I WAS THERE: Emotions Resurface for Woman Whose Family’s Business Burned During the 1992 Civil Unrest

Minah Yeo is the Director of Interior Design at Berliner Architects in Culver City. In this episode of “I Was There” Yeo recalls watching her family’s business burn to the ground during the 1992 civil unrest. The road to recovery was difficult and ultimately led to a dead end. The family business never made a full comeback. Nearly three decades later, Yeo's TV screen is once again showing L.A. reacting to police brutality and racial injustice. The images are dredging up long buried memories and emotions.

Yeo supports the Black Lives Matter movement and believes injustice can also be inflicted on less obvious victims.

Photos of Yeo and her mother present day were taken by Juhn Kwon. 

About the Series

"I WAS THERE" is about telling a great story. This series of first-person accounts breaks current and historical events down to human scale, carefully taking the viewer behind some of Southern California’s biggest headlines.

Production team

Executive Producer: Karen Foshay 

Producers: Tori Edgar, Denise Chan & Michael Ray 

Photographers: Trevor Jackson, Karen Foshay

Editor/Graphics: Michael Ray, Andy Viner