infamous April 1992 race riots. The riots broke out after a jury acquitted white police officers who had brutally beaten an African-American man, Rodney King, and been caught on videotape. Angry at the verdict, African Americans and others protested the decision; events quickly escalated into widespread looting and arson. The rioting ended after the U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, and California National Guardsmen like the ones in this photograph were called to quell the violence. Ultimately, in six days of unrest, dozens of people had been killed and hundreds injured.

Unknown (US Army Field Artillery School)

Unknown, "Soldiers of the (Mechanized) Artillery, 40. Infantry Division (California Army National Guard) patrol the streets of Los Angeles, USA," photograph, US Army Field Artillery School, digital reproduction, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ANG40InfantryDivisionLosAngelesRiot1992.jpg (accessed November 22, 2014).

1992-04-XX

Rose Buchanan

photograph