Tragedy in South Los Angeles

When the destinies of Tae Sam Park and Lee Arthur Mitchell crossed one day in South Los Angeles, little did they know that their encounter would result in yet another ugly confrontation between a Korean merchant and African Americans. First there was the shooting death of Mitchell and now a boycott against Park’s store.

To many African Americans, Mitchell’s death was not only a tragedy but another insult leveled against them by Korean merchants, and a boycott is a logical response. To many Koreans, Mitchell’s death was a tragedy that unfairly paints them as insensitive exploiters.

What this and similar incidents clearly reflect at a deeper level is the economic deprivation that grips poor, predominately black communities in many big U.S. cities where Korean merchants have come to symbolize the new Establishment, blocking and usurping opportunities that would otherwise go to African Americans. Many of the poor blacks who are picketing Park’s store have reason to be frustrated. But should their anger be vented at Korean shopkeepers, who did not create the economic and educational conditions that have made life tough for many South Los Angeles residents? Might not those energies poured into a boycott be more useful to the black community if they were aimed at pressing elected officials to change laws and policies that encouraged major business establishments, in effect, to abandon whole sections of Los Angeles?

Since mid-March, two Korean merchants and three blacks have been killed in South Los Angeles markets. Mitchell’s death, triggered when he tried to pay for a wine cooler in part with jewelry, follows the tragic death of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old black girl who was killed by another Korean merchant in a dispute over a bottle of orange juice.

African Americans have reason to be dissatisfied. They want Korean merchants, who tend to rely on relatives or friends, to give jobs to neighborhood residents. Blacks also are irritated at what they see as Koreans’ disrespect. Koreans, on the other hand, say they are tired of apologizing for working hard to make a living in a small, difficult, sometimes dangerous business.

The boycott against Park is the latest against Korean merchants in black communities in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and elsewhere. Park’s daily receipts are down to as little as $22 a day from an average $900 before the boycott.

Protesters may feel they have a legitimate gripe against Park’s store. But in the long run, boycotts rarely address the real, core problem and only add to community tension.