*In 1992, years of frustration and angst literally exploded to the surface in many of the Black communities of Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict saw the four officers who violated the civil rights of King got off on all the most serious charges.
A young man by the name of Keith O’Derek seized the opportunity to wade into the void of misinformation, fearmongering and general mainstream dereliction with nothing but his wits and a video camera.
Like many, he did witness the looting, the burning, and the screams of despair.
But unlike most of us, he was able to capture firsthand the deeper communal mindsets as articulated by the likes of Jesse Jackson, Denzel Washington, Ice Cube, Ice T, Dick Gregory, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, gang leaders representing most of the crews south of Wilshire, community activists in the streets and a myriad of other community leaders on the local, state and national level.
The result of his works would become known as “Straight from the Streets” for the most obvious of reasons.
April 29, 2022, marks the 30th anniversary of the verdict and the subsequent uprising that saw 64 people lose their lives.
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This week we spoke with O’Derek, a cinematographer about the impact those days gone had on the community and the world at large.
“Originally, I didn’t know what was going to happen because of the verdict and I had a video camera,” explained O’Derek. “I was watching the news and I said ‘Man, all they’re showing is rioting and burning down buildings and I said I know there’s another angle there. I decided to go out and start filming people.”
“I saw people cleaning up, I saw people asking ‘Why we’re doing this?’ And that’s what I wanted to show as opposed to the negative side. I always wanted to show the positives instead of the negative. And I just continued doing it. I was out there every day just trying to find out what was going on.”
EURweb.com: What was the initial catalyst that made you go out into the chaos that day?
Keith O’Derek: “I ended up meeting a few people and they said ‘This is some heavy stuff that you got. You got the National Guard walking down Crenshaw BLVD with tanks! Have you ever thought you’d see that in your life? People need to see this. I don’t know what you plan on doing with it but people need to see this.”
EURweb.com: You could’ve taken the low-hanging fruit and recorded the chaos, but you did more than that.
Keith O’Derek: “I just continued to shoot and I ended up making a movie out of all the footage. I didn’t want to make something just on the uprising. There needed to be more.”
EURweb.com: Why and how did you tie in the footage from the uprising to filming the Million Man March three years later?
Keith O’Derek: “After a few years went by I heard about the Million Man March. I interviewed Ice T and he said it would be great if I could go to it. My partner and I ended up flying out to DC and we filmed the Million Man March. Got there at 4 o’clock in the morning. Ended up interviewing Dick Gregory. It was an awesome experience and that was one of the highlights of the film.”
“I just thought we got all these people out in the streets but now we’ve got all these brothers coming together in piece,” O’Derek told EURweb.com “That’s a great way to end the film. Minister Farrakhan allowed me to come and film when they were at the vision complex theater when they were organizing for the Million Man March. Brother Tony Muhammad and the Minister gave me a lot of access and it worked out great.”
EURweb.com: Do you remember the initial reaction to the film?
Keith O’Derek: “When we initially screened the film at the Pan African Film Festival in ’91 or ’92, people left the theater crying.”
EURweb.com: Mainstream media often skews Black male imagery toward the negative. How’d you get this on Amazon Prime?
Keith O’Derek: “When I first created this Amazon was looking for content. So I didn’t have to go through so much scrutiny. Now they pick and chose what they want you to post on Amazon.”
“When I first created my film they were so thirsty for content they just let it slide through. But I don’t think they would pick it now, especially not with Minister Farrakhan in the movie, and Cube and Ice T and some of the things that they were saying. Thankfully I didn’t have to go against that hurdle.”
EURweb.com: What are some of the takeaways you’d like for people to take away from your film and your experience shooting it?
Keith O’Derek: “I learned how people can come together for a good cause. I saw the gang truce, which none of the media outlets covered and they still don’t talk about it.”
“For gang members to come together in peace during that time was historical. It would have been great if it would have continued. Then the whole narrative would have shifted.”
EURweb.com: Some feel the establishment had a vested interest in seeing the gang truce fail.
Keith O’Derek: “But they try to perpetuate that and keep it going because they want the violence. That’s why we continue to see what we see on television.”
“I wish the peace would have continued because it could have changed everything. Tony Bogart, the guy who put together the gang truce, he ended up getting killed.”
“I actually filmed him when he put the gang summit together. It was in Watts and Bruce Jenner was there! Bruce Jenner was there at this peace treaty, in Watts!”
“I filmed the funeral because that was a pivotal piece of the film. It was reality.”
“(Lastly) History has a tendency of repeating itself. I just want people to look at the film and see the good we have in the community and hopefully we can get back to how things were
Released in 1999, Straight from the Streets is currently available on Amazon Prime and features historic footage and long since forgotten memories of hope and triumph amid confusion and chaos.
O’Derek went on to work for NBC and FOX and has worked on such projects as Any Given Sunday, All Access and For What It’s Worth.
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