Ontresicia Averette, who stood by Rodney King through the beatings and the historical verdict that acquitted the four policemen involved and led to the horrific 1992 Los Angeles riots, encountered her own cataclysms through gender discrimination and racism while working with NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Broken Spirits allows readers to encounter two stories of oppression and social injustice experienced by Averette and King, while gaining a vividly human side of the under-privileged communities struggles which plagued many inner cities. "Broken Spirits" is a unique memoir which not only tells Averette's story, but allowed other races to voice their experiences and opinions regarding the calamity suffered by thousands during the 1992 L.A. riots as well, through the interviews conducted by Michele L Waters.