UNDERSTANDING THE RIOTS--SIX MONTHS LATER : Touched by Fire / A Legacy of Pain and Hope : THE HELPERS : Doing the Right Thing in Spite of Danger, Adversity

For many Californians, the riots were more than a momentary blip on the screen--they were a flash point for lasting and fundamental changes in their lives. The devastation left a legacy of broken dreams for many, awakened a sense of social justice in some, unleashed anger and hatred in others, and rekindled a spirit of hope among others. Six months after the riots, Times reporters visited some of the people and places touched by the extraordinary events of last spring and on these pages we tell their stories.

After the riots went down, my girlfriend and I left town. We drove to Agoura Hills, 40 miles north of the city, and stayed with friends that weekend. It was a sort of war mentality. In Marina del Rey, the National Guard was at the beach, across the street from where I live, telling me I couldn’t walk on the beach because of the curfew. In Venice, less than half a mile from my house, there was some of the worst rioting. It was fight or flight. I’m not a hero.

During the next week, I decided to volunteer. It wasn’t that noble. I really didn’t have any game plan. It was a civic and moral obligation. The city was destroyed. We could fix it up. It was like a natural disaster, and if everyone put in their three hours we’d be all right. Just like an earthquake. I started to call all those volunteer lines that The Times published.

The second number I called gave me an address and told me to be there at 8 on Saturday morning. We went, my girlfriend and another friend, but there was nobody there. So we went to the AME Church (in the Mid-City district) and got on the bucket brigade--food, clothing, baby supplies. We’d pack it up. Heavy stuff, light stuff.

It was a fantastic experience, just to see the people, all ages, shapes and sizes, nationalities, and the only common feature we had was all smiles.

Since then I’ve been able to arrange for some money to go through Chase’s contribution committee to L.A. City Kids, a forum for teen-agers of all races and nationalities and backgrounds to talk to each other, to have a forum to express their thoughts and understand that they have a stake in the world at large and that they can change that world.

I’ve always felt that the opportunities here are just fantastic for anyone. But I felt a lot better before the riots. It knocked me down a couple of steps. As the violence touches you, becomes more than a line in the newspaper, you say: “What am I doing here?”

But this is the city I chose to call home. We had a problem that I equate with a natural disaster--the economy, the political situation, the fact that these people haven’t gotten a fair shake.

That one day (of volunteer work), it was unforgettable. I just went to New York for my college reunion. When I said I live in L.A., all people wanted to talk about was the riots. Instead of saying how awful it was, I told them how great the recovery was. It’s all the environment you create. If all the moving vans are heading out of here, fine. Maybe it’ll take away the traffic. We’ve got our problems but who doesn’t? They can be fixed.