Pitted against each other, we are enraged separately, and grieve separately, and feel frustration separately, which is why Sa-I-Gu is so crucial, and why books by poet Wanda Coleman and novelist Paul Beatty, who share their minor feelings of that time period, are so important as a counterweight. Otherwise, my memories default to the footage churned out by media, such as the relentless replay of King’s beating and the detached aerial views by news helicopter of the tiny fires that dotted L.A.’s circuit board.
