REBUILT! 20 Years After The L.A. Riots (PHOTOS)

Posted April 27, 2012 by The Decider for Global Grind Staff

The rebuilt mini-mall at Western Ave. and 6th Street.

All photos courtesy of Ted Soqui

"Not Guilty," Rodney King, looting and Reginald Denny were all terms that defined the 1992 L.A. riots, which engulfed a city in flames and became the story of the year 20 years ago.

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The not guilty verdict came in and Los Angelenos went H.A.M., sparking one of the biggest civil uprisings in America’s history.

On April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of Rodney King following a high-speed pursuit, it lit a fuse and thousands of people in the greater L.A. area rioted over the six days following the verdict.

Looting, assaults, arson and murder lead the ten o’clock evening news, with reports of the fiery buildings set ablaze by lawless rioters, while property damages topped roughly $1 billion.

In all, 54 people died during the riots and thousands more were injured, as racial tensions peaked.

But that was 20 years ago, and today South L.A. is stronger than ever, having been rebuilt from the ashes. A new community of residents have the riots in their rearview mirror, while others still remember smoked filled streets, looters and abandoned cars.

Watch how South L.A. has transformed over the last 20 years since the riots.