So it ends like this. Rodney King, a modern day symbol for civil rights, post traumatic stress from 1980's/90's Los Angeles and trouble with the law, was found dead in his swimming pool this morning.
I got the news from my aunt right before I walked into church. It stunned me because at a journalists meeting yesterday, we threw out his name as a potential speaker for an event. He was going to be at Leimert Park this summer doing another interview for his recently released biography.
I wrote quite a bit on King this past April, part of my LA Riot 20 series. Those words seem to summarize the mixed feelings I have on today's news. A mix of sadness and pity. Sadness because of the obvious loss of life and what he came to symbolize for so many people around the world.
