IMG_5534

23 Years to the day after the Rodney King Riots. Here comes a Riot. 

As Operation HOPE prepares to report out on the results of our work, on-the-ground, in urban, inner-city and under-served communities across the nation, on the 23rd anniversary of the birth of Operation HOPE immediately following the Rodney King Riots of 1992 in South Los Angeles, community celebration turned into community solace.   Solace this time — for Baltimore, Maryland.

My heart simply broke this week, when I heard about the double tragedy in Baltimore, Maryland.  And while we don’t yet know the full details surrounding the death of a young man in police custody, what we do know is that a proud American city exploded in a destructive and extraordinarily hurtful urban riot in America.  As I write this piece, the city is still very much, unsettled.

People are searching for answers, to this crisis.  I have some answers.

Here I present answers, but not only for this riot in Baltimore.  I am talking about theriots recently in Ferguson, MO, and the urban riots that gave birth to Operation HOPE of 1992 in South Central Los Angeles, namely the Rodney King Riots.

And while the details are different in each and every case, and the pain that triggered the crisis is not to be minimized in any way, the underlying realities remain strikingly consistent.

Here are five factors that underly every every urban crisis I have witnessed:

Read, comment and share the complete article here.

Okay, let’s go.

John Hope Bryant is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Ventures, an Inc. Magazine/800-CEO-READ bestselling business author ofLOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass)His newest bestselling book is How The Poor Can Save Capitalism: Rebuilding the Path to the Middle Class (Berrett Koehler Publishing).

Bryant is a Member of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans, co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index with the Gallup Organizationand co-chair for Project 5117, which is a plan for the rebirth of underserved America.

Bryant is the only bestselling author on economics in the world who is also of African-American descent.

Follow John Hope Bryant on LinkedIn Influencers here

Photo courtesy of Operation HOPE and Banking on Our Future

Pin It on Pinterest