Van Jones has spent much of his life as a fighter for social and environmental justice through groups like the Dream Corps, which encourages innovations to help society's most vulnerable, and The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which fights for justice among the poor and underprivileged.

But one of the formative experiences for him was the day four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King and the subsequent unrest that followed. He speaks with EBONY.com here about his memory and how it has become a catalyst for social justice activism ever since.