Page 166 - John Singleton News Today

Weapon, did you? >> yes, i did see him to have a weapon. >> what kind of a weapon did mr. king have? >> it was his body. >> were ready. were well prepared to take care of any eventuality no matter what it might be. >> all right, the clerk will read the verdicts. >> we the jury find the defendant stacy c.coon not guilty of the crime of assault -- >> this is a stunning verdict. i dont think many people were expecting this, certainly not reports. >> it struck us all with great disgust because we th...

>> it was his body. >> were ready. were well prepared to take care of any eventuality no matter what it might be. >> all right, the clerk will read the verdicts. >> we the jury find the defendant stacy c.coon not guilty of the crime of assault -- >> this is a stunning verdict. i dont think many people were expecting this, certainly not reports. >> it struck us all with great disgust because we thought that by those pictures, even fair minded people would know the injustice of what happened to hi...

Right now in new york a new black film is being premiered just about every week. among those drawing impressive reviews is "boyz n the hood" directed by john singleton. >> i really wanted to make a film that voiced what i had seen growing up as a black man in los angeles. los angeles police department, i mean, they were kind of an occupying force. it really became a war zone. >> i didnt do nothing. >> you think you tough, huh. >> four los angeles police officers who appeared in that videotape of...

>> when we look at the john singletons and the spikes, all the way across the board, this became the era where we took charge of our own culture, our own cultural icons and telling our own stories expressed either in music or in theater or in cinema. >> in los angeles, one woman is stirring memories and trying to bring about an understanding of the events that tore that city apart a little more than a year ago. her name is anna deveer smith. and shes taken the riot and turned it into theater. >>...

Its not about race. its about king resisting. >> you didnt see him to have a weapon, did you? >> yes, i did see him to have a weapon. >> what kind of a weapon did mr. king have? >> it was his body. >> were ready. were well prepared to take care of any eventuality no matter what it might be. >> all right, the clerk will read the verdicts. >> we the jury find the defendant stacy c. kuhn not guilty of the crime of assault -- >> this is a stunning verdict. i dont think many people were expecting thi...

Directed by john singleton. >> i really wanted to make a film that voiced what i had seen growing up as a black man in los angeles. los angeles police department, i mean, they were kind of occupying force. it really became a war zone. >> i didnt do nothing. >> you think you tough, huh. >> four los angeles police officers who appeared in that videotape of the rodney king beating went on trial today. >> defense attorneys claiming they couldnt get a fair trial in los angeles got the case moved to m...

See malcolm x. >> its hard to miss the phenomenon called spike lee. spike lee is a black man who has reached the top of white culture. hes done it his way. >> malcolm xs really impressive achievement in terms of not being one of these small, independent, emergent new voices connected to hip-hop, but instead a big budget three hour 20 minute epic about a very important african-american figure. >> i asked if he was worried the movie would not appeal to a broad audience. >> if its good enough, peop...

And it created quite a spectacle. >> this is a circus and from my standpoint as a black american its a high class lynching for uppity blacks. >> he decided to fight back by evoking one of the most painful elements of black history, which was designed to point out the burden of being black. >> the final count was 52-48. the closest successful confirmation vote in supreme court history. >> no matter how difficult or painful the process has been, this is a time for healing in our country. >> its no...

Are going to come. the minute black artists start thinking about crossover, start diluting the work, watering it down and the work suffers. >> when we look at the john singletons and the spikes, all the way across the board, this become the era where we took charge of our own culture, our own cultural icons and telling our own stories expressed either in music or in theater or in cinema. to n los angeles, one woman is bring about an undanding of the events that tore that city apart a little more...

"boyz n the hood" director john singleton. >> its like a bomb. were sitting on a bomb. >> they let these people off from attempted murder of rodney king. i told everybody, listen, its going to go down. >> no justice, no peace. >> i was at parker center, which is the police headquarters at the time, when the verdicts were announced. the crowd began to gather. it began to turn more and more parker center has a glass entrance and people were throwing rocks at the doors. i was inside with the police...