iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

Rodney King On Trayvon Martin: 'I Survived. Unfortunately, Trayvon Martin Did Not'

Posted: 04/12/2012 1:56 pm

Rodney King Trayvon Martin
Rodney King.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times Wednesday, Rodney King compared his 1991 beating at the hands of Los Angeles police to Florida teen Trayvon Martin's death.

The horrifying sound of a young black male screaming for his life on a 911 call reminded me of my horrifying scream on a videotape 20 years ago ... At that time, I thought I was going to die. Very, very gratefully, I survived. Unfortunately, Trayvon Martin did not.

King released his statement through a publicist shortly after Florida State Atty. Angela B. Corey announced second-degree murder charges for George Zimmerman, the self-appointed neighborhood watchman who shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old while he was walking home from a 7-Eleven.

Read the rest of King's statement on the Los Angeles Times.

His statement comes just a few days before the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots, which began almost immediately after the officers who were filmed beating King were acquitted Apr. 29, 1992.

The injustice of the verdict in King's case has been compared to Martin's shooting in recent weeks. Demonstrators across the country have decried the Sanford Police Department's "sloppy" work and Florida's "Stand Your Ground" gun law, which legal experts have said could shield Zimmerman from any liability in Martin's death.

Shortly after a Los Angeles rally for Martin Mar. 22, Rev. K.W. Tullous, a local pastor and the Los Angeles representative for Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, told The Huffington Post that "from Rodney King to Trayvon Martin," it was clear that black voices "still need to be heard" on the issue of violence against black men.

"Today, it's Trayvon Martin," Rev. Tullous said. "Tomorrow, who?"

See The Slideshow For More Photos Of The LA Rally On Thursday, Mar. 22:

Launch Slideshow
 HIDE THUMBNAILS
1 of 9
PLAY ALL
VOTE ON THIS SLIDE

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW LOS ANGELES

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times Wednesday, Rodney King compared his 1991 beating at the hands of Los Angeles police to Florida teen Trayvon Martin's death. The horrifying sound of a young ...
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times Wednesday, Rodney King compared his 1991 beating at the hands of Los Angeles police to Florida teen Trayvon Martin's death. The horrifying sound of a young ...
Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:
Clarence B. Jones

Clarence B. Jones: The Amazing Grace of America

How many more Trayvon Martins have to occur to mobilize us to national action? Unless we have the courage and the grace to publicly confront the issue of race in America, it will remain the sword of Damocles hanging over our country for the 21st century and beyond.
Marqueece Harris-Dawson

Marqueece Harris-Dawson: 20 Years After the L.A. Riots -- More Hope in South L.A. Despite Economic Realities

As we mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest on April 29, many are asking the question, "What has changed in South Los Angeles?"
Varun Soni

Varun Soni: The Los Angeles Riots 20 Years Later: An Interview with the Rev. Dr. Cecil 'Chip' Murray

During the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles, the Rev. Dr. Cecil "Chip" Murray became a household name as the city's most visible and effective peacemaker. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with him to discuss the impact and legacy of the riots for South Los Angeles.

Filed by Anna Almendrala  |