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Mikael Perry
Professor Malvin
English 114 B
28 April 2015
Racial Discrimination with Minorities in Los Angeles
Racial Discrimination is an ongoing problem that humans face worldwide. In the novel
Always Running, by Luis J. Rodriguez, the author faces discrimination due to his ethnicity. In
Twilight Los Angeles, 1992, by Anna Deavere Smith, many stories are shared about the L.A riots
and shows racial discrimination during that time. In both stories, they share a problem of racism
and prejudice in their communities. People continue to judge others just by their appearance,
gender, social class, ethnicity, and so on. L.A has been a place for cultural diversity, but with a
variety of culture comes discernment. In Los Angeles, minorities are treated unfairly due to
racial discrimination by law enforcement.
Los Angeles has been a place of cultural diversity for decades. People of all types of
ethnicities and backgrounds come to Los Angeles in search for a better life. The clear sunny
skies of Los Angeles make it a welcoming place for anyone looking for a place to settle down,
start a family, or perhaps look for a career whatever it may be. By having all of this diversity,
people may or may not indirectly judge others and have their own beliefs. Los Angeles has
always had a variety of cultures reside within it. In one day, someone could experience a bit of
the Hispanic culture in El Sereno and an hour late drive to Korea Town and watch a traditional
music festival. Depending on where someone goes in Los Angles there will be different ethnic

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groups. People will tend to live in areas that they are comfortable with and will mostly end up
living in a community where they are similar in race. People may unknowingly stereotype and
when certain situations arise, riots can be created.
In Twilight Los Angeles, 1992, by Anna Deavere Smith, stories are shared from victims
involved in the L.A riots. Each and every story is unique and has multiple perceptions of how the
reader can interpret the L.A riots. This story is similar to the novel Always Running, by Luis J.
Rodriguez, the author tells his own life story of hardships that hes been through. He describes
how segregated his high school was when growing up, and how The school had two principal
languages. Two skin tones and two cultures. It revolved around class differences (Rodriguez
83). Segregation was quite common in this time period and continues to be a social norm.
Society has always played a major role when convincing the public that it is socially acceptable
to discriminate. Social media shows what a certain ethnicity may be characterized as and
advertising reinforces stereotypes to persuade customers to purchase or convince someone to do
as they request. People think that it is okay to stereotype and categorize people, but it is not.
During the L.A riots, police would attack those of a certain race like African Americans
and Hispanics. In Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, there is a section that shows the story of Michael
Zinsun. Michael woke up one night and heard a desperate cry for help. He went outside while
rioting was taking place and found himself becoming a victim of police brutality. He was
brutally beaten by police just because of his skin color. When Michael told the jury that he said
to the police that they gonna stop. [but] They singled me out I was handcuffed (17). Michael
was under arrest for no apparent reason and thought he was doing the right thing by helping to

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put an end to police brutality. Luis in Always Running, had a similar experience when witnessing
police brutality, he overheard screams as a deputy punched the woman in the face... I couldnt
stand there and witness the beatingAt this, a couple of deputies pounced in me. I fell to the
ground (Rodriguez 227). Luis was arrested and thrown into prison for doing the right thing even
though he didnt commit any crime.
Racial discrimination is still in existence today and will most likely continue to occur
through all of time. Not too long ago there has been repeat occurrences of police brutality on
minorities ultimately ending their life. When fatal incidences occur, they do not go unnoticed and
people will become outraged. In recent events, the death of Michael Brown in August of 2014,
ignited protests all over Ferguson, Missouri. Law enforcement has frequently treated minorities
unjustly and when the death of 18 year old Michael Brown occurred, everyones reality started to
crumble and people began to revolt. Michael was unarmed and shot to death after he assaulted a
police officer. There is some speculation of what really happened, and some say Michael was
trying to yield, while Wilson (the man who shot Michael) and others claim that he had attacked
Wilson and tried to grab his gun.
Another incident occurred yesterday, April 27, 2015, another riot ignited when the death
of Freddie Gray occurred due to police brutality. The people of Baltimore, Maryland were livid
about what had happened and began rioting. After hours of researching news about the Baltimore
Riots, I found an article that caught my attention named What Martin Luther King Jr Really
Thought About Riots, by Lily Rothman. Lily discussed how people are mostly caused from the
oppression of the people. It mentions a quote that Martin Luther King once said, A riot, is the

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language of the unheard. People will take any chance they can get to make a difference and
make their mark. People want their voice to be heard and riots are the negative outcome from
that buildup of aggression.
Nowadays people dont experience as much direct racial discrimination in comparison to
past years. Minorities were treated unfairly whether it was by segregation in schools, or even job
opportunities that were denied due to being a certain race. In an article by Lee Price, he mentions
a study in 2003 done by a sociologist named Devah Pager. This study was regarding white
criminals having a higher chance to become employed than black people. The applicants were
sent in with similar resumes and sent them to the same employers. The study found that only
14% of blacks without a criminal record were called back for an interview- less than the 17% of
whites that did have a criminal record (Lee). Its shocking to see how people can be so
judgmental when it comes to the color of ones skin. Minorities are now indirectly discriminated
upon through little differences rather than major differences. By having these minor exclusions,
minorities will gradually build up tension and create an uprising when an incident occurs.
In Los Angeles minorities are becoming the dominant race, white people are diminishing
in numbers. It is contradicting how minorities are discriminated upon because of their race, yet
there are more minorities in numbers. It surprising to see how it racial decimation is still in
existence despite the number of minorities in L.A. An article called Census: White Population
Will Lose Majority In U.S. By 2043, Hope Yen claims that White people will no longer make up
a majority of Americans by 2043, according to new census projections. In the year 2043, it is
predicted that white people will become the majority, possibly changing the social boundaries

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that people face today. In the year 1960, whites made up 85 percent of the U.S. . . . [and] By
2000, percentage of U.S. whites slid to 69 percent; it now stands at 64 percent (Yun). It is clear
that the majority of the population is at a decline and will soon no longer maintain that position.
It is prevalent that minorities are treated unfairly and once white people are no longer the
majority of the population in the United States, then it is possible there may be equality between
races.
Racial discrimination has always been present in society and with this tension in
existence comes an urge to revolt. Uprising have always been existent throughout history due to
both just and unjust reasons. It is human nature to want to rebel when corruption is present or
when there is a powerful influence. In Always Running, Luis shares his life story of how racial
discrimination can come a long way and essentially direct which path he took. While this novel
had just become published, people began to think of all the racial discrimination that was taking
place in Los Angeles and created fuel for the L.A. riots to occur; all it took was the death of
Rodney King to ignite the flame. In Twilight Los Angeles, 1992, multiple stories were shared of
what people went through during the L.A. riots. Readers had the opportunity to see through the
eyes of those involved in the L.A riots. Through literacy, inspiration may induce a new
perspective to readers may have not thought of before. Riots occur because the oppressed are
unheard and want a chance at retribution. Racial discrimination may always exist, but it is
ultimately up to us as a society to put an end to it.

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Works Cited
"Racial Discrimination Continues to Play a Part in Hiring Decisions." Economic Policy Institute.
N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Rodriguez, Luis J. Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. Willimantic, CT:
Curbstone, 1993. Print.
Moreno, Carolina. "Census: White Population Will Lose Majority In U.S. By 2043." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.
"What Martin Luther King Jr Really Thought About Riots." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 30 Apr.
2015.
Zinzun, Michael. "When I Finally Got My Vision/Nightclothes." Twilight--Los Angeles, 1992.
By Anna Deavere. Smith. New York, NY: Dramatists Play Service, 2003. 16-20. Print.

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10118 Gerald Ave
North Hills Ca 91343
April 2, 2015
Dear Professor Malvin,
When choosing this topic, I felt that there was a connection between both novels, Always
Running, by Luis J. Rodriguez, and Twilight Los Angeles, 1992, by Anna Deavere Smith. The
theme I chose for this essay was racial discrimination and I felt that that was the strongest theme
in both novels. There many recent events that I incorporated in my paper and used a lot of
evidence to support my claims.
I feel that I have accomplished the requirements that this assignment asked. I brought up
some sensitive topics that minorities face and gave some insight on racial discrimination. I tried
to keep a well-structured essay generated by my thesis statement and supported my ideas. I tried
to eradicate all grammatical errors in my paper as well as remove any off topic thoughts.

Thank you,
Mikael Perry