Inheriting: Carol & the Los Angeles Uprising: Part 1

California Love

LAist Studios

Music

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

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Summary

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we bring you an episode from Inheriting Season One. Inheriting is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, which explores how one event in history can ripple through generations.

Carol Kwang Park was 12 years old, working as a cashier at her family's gas station in Compton, California, when the 1992 L.A. Uprising forever changed her life. Her mom was at the gas station that day and Carol was unsure if she'd even make it home. At the time, she didn't understand why tensions came to a head in Los Angeles, following the acquittal of the officers who beat Rodney King. She also never understood why her mother insisted on keeping the business going, especially after the Uprising. As an adult, a personal crisis prompts Carol to finally start processing that event and her place in history.

Content Warning: This episode contains racial slurs and discusses police brutality. If you want to learn more about any of the historical moments we talk about on our show, visit our website: LAist.com/Inheriting

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Jacob Margolis. I'd like you to stop what you're doing and ask yourself, where is my emergency kit?
0:05.9	If you don't have a good answer, then I highly recommend visiting preppy.com slash LAist for a free emergency kit with any purchase over $100.
0:15.7	That's preppy, P-R-E-P-P-I dot com slash LAist.
0:20.9	Support comes from Siklavia, catalyzing and celebrating car-free streets.
0:25.1	As pop-up parks for the day, sick-L-L-V-Sundays are free and open to all.
0:29.3	Details at C-I-C-L-A-V-I-A.org.
0:33.0	Hey, California love listeners.
0:35.0	I'm Emily Kwong, host of Inheriting, a podcast featuring stories from
0:39.8	Asian American and Pacific Islander families, all about how the past is personal. And because
0:45.8	May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we wanted to bring you a story from season
0:50.8	one of Inheriting. It begins with Carol Kwong Park, who is just 10 years old
0:56.6	when she started working at her family's gas station in Compton, California. Carol had a front
1:01.8	row seat to all of the tensions in the neighborhood, the escalation of police brutality,
1:06.8	and the series of events that led to thousands of Korean-owned businesses burning during the 1992 L.A. uprising.
1:15.2	It would take years for Carol to process her place in this history and discover how her mom saved their family business during the uprising.
1:23.2	Here part one of Carol's story now and listen to the entire first season of inheriting wherever you get your podcasts.
1:31.5	The year was 1990 and 10-year-old Carol Kwong Park was fast asleep when her mom's voice woke her up at way too early o'clock.
1:40.8	Mom was like, I'm going to go to number one.
1:44.5	I'm going to go to the station.
1:46.7	Come with.
1:47.5	I'm like, okay.
1:49.4	In the doorway, she could see her mom's silhouette, the halo of her 90s perm.
	...

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