>> good evening from los angeles, i am tavis smiley, john ridley joins us to discuss "let it fly." how he manages to juggle headline grabbing projects, the anthology series, "american crime." showtime, six-part series, gorilla. from his debut album. and john ridley, and sampa, coming up in just a moment.

critics to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> i am pleased and other than hadded to welcome john ridley to this program. the executive producer of three projects, a min iseries, gorilla

debuted. and the feature documentary, let let it fall." opens in l.a. and new york, and you can catch it next friday on abc, when it makes a television premier, i am out of breath. before our cop verization, right now, let it fall, los angeles, 1982-92. >> he is not protesting, it sigh riot. >> any be that wasn't black wa getting their [ bleep ] kicked.

>> it was one of those days, passion was -- it wasn't handed out to other races. >> i was in the boxing gym this morning. telling my guys you were coming on the program tonight. you can almost feel, sense the shock from the guys in the gym. when i reminded him it is the 25th anniversary. hard to process it was 25 years ago. how did you feel digging into this 25 years later? >> it was odd. 25 years, this is not just history, it is ancient history. this is past my kids' time. there are people you meet, they

barely remember the uprising, and the events around it. to a lot of people, it was rodney king, reginald denny. that's it we didn't want to put that night or year in that context. we could have gone years, 10 years saying these events, it wasn't just one community, people didn't react one way. that is what we want to approach in the documentary, to say, there was a lot going on. a lot of reasons why they were going on. >> how does the context inform the story that you do tell? >> for me, you know, having just moved out there, not -- coming from new york, when i left, it was bernie getz, and 25 years

later, it is a lot less about what i remember, and more to provide a space for people to have their own regulations, for the people that we talked to, 25 years ago, was five minutes ago. it was five hours ago. to sit this far away from individuals from all difficult backgrounds, sharing with emotion that is immediately. i am fortunate to be able to extreme the history. it is still my expression of someone else's history. documentaries is difficult. where they get to feel theirs.

>> if you weren't black you were getting your behind kicked. not everybody that wasn't black, you get your [ bleep ] kicked. not to put you in the seat of how white people would view this. are they going to leave celebrating and in the humanity of -- i. >> i hope they look at the human i ity. everything, their agenda is in place. within this space, we have enough people that react to in their own ways. those people did this or not. there is a reason why we are not using the word riot here. i

don't want to get into a war of symantics, over this period of ten years, we can see individuals who tried to engage in the system. that tried to get resource. who tried to call attention to issues, who put up with a lot of things, up until the moment where individuals felt there was no other way to express themselves. even that didn't begin spontaniously, just because of the verdict. there will be moments where people will see the humanity. all we can do is build an apparatus for building empathy. whether it is other communities, in and out of uniform. these are the bodies of stories this is just the beginning. there will be, on this anniversary, seven different

projects, they are all coming out now. at least they r probably a lot of them wish they came out. seven, i don't know if it is enough. >> i worked for tom brady, mayor of the city. i was there when the uglyness born for the disrespect that gates had for him, my own personal assessment. over the ten-year period, we see police officers, and people from the black community. over time, look at moment being

able to look in the look at what tom looked like to the under the surface. lsz, other cities, you don't want to call a direct comparison. looking at the fasod. >> the olympics are in l.a. >> 19 eighty-four, tom brady, how he inspired beam. not just as a man of color, but a man of vision. is there an abiding lesson? >> more than anything is the humanity of victims, there were things i say on television, 25

years ago. people may say, i still feel the say way. watch how it is l.a., was ferguson ix snatny or butt more i can see the complicated nature. how this person is arrived from a circumstance. because they are human being. >> i hope, at the same time, benefit breaking if you don't see yourself in other the loss

of the response. i don't want to i think there is a lack of empethetic that should be the take away. the most unthose who walk in of

all the people to introduce, that could -- >> that is the central challenge, the we can get to charity, we can never this in the old days, it would lie rite a letter, now, there is aump a we may have continues, there is

a rush. there is a rush. not to indict social media. whatever, as opposed to any thoughtfulness. back in the day ux there were gate keepers. >> oil fillers. >> now, when you swing the gates open, you know, somebody else said, it wasn't our knee. the problem was inviting everybody, the problem is everybody shows up. >> point well taken. >> what is funny for me, i have known for a long time.

the brilliant, thoughtful. prestigious work you were doing. you are being the guy that comedy, is pain, misery, setback and failure. people talk about comedians to see the when i was adam sandler. jerry, the if you weren't operating that.

there it was a it was a comedy, comdid he tell. three jokes a page. in drama, if you had four an hour, people that you were an -- they not getting a way i think i wanted to do better, hopefully. felicity is an amazing partner. we can't say enough about the

people on the show. painful, difficult, social, issues. i said it about you, i someone told me, it is what about the work you do, but it is the again, we all need to wrestle. how does it feel when you get pish back i have been reading push back. when you modest oprend i -- >> as much as you want to move

things, negativity is what you need to deal with. otherwise, you are not going to get anywhere. i wouldn't be sitting here if other people hadn't given me any stories in particular. to be able to work with regina or whatever. for me, i would feel, martinez. anyone with an experience different than mine. they cannot see their experience in someone else's experience. it is from young people. i want to them understand i

believe web, the boys called it our troubles. at that same time. if i am not creating space where they will hoefully, five, six, sen, tell the stories, for me, i think there is a lot of space for a lot of representation. the academy award is almost a -- where they won the academy award, there was no work that came behind that moran an e, acception. it seems that even the award has

find a way to get that award. it is the pinnacle of peer review. what did you do next? >> the day after i had to get up, get on an airplane, the day after. get up, get on an start the last week of prep for the first week. what it meant, positive, negative. felicity, hutton, rebegginregin. what i had, that wanted to know,

what are we doing on monday. in a minute, what is your best advice to young people. so many who want to be like you. write, tell stories, what is your best advice to upon what be mindful. things you want to ix press think of how it may land years for now. i hope the opinions i put forward, ultimately had positive result. i better prepared myself for the next 20 years of being able to offer you can see all of in ggo

time. stay with us, sampa. closing out tonight's program, is performing ""sasha ♪

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applause ] >> i am tavis smiley, join me next to for a conererization about the flint water crisis, three years later. and julian lennon discusses earth day. that is next time. see you then.

♪ -today on "america's test kitchen"... dan shows bridget full-proof ginger frozen yogurt, lisa reviews personal blenders, adam reviews kitchen scales with bridget, and tim makes julia an outstanding lemon posset with berries. it's all coming up right here on "america's test kitchen." "america's test kitchen" is brought to you by the following -- fisher & paykel. since 1934, fisher & paykel has been designing