LOS ANGELES - The Civil + Human Rights and Equity (LA Civil Rights) Department will launch Forward Together, a podcast by the department’s Human Relations Commission, on Friday, April 29th. The three-episode podcast will explore the LA Civil Unrest of 1992 on its 30th anniversary through the stories of diverse Angelenos.
“As a storyteller, I know the power that a new perspective or a lived experience can bring to an issue," said narrator Lisa Ling. "The civil unrest of 1992 is part of the LA story, and it needs to be told so that we can have real understanding in Los Angeles. I am grateful to the LA Civil Rights Department and Human Relations Commission for collecting these stories and having me be a part of the journey."
"The LA Civil Unrest of 1992 left a lasting impression on our city, and many of the issues that led to unrest then are still with us today," said Human Relations Commissioner Stacy Twilley, who led the Forward Together project. "At the Human Relations Commission, we believe that real progress begins with frank and honest dialogue. We hope the Forward Together podcast can help listeners better understand the legacy of '92, and the ways Los Angeles can build hope and healing for all people."
“Thirty years after the LA Civil Unrest, we wanted to hear directly from Angelenos about what has changed since ‘92 - and what hasn’t,” said LA Civil Rights Executive Director Capri Maddox. “Our Human Relations Commission has recorded powerful conversations that tell the stories of what it really means to build solidarity in Los Angeles, and the work that still needs to be done to create equity and opportunity for all.”
Forward Together, produced by students from the USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, will allow listeners to hear real conversations between Angelenos of different backgrounds on how the civil unrest of 1992 changed them. It is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor.fm and more.
Episode one, titled “Faith,” drops on April 29th and will feature a conversation between two friends whose bond was built in the aftermath of 1992. Reverend “J” Edgar Boyd, Pastor at First A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles, and Emile Mack, retired firefighter and current Vice-President of the Korean American Federation of LA, explore the realities of building solidarity, and what it means to forge a path forward between the Black community and the Korean American community.
Episode two, “Memory,” drops on May 2nd and will feature artist Victoria Cassinova, who painted the mural of Latasha Harlins at LA’s Algin Sutton Park, and filmmaker Justin Chon (“Pachinko,” “Gook”). Together these two artists, who had never met before this conversation, quickly find a common bond in their struggles to depict the events of 1992 for a new generation.
Episode three, “Healing,” drops on May 5th, and will feature a conversation between two friends raised in the aftermath of the 1992 civil unrest. Activist Haewon Asfaw, who is Black and Korean and one of the founding members of Black Lives Matter LA, and therapist Gonji Lee, who describes themselves as a Korean queer femme child of immigrants who specializes in intergenerational trauma, share their stories about growing up in the aftermath of the 1992 unrest, how they see Los Angeles grappling with racial injustice today, and how they are fostering healing, hope and solidarity in the next generation together.
For more information, visit the podcast homepage at https://anchor.fm/lacivilrights.