Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Lora Dene King |
| Also known as | Lora King; Laura Dene King (variant spelling in some reports) |
| Role | Founder and Executive Director, Rodney King Foundation (501(c)(3)) |
| Known for | Community outreach, youth advocacy, public speaking on policing, race, and reconciliation |
| Parent | Rodney Glen King (1965–2012) |
| Paternal grandparents | Ronald King (d. 1984), Odessa King |
| Siblings (commonly cited) | Candice King; Tristian/Tristan King |
| Signature initiatives | “I Am A King” scholarship; youth mentorship; community and homelessness support |
| Collaborations | University partners and media projects preserving her father’s story (including an interactive “Virtual Human” interview) |
| Approx. birth window | Early-to-mid 1980s (often inferred as 1983–1985 based on age references) |
| Focus areas | Positive race relations, story preservation, father–child engagement, community healing |
A Childhood Shaped by a National Reckoning
Lora Dene King grew up with the unusual burden of watching her father become a symbol before she fully understood the scale of his story. She was a young child—often recalled as 7 or 8—when Rodney King was beaten on March 3, 1991, and a preteen when the 1992 verdicts ignited days of unrest. Those dates are fixed on the American calendar; for Lora, they became family anniversaries of resilience and responsibility. Over time she learned to speak not only about a headline, but about a father—his humor, his flaws, his tenderness—and to build something living from a film that seemed frozen in the nation’s mind.
Her public voice is steady, human, and disarmingly direct. She does not sermonize; she remembers, then invites. She has said, in many ways, that her work rises from a child’s simple question—why people don’t get along—and an adult’s determination to do something about it.
The Rodney King Foundation
Lora is the founder and executive director of the Rodney King Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to positive race relations, youth empowerment, and services for vulnerable communities. Think of the foundation as a workshop for healing—part classroom, part kitchen, part front porch—where memory is kneaded into programs that feed real needs.
- It offers scholarships and mentorship to young people whose opportunities hinge on a single nudge in the right direction.
- It develops initiatives that honor Black fatherhood, recognizing that stronger families anchor safer neighborhoods.
- It mobilizes community care for those who are unhoused or on the margins.
Her signature program, “I Am A King,” highlights the dignity and importance of engaged fatherhood. While the phrase nods to her last name, it is less a slogan than a mirror: an invitation to men and their children to see themselves as worthy of love, time, and investment.
Selected Programs and Focus Areas
| Program/Focus | What it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| “I Am A King” Scholarship | Supports families—especially Black fathers and their children—through bonding experiences, mentorship, and financial assistance | Publicly active by the late 2010s |
| Youth Mentorship | Connects students with role models and resources | Emphasis on leadership and life skills |
| Community Services | Provides support for the homeless and vulnerable | Partnerships with local organizations |
| Story Preservation | Public events and interactive media to keep Rodney King’s story accessible and instructive | Includes an immersive “Virtual Human” interview project |
A Public Voice: Collaboration, Reflection, and Reform
Lora’s advocacy is grounded and clear-eyed. She speaks at universities and civic forums, where she often reframes her father’s image from icon to person. Collaborations have included interactive storytelling projects that allow audiences to “meet” her through a virtual interview format. When new incidents of police violence erupt, she responds as someone who has lived with replayed footage her entire life—linking present pain to past lessons, urging reform without surrendering to despair.
She uses social platforms under her name and the foundation’s banner to share updates, memorial dates, and program highlights, weaving a consistent message: reconciliation requires memory, effort, and daily acts of neighborliness.
Family: The People Behind the Name
Lora’s family story is both public and deeply personal. Below is an at-a-glance guide to relatives commonly identified in public accounts, with careful notes where relationships are reported but not fully verified in open sources.
| Name | Relationship to Lora | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Rodney Glen King (1965–2012) | Father | Confirmed |
| Odessa King | Paternal grandmother | Confirmed (as Rodney’s mother) |
| Ronald King (d. 1984) | Paternal grandfather | Confirmed (as Rodney’s father) |
| Ratasha (RaTasha) King | Aunt (Rodney’s sister) | Confirmed in public interviews over time |
| Juan King | Uncle (Rodney’s brother) | Confirmed in local reporting |
| Candice King | Sister | Frequently identified in family coverage |
| Tristian/Tristan King | Sister | Frequently identified; spelling varies in captions |
| “Ronald” (sometimes listed as Ronald Jr.) | Reported uncle (Rodney’s brother) | Reported historically; suffix usage varies |
| Zhan Paul King | Reported relative | Not confirmed as an immediate relative in authoritative public records |
Note on spellings and suffixes: Some names appear with variant spellings in captions and community publications; a few reported relations (such as a brother named Ronald) are inconsistently labeled with “Jr.” across different materials. Where details conflict, the table reflects a cautious reading.
Timeline: From Shock to Stewardship
| Date/Period | Event |
|---|---|
| Early–mid 1980s | Birth of Lora Dene King (commonly inferred as 1983–1985 based on age references) |
| March 3, 1991 | Rodney King beating; Lora is a child, an experience that later anchors her public work |
| April 29, 1992 | Acquittals and the Los Angeles unrest; the family’s private grief becomes public history |
| June 17, 2012 | Death of Rodney King; Lora and her sisters participate in memorial events |
| 2016–2019 | Expansion of public advocacy; scholarship initiatives and the Rodney King Foundation’s programs take shape |
| 2022–2023 | Interactive “Virtual Human” interview project and related university events; ongoing community work |
| 2023–2025 | Continued speaking, scholarships, and community services under the foundation’s umbrella |
Some public figures turn their lives into open books. Lora turns hers into a carefully curated syllabus. She shares the lessons, not every page. Her precise birth date is not broadly published. Personal financial details are kept private, as you’d expect from a nonprofit leader who centers mission over celebrity. What she offers instead is presence: at youth events, on stages and panels, in neighborhoods that need both memory and momentum.
Themes and Impact
- Memory as compass: Lora’s work insists that remembering is not passive—memory points the way forward. She often invokes her father as a whole person, countering the flattening effect of viral footage.
- Family as infrastructure: Programs like “I Am A King” shift the conversation from punishment to prevention by strengthening father–child relationships and community ties.
- Dignity in practice: The foundation’s homeless outreach, scholarships, and mentorships translate big ideas—justice, reconciliation—into specific acts of dignity.
- Story as tool: By participating in interactive storytelling and public forums, Lora ensures that the lessons of 1991–1992 remain accessible to new generations who may know the footage but not the fullness of the story.
How She Shows Up
Lora’s presence is a steady drumbeat: commemorations of key dates in her father’s life, calls to action when contemporary incidents echo old harms, and celebratory posts when a student earns a scholarship or a family spends a day together through “I Am A King.” Across these moments, she doesn’t preach perfection. She practices continuity—small, sustaining gestures that add up to a culture of care.
FAQ
Who is Lora Dene King?
She is the daughter of Rodney Glen King and the founder/executive director of the Rodney King Foundation.
What does the Rodney King Foundation do?
It promotes positive race relations through youth programs, scholarships, father–child initiatives, and community support for vulnerable people.
When was Lora Dene King born?
Her exact birth date is not publicly disclosed; she is commonly placed in the early-to-mid 1980s.
Who are her siblings?
Candice King and Tristian/Tristan King are widely identified as her sisters, though spellings sometimes vary.
Which family relationships are confirmed?
Confirmed relatives include her father Rodney, grandparents Odessa and Ronald, aunt Ratasha, and uncle Juan; some reports mention a brother named Ronald and a person named Zhan Paul King without definitive public confirmation.
Does she disclose her net worth?
No; there are no public, verified figures for her personal net worth.
How can people follow her work?
Updates appear under her name and the Rodney King Foundation on social platforms and at public events associated with the foundation.
