The Day I Met Rodney King

I had the amazing opportunity to meet and speak with Rodney King today, it's the 20th year anniversary of the brutal police beatings that Rodney suffered at the hands of the LAPD which led to the infamous LA Riots. Rodney King spoke with me and other members of the Hudson Union Society about the 1991 incident and he also shared his thoughts on recent cases such as Trayvon Martin & Sean Bell.  He did not just simply refer to the 1991 incident where he was brutally beat by the LAPD, he went into full descriptive detail of what exactly happened on that night before the cameras were turned on and also after the cameras were off. It was monumental for me to hear history from the actual person that survived it. Rodney King even reenacted his exact body movements and dialog of what was being said to him as he was beaten. Rodney King spoke about the recent slaying of Trayvon Martin. Rodney said that the sound of Trayvon Martin crying out for help was the same sound of his cries as he fought for his life trying to survive in 1991.  This meeting with Rodney King was priceless. Revisiting the old stories was heart wrenching but Rodney's spirit to make something positive come from all of this  was very admirable. I'm glad I had the opportunity to meet Rodney King and his wife, he was surprised when I told him that I was only 7 years old at the time of the incident. Rodney King is currently traveling around the country promoting his new memoir book "The Riot Within", make sure you check it out if you're near a book store.