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Walking Into the Heart of the Los Angeles Riots.

Gregory Alan-WIilliams, Emmy Award winning actor, author and playwright. He has written "A Gathering of Heroes, Reflections on Rage and Responsibility," a memoir of the Los Angeles Riots (Academy Chicago Publishers). On April 29, 1992, Alan-WIilliams, an African American, heard that violence had erupted in South Central L.A. and chose to walk into the heart of the riot. He ended up risking his own life to rescue a Japanese American man who was being brutally beaten by some in the angry crowd. Alan-WIilliams talks about the forces that took him into the melee and fueled his heroism and the lessons he took out.

22:42

Other segments from the episode on February 8, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, February 8, 1994: Interview with Gregory Alan-Williams; Interview with Caryl Phillips; Review of the film "I'll Do Anything."

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