John Singleton’s Hood Trilogy: Born and Raised in South Central (opens in new tab)

In April 1992, John Singleton was en route to the set of his second film when he heard the verdict on the radio. A predominantly white jury had acquitted four police officers who, a year earlier, had been caught on video severely beating Rodney King. The Los Angeles Police Department, which has a long history of racist violence, had once again escaped accountability, enabled by a justice system that has so often failed Black communities. As a Gen Xer who grew up in LA, Singleton understood th...