Racism and Harlins Case

The question Bill Boyarsky should have raised in his column “When Protest Edges Up to Racism” (Nov. 20): Is it racism or a reaction to racism? A racism that is so accepted by those outside the African-American community that others ignore it or try to justify it.

Boyarsky was upset by the strong anti-Korean undertone of Brotherhood Crusade leader Danny Bakewell’s speech; but is he upset at the fact that the vast majority of Korean businesses do not hire African-Americans or Latinos in black neighborhoods, despite the high unemployment in the area? Is he upset when black customers, regardless of their appearance or class background, are assumed to be thieves? Is he upset when he goes into a store and the clerk doesn’t understand English? (Latasha Harlins would be alive today if Soon Ja Du could have said, “Excuse me, miss . . . What do you have in your bag?” Instead Du snatched Latasha’s bag and the rest is history.) More important, is he upset that a person can kill an unarmed black child over a $1.79 bottle of orange juice and receive no time in jail?

Boyarsky ignores these forms of racism, but when African-Americans come together to discuss the issue from our perspective, he says we are angry, there’s resentment and racism because “once-black neighborhoods are becoming Latino.” To add insult to injury, he reminds us that the African-American community has a diminishing slice of the electoral pie. Is this his way of saying that the African-American community should be satisfied with the injustices in their community?

The message I received at the meeting at Bethel A.M.E. Church is no. We must organize, we must register people to vote, we must select candidates who represent our views, we must vote judges in or out, be it Judge Joyce Karlin or former California Chief Justice Rose Bird. The message I heard was a message of self-determination and empowerment, not hate or racism.

ALDRA HENRY-ALLISON

First Vice President

Los Angeles NAACP