Rodney King (1965-2012)

Rodney King, whose videotaped savage beating by the LAPD in 1991 sparked riots across the city, was found dead this morning in his pool in his Southern California home. Cause of death unknown.

Sadly, some things never change. LAPD’s response this May at a march for immigrants’ rights:

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Bummer. He has a book out and was just interviewed on local radio. He sounded good.

Sadly, black men in their 40s die all the time.

Ten years ago, 23 was the magic number. If an African-American male lived to 23, his life expectancy shot up to almost the same as a white male born the same year. I don’t know what current life tables predict. I remember being shocked as shit when I did that table for the first time (it was a demography assignment). It still blows my mind. 23 was the magic number.

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