PLATFORM : Avoiding Traps

Our community leaders must continue the hard work of reminding people that we cannot fall into the trap of allowing the depiction of the chaos to fuel racial prejudice and bigotry. For African-Americans and Korean-Americans, the failure in this regard will mean a devastating human toll. We’ve already seen the results of the malignant neglect of South-Central Los Angeles in the reaction to the Rodney King verdict and the scapegoating of innocent Korean-American merchants. Efforts to continue looking for common ground cannot be given up now.

The spiritual leaders of our communities must continue to use every conceivable means to appeal to the moral values at stake.

And finally, we must look at Police Chief Daryl Gates. The compelling conclusion is that he allowed the situation to escalate to justify the siege mentality he has so vigorously promoted. We hope that Chief-designate Willie L. Williams will lead us in a new direction.