Sources from Assignment #4

The sources from the readings are extremely useful. Many of the articles use a myriad of sources to support their claims. This is useful, because different sources are used to backup the same argument. There are few, if any sources that are from 2000 or later. Most of the sources are from the 1990s, and some fall back to the 70s and 80s. A wide variety of sources betters the argument, because perspectives from different time periods can be used.
These sources are used to illuminate how minority immigrants were able to cope with their new surroundings in the United States. The sources therefore often highlight how Los Angeles was a remarkable place of great diversity, but this led to conflict, racial tensions, and other problems. The two specific sources I chose were Racism in California: A reader in the history of oppression & Immigrants Out! The new nativism and the anti immigrant impulse in the United States. These sources reflect on how the Japanese Americans were usually treated as different than the typical American person; Even if they were born in the United States, they were from a different ethnic background, and this usually meant they were treated unfairly. It would have been better then for Japanese Americans then to assimilate into the typical American culture, because as history shows (Internment Camps), the Japanese were treated unfairly if they held close ties to their homeland. I can use these sources then as a way to support how difficult life was for Japanese immigrants in the 1940s because regardless, they were seen as different people that native born Americans.

Spectrum Series event

The Spectrum series event was a fantastic speech that effectively engaged the audience with the speaker. The goal of the speech was to try to display just how brutal the conditions are in places like Burundi, because of violent events such as civil unrest and ethnic conflict. Many people have probably never heard of this nation in Africa, and many more people are probably unaware of the conditions that exist there. Burundi is not a safe place, as many people are extremely sick, malnourished, and simply afraid. The speech definitely succeeded in both showing the audience what exactly is happening in places like Burundi, and inspiring the audience to help improve places similar to it.
This speech connects to what we have learned in our AMST 100 class in that racial and ethnic conflicts can terrorize any country and tear it apart. Racial conflicts exist everywhere in the world, and people should step up to help protect these places from civil unrest. Countries have literally been destroyed by the fighting of its own people, and learning from these past occurrences, the world can become a better and safer place.

Learning from Research

Since I began researching the topic of the LA Riots in 1992, I have come to realize that the event was nearly similar to that of the infamous stock market crash in 1929; There are many proposed factors and causes to the situation, but none of them are definite. The Riots of 1992 have many causes, especially that of the Rodney King beating, but there are too many reasons as to why LA rioted in the way that it did. My newfound knowledge has greatly affected my understanding of the problems faced by Angelenos in that I mainly believe that the Riots were the result of racial tensions that built up for a long time. Immigration and displacement of certain ethnic groups had some role in leading to the riots of 1992, and something like this can be avoided in future times. Different minority groups in close areas should be watched carefully, because as evidenced from history, this often can cause problems. As long as the Los Angeles citizens keep an eye one each other and try to avoid conflict, riots should not be a future issue to the city of L.A.

The L.A Riots

I will be writing my next paper on the LA riots that occurred in 1992. It was a time of civil unrest in Los Angeles, and it was one of the most violent and destructive periods in LA's past. The riots occurred after police officers were filmed beating Rodney King repeatedly after a car chase, but even though there was video evidence, the police officers were not charged and were acquitted from the crimes. As a result of the ruling, there were riots in Los Angeles immediately following; LA was seriously crippled by the riots as many people were killed, many more were injured or harmed, and LA itself was nearly destroyed physically from all that had happened.In my research, I will be looking for more than just the plain facts to the case: I would like to discover how this event has affected the future and how it has shaped society, specifically in Los Angeles. The LA Riots are a key part of LA's past even though it was a negative event, and it's something that the people of today should reflect on and definitely learn from.