Koreans and Blacks Seek Mayor’s Help for Harmony

African-American and Korean-American business executives urged Mayor Tom Bradley on Thursday to lend increased support to joint ventures between the two groups as a step toward improving relations between them.

Although no deals were struck at the City Hall breakfast meeting of the Black Korean Alliance, which drew about 30 people, the businessmen contend that greater economic cooperation is the only way to warm relations between Koreans and African-Americans in Los Angeles.

Aftermath of Murders

The alliance was formed after a spate of murders of Korean-American merchants in predominantly black neighborhoods in 1986. But despite the efforts of the group, relations between blacks and Koreans in Los Angeles have remained cool.

“A lot of people are still at the stage where they talk about tension and lack of communication,” said David D. Kim, a representative of the Korean Chamber of Commerce. “But now, the group has sort of decided that the way to improve relations is through joint ventures.”

Munching sweet rolls and sipping orange juice, members of the group asked Bradley how to get more lucrative public and private contracts.

“The problem,” said Eddis Davenport, president of a Wilshire Boulevard advertising agency, “is that even though you know the contracts exist, you have to be on the inside to get them.”

Money Called the Link

When asked what mutual economic interests blacks and Koreans have that could outweigh their cultural differences, Bradley replied: “Money.”

The mayor reiterated his office’s commitment to the development of minority businesses. He cited the Crenshaw Plaza as an example of the city’s furnishing minority firms an opportunity to flourish.

“From the construction (of the mall) to the management, to the opportunity to lease stores--that commitment has been kept,” Bradley said, adding that space is still available in the plaza.

He also cited two examples of opportunities missed by minority businesses--one for management of pay phones at Los Angeles International Airport; the other for the development of the area surrounding the new terminal annex of the post office.

“They are good examples of how, after suggesting investment opportunities for black and Korean people, the next step had to be theirs,” Bradley explained. “They had to follow through and there simply wasn’t the willingness to do that.”

Members of both groups also used the City Hall meeting to try to pinpoint the causes of tension between their respective communities, citing language gaps and many consumers’ ignorance of Korean traditions as the chief impediments to harmony.

Fear of the Unknown

“A lot of the problems are fear of the unknown,” said Wilfred L. Marshall, director of the Office of Small Business Assistance for the mayor’s office. “People think, ‘He’s not like me, and he doesn’t speak English.’ ”

Because some Korean merchants are not fluent in English, said attendees, black consumers often mistake their straightforward manner and use of imperative phrases for rudeness.

One communication problem was evident at the meeting when BKA member Ed Chang told Bradley that he didn’t “see any active leadership from the mayor’s office.”

“I just want to ask Mayor Bradley to actively get involved,” he continued. “Not only at an economic level, but at a cultural and social level.”

Visibly bothered by the remark, Bradley issued a calm but sharp reply.

“I think you completely misunderstand the nature of an elected official,” said the mayor. “The mayor may initiate something but it isn’t the mayor who has to everyday follow up on these things.”

After the meeting, Chang said he didn’t mean to upset the mayor but to broach a topic he felt had not been thoroughly discussed.

“I think the BKA is a good, constructive step,” he said. “It’s a breakthrough. But everybody’s talking about all the good sides. I just want government and the city of L.A. to get more involved.”