Coping with a New Environment and New Educational System 

Coming from neighborhoods that experience many unjust acts and are not protected can really affect the lives adolescents that want to change for the better. Not feeling protected by those who are there to “to protect and to serve” can really damage a person. The police have become so careless for those who live in the “hood” that it has gotten to the point where they no longer prioritize the violence that occurs in such neighborhoods. They, along with the courts, are the ones that also commit horrendous acts towards minorities because of minute acts; acts as little as crossing the street wearing a hoodie, being “suspicious,” and being accused of stealing items. Often times, these acts are committed without any type of evidence and, of course, they get away with it. There have been cases in which not only adults, but also adolescents have murdered or even shot without any just motives. These cases were either dismissed or the person who committed the crime was wrongly prosecuted. In other words, those who committed the crime were let off easily. A famous case that sparked the rise of the Los Angeles Riots was the beating of Rodney King by L.A.P.D. officers. Their motive for beating him was his resistance toward getting arrested and getting physical with some of the officers after a high-speed chase. He brutally beaten with a baton, kicked, and shot with a Taser gun. The residents of Los Angeles decided to protest because it is the only way that their voices would be heard. The protest eventually led to a riot, large crowds of anger-filled citizens did what they could to express their outrage for the acquittal of the officer who was in charge of the beating of Rodney King.