Thousands of people are expected to come together to mark the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots. A community festival and a teach-in are among the events expected to take place.
The group of civil rights leaders will gather where the riots began - Florence and Normandie avenues - at 9 am where they will observe a moment of silence and hold a discussion about the events of April 29th, 1992.
``This will be a landmark look at the before, during and aftermath of the L.A. riots from civil rights leaders and area residents and those who were in the streets,'' said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable. ``The 25-second Moment of Silence and Speak Out will be an unprecedented community testament to the cause of racial justice and change in L.A. and beyond.''
The intersection will also play host to a coalition of groups who have come together for a rally, march and "Future Fest" community festival. The event's theme will be "South LA is the Future: A Community Vision for a healthy and just future for Los Angeles."
The group gathers at 11 am at Florence and Normandie for a march that will go to 81st Street and Vermont Avenue where the community festival will be held.
Rev. KW Tulloss of National Action Network said, "This march will hopefully serve as a reminder to our community of where we've come from but also a reminder of where we need to be going as a people.''
Other events expected to take place today include:
-- Korean Churches for Community Development will host a 2 p.m. reception and commemorative service at Oriental Mission Church, 424 N. Western Ave. The service is expected to include 1,200 business, community and faith leaders from various ethic communities ``to remember the series of injustices'' that led to the riots and to ``reaffirm our shared values in hopes of never letting it happen again.''
-- At 11 a.m., First AME Church and the Korean Federation of Los Angeles will join forces for a unity event. The event will be held at the First AME Church Allen House Gardents, 2249 S. Harvard Blvd.
-- Beginning at noon, Lynwood Union Gallery, 3780 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., will present an exhibit titled ``L.A. Riots: Lynwood. The Riots Changed A Lot of Communities. This is OUR Story.'' The event will include the premiere screening of a documentary titled ``We Used to Go to Clark's Drugs: Lynwood During the L.A. Riots,'' featuring interviews with residents, community leaders and business owners.
``We have new generations growing up not knowing about the 1992 L.A. riots, and why they happened, let along how they affected Lynwood,'' said Rowland Becerra, chair of the gallery's board of directors. ``It's important to remember, not to judge, but to shed light on a piece of ouru history that changed our community forever.''