Civil Racism: The 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion and the Crisis of Racial Burnout

336 Pages·2016·2.98 MB·English

by  Lynn Mie Itagaki

CIVIL RACISM
Itagaki.indd 1 27/01/2016 9:33:11 AM
This page intentionally left blank
CIVIL RACISM
The 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion and
the Crisis of Racial Burnout
LYNN MIE ITAGAKI
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
Itagaki.indd 3 27/01/2016 9:33:11 AM
The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges financial support for
the publication of this book from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department
of English, and the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at
The Ohio State University.
Copyright 2016 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401- 2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Itagaki, Lynn Mie.
Title: Civil racism : The 1992 Los Angeles rebellion and the crisis of racial burnout /
Lynn Mie Itagaki.
Description: Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015022462
ISBN 978-0-8166-9920-9 (hc) | ISBN 978-0-8166-9921-6 (pb)
Subjects: LCSH: Los Angeles (Calif.)—Race relations—History—20th century. |
Riots—California—Los Angeles—History—20th century. | Protest movements—
California—Los Angeles—History—20th century. | African Americans—California—
Los Angeles—Social conditions—20th century. | Minorities—California—Los
Angeles—Social conditions—20th century. | Racism—California—Los Angeles—
History—20th century. | Civil society—California—Los Angeles—History—20th
century. | Courtesy—Social aspects—California—Los Angeles—History—20th
century. | Burn out (Psychology)—Social aspects—California—Los Angeles—
History—20th century.
Classification: LCC F869.L89 A2532 2016 | DDC 305.8009794/94—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015022462
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal- opportunity educator and employer.
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my son, Ziggy Fergus
Itagaki.indd 5 27/01/2016 9:33:11 AM
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
a note on terminology ix
preface xi
introduction The 1992 Los Angeles Crisis 1
PART I: RACIAL CIVILITY
1 Model Family Values and Sentimentalizing
the Crisis 37
2 In/Civility, with Colorblindness and
Equal Treatment for All 65
3 The Territorialization of Civility, the
Spatialization of Revenge 103
PART II: COUNTERDISCOURSE OF CIVILITY
4 At the End of Tragedy 143
5 The Media Spectacle of Racial Disaster 181
epilogue Lives That Matter 217
acknowledgments 227
notes 231
bibliography 265
index 283
Itagaki.indd 7 27/01/2016 9:33:11 AM
This page intentionally left blank
A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY
I use the terms “Black” and “African American” interchangeably. I re-
fer to Latina/o or Latinas/os and Chicana/o or Chicanas/os to explicitly
include women within these groupings. I use Asian American unless
the ethnicity is salient, e.g., Korean American.
All of these racial terms are inadequate and limiting. I use capitals
for Black and White in order to emphasize the politicized construction
of not only these racializations but also Asian/American and Latina/o
as well. Part of my purpose is to examine the inherent instability
within and provisional nature of each racial category, especially when
examined alongside other racial categories.
I use the terms “interracial” and “cross-r acial” interchangeably to
signal connection or conflict among differently racialized individuals
or groups. I use “multiracial” in both its meanings: mixed- race individ-
uals and communities or those comprised of more than two differently
racialized individuals or groups.
ix
Itagaki.indd 9 27/01/2016 9:33:11 AM