Remember the Rodney King trial in 1991 and the riots in ’92? For those of you that don’t know, Rodney King was an unarmed black man that was severely beaten by LAPD police. The beating was caught on tape- which was aired continuously- showing the officers delivering repeated baton blows and kicking a defenseless Rodney King while he was on the ground. All of the officers involved were acquitted shortly after, which sparked national debate about police brutality and caused major uproar in minority communities. Sound familiar?
Well according to the U.S. Census Bureau, black voter turnout significantly decreased for several years following the incident and George H.W. Bush was elected following Reagan’s presidency (black voter turnout had also dramatically decreased in 1968 after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and Richard Nixon was elected that year). The same dangerous voting trend emerged following the first major police brutality case in recent years: Trayvon Martin vs. George Zimmerman in 2012 and this trend could continue through the 2016 election. Simply put: when black Americans are outraged, they tend to avoid the voting polls.
Call to action: (Voter’s Registration Link)
