Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising keeps the public debate alive by exploring the connections between the Rodney King incidents and the ordinary workings of cultural, political, and economic power in contemporary America. Its recurrent theme is the continuing, complicated significance of race in American society. Contributors: Houston A. Baker, Jr.; Judith Butler; Sumi K. Cho; Kimberle Crenshaw; Mike Davis; Thomas L. Dumm; Walter C. Farrell, Jr.; Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Ruth Wilson Gilmore; Robert Gooding-Williams; James H. Johnson, Jr.; Elaine H. Kim; Melvin L. Oliver; Michael Omi; Gary Peller; Cedric J. Robinson; Jerry Watts; Cornel West; Patricia Williams; Rhonda M. Williams; Howard Winant.

". . . very impressive . . . These works are not about race and urban uprising. They are about all of us, not the American Dream but the American Real." -- The San Diego Review"The book Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising offers a timely reminder that the beating of Rodney King, the outcome of the Simi Valley trial of the police officers involved in it, and the subsequent uprisings in response to the verdict are best understood in social, cultural, economic, and political contexts. The authors demonstrate that a critical analysis of popular representations of these events can illuminate the larger subject of race relations in American society. The book suggests that a multidisciplanary approach is needed to appreciate fully the vast and interlocking dimensions of the problem." -- Gail Lee Dubrow, Journal of the American Planning Association