Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

After the Rodney King Riots, a Change of Leadership for the LAPD

Former Police Commissioner of Philadelphia Willie Williams replaced the controversial Los Angeles Police Department chief Daryl Gates. Williams' challenge has been to improve the relationship between the police and the community, and to build-up morale within the force. Williams has also had to prepare the department for possible further disturbances in the community, in light of the April riots over the Rodney King verdict. Two court cases coming up could ignite more rioting: the Federal civil rights trial of the four white officers acquitted of beating Rodney King, and the trial of three black men accused of beating white truck driver Reginald Denny during the April riot.

22:32
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on February 23, 1993

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, February 23, 1993: Interview with Willie Williams; Interview with Nelson George; Review of the film "Love Field."
Queue
16:37

Writer and Critic Nelson George on the Diversity of African American Identities

George is one of this country's most prominent chroniclers of black music and culture. He was the black music editor at "Billboard" for seven years and is a regular columnist for the "Village Voice." His new book "Buppies, B-Boys, Baps and Bohos: Notes on Post-Soul Black Culture," is a collection of his writings about the last two decades in Black urban culture. George also edited the book, "Stop the Violence," a collaboration of top rappers working to end black-on-black violence.

Interview

Transcript

Transcripts Not Available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
11:05

O. J. Analysis: How the L. A. P. D. Bungled the Case.

Editorial writer for the New York Times Brent Staples. He wrote a memoir last year: Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black & White (Pantheon). In 1984, Staples' younger brother, a cocaine dealer, was murdered. Staples began a process of reconsideration of the major questions in his life: his distance from his family by graduate study at the University of Chicago; the demise and racial divisions of his industrial hometown in Pennsylvania.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

34:52

'Disclosure Day' star Josh O'Connor received a 'genius' late-night text from Spielberg

Actor JOSH O'CONNOR. He's one of the stars of Disclosure Day, the new Steven Spielberg film about what happens when the world learns that aliens live among us. O'Connor broke through in the British film God's Own Country and won an Emmy as Prince Charles in The Crown. (INTERVIEW BY TONYA MOSLEY) (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

17:38

'Marty: Life is Short' and 'Lorne' offer differing takes on the celebrity documentary

TV critic DAVID BIANCULLI reviews two new documentaries: Lorne, which looks at Lorne Michaels, creator of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” directed by Morgan Neville. And Marty: Life is Short, streaming on Netflix, is a biography of comedian Martin Short, directed by Lawrence Kasdan.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

35:31

Are we ready for the World Cup, the NBA Finals and Trump's UFC match, all in one week?

Journalist LAURA WILLIAMSON, editor in chief of The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site of the New York Times. She'll talk about the FIFAWorld Cup which opens this week, with soccer matches in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With 48 teams in 104 matches, this will be the biggest World Cup ever. FIFA’s ticketing practices and pricing have outraged many fans and prompted investigations by two state attorneys general. U.S.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue