Rodney King, Before BLM

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A framed charcoal drawing on white fibrous paper depicting a scene from the video of the Los Angeles Police Department officers brutally beating Rodney King in 1991. The drawing has a black background with King's car in white. The eleven officers present at the scene are drawn blurred in charcoal with white highlights, as they appeared in the video footage. The image of King on the ground at the center of the drawing has been removed and a mirror tint glaze applied on the underside of the frame glass, allowing the viewer to be reflected in King's place.

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