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Phillis Wheatley
Rodney King was a Black man whom the police brutally attacked in Los Angeles in 1991. The incident became national news after a neighbor caught it on video. The police officers went on trial for excessive force, but the jury found them not guilty. After the verdict, Black LA residents rebelled, and the government sent in 20,000 soldiers to subdue them. In response, Bill Clinton ran for president on an assimilationist platform, blaming Black culture and hip-hop music for causing crime and violence. The Rodney King case and uprisings were an important precursor to the contemporary #BlackLivesMatter movement.
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Rodney King Character Timeline in Stamped
The timeline below shows where the character Rodney King appears in Stamped. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 25: The Soundtrack of Sorrow and Subversion
...“most influential racial film” was the video of the police beating a Black man named Rodney King .
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...Republicans’ racist law and order strategy to attract white voters. The police who beat up Rodney King were acquitted at their trial, and Los Angeles rose up in response. Clinton and his...
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