Today marks the L.A Riots 32nd anniversary, a fact I remember thanks to Sublime. For six days Los Angeles was looted and burned to the ground, amassing over one billion dollars in damages. The riots were a response to police brutality, when the officers who used excessive force on Rodney King weren’t charged. Prior to the incident Cops, a Fox Network “reality”show following police officers on duty, purposely edited the episodes to perpetuate stereotypes. That’s right folks Rupert Murdoch allowed the distorted input of racists to air every week. Rodney King shed light on the truth regarding police brutality, not the caricatures of colored people as lawless savages Murdoch displayed.
As a result of the Riots, black comedians in the hood weren’t able to showcase their talent to the right audiences. Thus Phat Tuesdays by Guy Torry was created. Every Tuesday he’d host a cast of colored comedians on the L.A Strip, allowing them to perform for industry folks and delighted audiences. It snowballed, exceeding everyone’s expectations, catapulting folks to stardom even, Kevin Hart, Martin Lawrence, and of course Dave Chappelle. Side note: O.J Simpson’s freedom was also a byproduct of the riots, a way to get even.
Endeavoring to ease the trauma of being racially profiled, murdered, viewed as disposable, they made fun of their plight. Cracking jokes is how they dealt with the pain of fearing for their lives. Going back to my initial point, Dave Chappelle isn’t transphobic (read Dave Chappelle The Equal Opportunity Icon), he treats everyone the same. That line of reasoning would make him anti-black. I furthered my point by stating Kanye West is actually transphobic (read ElDorado: Everything The Nazi’s Hated). Then what happened? A trans woman is viciously attacked at his Rolling Loud set, haven’t heard a peep from the same community that came for Chappelle. When lambasting people, do your due diligence instead of making baseless accusations and keep the same energy for those who earned it. Via: Hulu Rewind The 90’s (Reality Revolution)
Updated: 4/30/2024 11:11pm
