Asian People
The majority of damaged businesses / properties were Korean-owned. East Asians feared being mistaken for Koreans. "Rooftop Koreans" guarded their stores and shot at looters once they realized the police had abandoned them, and depended on Radio Korea to communicate a unified effort. The shooting of Latasha Harlins (a teenage Black girl) by Soon Ja Du (Korean shopowner) replayed over and over on the TV, citing it as a point of conflict that escalated Black-Korean tensions. Some rioted in Latasha's name as well as Rodney King's. Others felt that the riots were not about interracial conflicts. In this time of confusion, with a growing Asian-American identity, how were Asian people represented as a member of the events?