TV DOCUMENTARY TO AIR ON FEBRUARY 27

 

The Rodney King Incident: Race and Justice in America

The Rodney King Incident: Race and Justice in America will be aired on The Learning Channel on February 27, 1999 at 9 P.M. 

  

As announced in our Summer 1998 newsletter, the LELDF Board of Directors voted to finance the film about justice in the United States in order to help law enforcement officers and the citizenry sort through the problems involved in highly publicized cases.
 

The program has already won the Silver Award of the Worldfest Flagstaff International Film Festival. It is being distributed to schools and the public by Films for Humanities.

  

The documentary presents a unique look at the tumultuous events following Rodney Kingâs arrest, the trial, the burning of Los Angeles, the second federal trial and the appeals. Viewers get to watch the unedited version of the videotape made by bystander George Halladay. New evidence is presented, as well as dramatic interviews of Rodney King, community activists, the L.A. prosecutor, defense attorneys and former Police Chief Daryl Gates.

  

The Rodney King Incident lays bare the inner workings of the criminal justice system at a time of increasing racial polarization. Public perception of the events was influenced as much by media coverage as the actual facts of the case. The video fairly explores trial by media, and addresses the relevant issues of use of force, police brutality and race-based justice.

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Michael Pack, the producer and director, has award-winning credits which include Inside the Republican Revolution: The First Hundred Days (1995); Hollywood vs. Religion (1995); Campus Culture Wars, Five Stories about PC (1993); America's Political Parties (1988, 1992); Fire From the Sun: The Search for Fusion Energy (1991); and Hollywood's Favorite Heavy: Businessmen on Prime Time (1987).

Those supporters contributing at least $50 can still receive their own copy of the documentary. To make a tax-deductible donation to the LELDF, mail it to 400 West Service Road, P.O. Box 16129, Washington, D.C. 20041.

And be sure to watch the airing of the film on February 27!