Rising From the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire

Summary

Paula Yoo’s latest is a compelling, nuanced account of Los Angeles’s 1992 uprising and its impact on its Korean
and Black American communities.
On April 29, 1992, following the acquittal of four police officers charged with the beating and arrest of Rodney
King and the earlier killing of teenager Latasha Harlins, the city of Los Angeles erupted in violence. Many
of these events were centered on the city’s Koreatown, where tensions between the Black and Korean
American communities had simmered for years, fueled by economic challenges and redlining and enflamed
by sensationalized and racist media. Based on more than 100 personal interviews, Rising from the Ashes
follows these events through the eyes and experiences of the families of King, Harlins, shooting victim Edward
Jae Song Lee, and dozens of business owners, journalists, police officers, firefighters, activists, and other
community members. Deeply researched and compulsively readable, this is a vivid, propulsive, and moving
story of a pivotal moment in recent American history that continues to resonate today.