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Lora King, the daughter of Rodney King, has launched a scholarship foundation in her father’s name, NBC reports.
In 1992, King was brutally beaten by police, triggering the infamous LA riots. King died in 2012, but he remains a symbol of triumph against systemic oppression and his victimization became a rallying cry for Black people before the modern day Black Lives Matter movement.
Now Lora plans to keep her father’s legacy alive with the “I Am A King” scholarship program.
The program aims to provide monetary support for Black dads so they can play an active role in their children’s lives, according to the LA Times. The scholarship would be issued periodically in a range of dollar amounts and would help fathers take their kids on activities such as dinner, games, or an all expense paid trip to Disneyland.
A private tech entrepreneur donated $10,000 to start the fund, and other philanthropists have stepped in to contribute. King eventually will begin soliciting donations from the public.
The 35-year-old hopes the funds will help fathers with financial issues to find a fun way to bond with their kids.
The idea was inspired by Lora’s own childhood–when LA awarded her father $3.8 million in damages, King was able to spend time with his daughter in ways he couldn’t before. She explained that he used the money to show her life outside of South LA. They went skiing, surfing, and to art exhibits.
Her dream is to keep her father’s memory living and breathing through this work.
“Who knows if they will ever acknowledge him in the way that they should,” she said. “He really didn’t care for that. He just cared about making a difference in people’s lives and creating change.”
In 2016, Lora recalled the first time she saw her dad’s disfigured face after the beating. “I was terrified,” she said. “He looked like a monster, but he had a big smile on his face like it was no big deal.”
