In 1992, four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of assaulting Rodney King whose March 1991 beating at the hands of police was captured on video. The news sparked unrest in the city, and no neighborhood was hit harder than South Central Los Angeles.

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KJLH, an urban R&B station located on Crenshaw Boulevard, was in the center of it all. General Manager Karen Slade, DJ Eric “Rico” Reed, and KJLH’s driver Arthur “Sonny” Williams remember what happened during those days.

KJLH later won a Peabody award for its coverage of the riots.

Originally aired April 13, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top photo: An auto parts store burns out of control in Los Angeles, April 30, 1992. Numerous fires were set and stores were looted after the Rodney King beating trial verdict. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)
Bottom photo: Karen Slade, Eric “Rico” Reed, and Arthur “Sonny” Williams.