The Opening Tip : Rising From the Ashes of the Riot, Blacks Must Learn a New Game of Ownership, Magic Says

He was the man who stood on the steps of City Hall in the ‘80s and led Los Angeles in so many moments of celebration. Spring after spring, he led his Lakers--Los Angeles’ Lakers--to NBA titles, five of them when all was said and done.

This is a much darker spring for both Earvin (Magic) Johnson, who has been forced to retire from basketball after testing HIV - positive, and for his city, hit with the worst urban riot of the century. But Johnson would like to stand on those steps again, this time as a businessman and influential figure in the black community.

In a recent interview, Johnson expressed his thoughts on the crisis, its causes and some possible paths to peace on the streets.

Question: What were your feelings after first seeing the Rodney King tape?

Answer: Disbelief, I think. Anger that somebody could be beaten like that when you have that many policemen. One guy and all those policemen, and then all those standing around. You just couldn’t believe it.

Q: Where were you when you heard the verdict?

A: I was just finishing a speaking engagement at 3 that Wednesday when I got a call. The phone just dropped out of my hand. I couldn’t believe it.

Q: Did you envision the reaction on the streets?

A: I knew that something was going to happen. When that woman (Soon Ja Du) got off for shooting that girl (Latasha Harlins), the people held it inside. Then, when this happened, they just couldn’t hold it no more.

Q: What did you feel, sitting there watching the horror unfold on television?

A: It was a helpless feeling for any human being. Nobody could do anything. You just hoped it would end . . . soon. I knew that even if I said anything at that time, nothing was going to happen, as far as ending it. No matter what anybody said. But right afterward, whether it was myself or others who are respected speaking up, you hope the young people will listen.

Q: Do you feel these young people are hearing solutions that give them genuine hope?

A: You have to understand something. People are sitting here talking about the government helping. The government hasn’t helped before, so why would it help now? I wasn’t here, but from what I understand from all the information I’ve been gathering about the Watts riots, these same people were saying they were going to do all this and that and they never came through. So why does everybody expect them to come through this time?

Q: So what is the alternative for the black community?

A: If blacks ever had a chance to really own their own businesses, now is that chance. The banks are the ones we should be really talking to, not the government. The banks have got to give blacks the opportunities to own these businesses. My whole thing is the banks, not the government.

I talked to Peter Ueberroth as well as the mayor and this whole committee they have put together. They want me to channel all my energies toward making sure minorities have the opportunity to own businesses in the community.

Q: Why has it been so difficult for black people to get loans?

A: There is discrimination against us, for whatever the reason is, and that’s been going on for years. One thing about black people, they work hard. Anything they own and have, they are going to work damn hard to keep. That’s what people don’t understand.

Q: So is it a matter of changing the perception others have of blacks?

A: I think so. Once we are able to own businesses, minds will change, once they are able to see what we can do when we get the opportunity. But the problem is, we haven’t really had the opportunity. What I want to do is not only get blacks opportunity, but training. Our people who have businesses, who are entrepreneurs, must train the young people to say, “This is how you do it.”

But once we get the businesses, we have to run them correctly. We know the pressure is on us. We know the bank is going to be looking over our shoulder, where they might not be looking over the white guy. We know that. We’ve got to hustle 100 times more than other groups of people.

Q: But what do you say to the young people who don’t want to hustle because they feel they have no stake in this society and just want to tear it down?

A: What I say to them is that we have to do it ourselves and not worry about the government. What I say to them is, “Look, you’ve got goals and dreams? Let’s go for them. You can’t rely on anybody.” That’s what we’ve been doing for too long. We’ve been waiting for a handout. It’s not going to happen. It hasn’t happened and it will not happen.

So what we have to do as a people is understand that, first, education is the key. We gotta get the education, which will give us the smarts to run the businesses or do whatever it is we want to do.

From education comes ownership. The only way that we as black people are going to get anything is through ownership, because ownership brings power. We don’t have enough power. That’s why we can’t change things. There’s not enough of us owning anything to make a difference, so they don’t respect us as people. Now, once blacks own businesses, it will make it easier for the next one.

Q: You started in business early in your basketball career. At the beginning, did you run into prejudice?

A: Well, you’re going to run into some, but mostly, for me, it’s been all right because I had the money. And I came in with a game plan. When I walk into a bank or into a business meeting, I’ve got my stuff together. When we sit down, the business people realize that, so they have to take me seriously.

Q: Did you face much prejudice before that, back when you were growing up?

A: Yeah, I lived in an all-black neighborhood in Lansing (Mich.). I got bused to an all-white neighborhood. That’s when busing first started back in Lansing. They didn’t want us there and we didn’t want to be there. So, there was a lot of tension, a lot of fighting.

Q: Even though you were a star on the high school basketball team?

A: Oh yeah, it didn’t matter. As long as you were winning basketball games for the school, they cheered for you. They cheered for you on Tuesdays and Fridays, the days of the games. Every other day, you were just a black person, a person they didn’t like.

Q: Was that hard for you to deal with?

A: No, because as they were prejudiced, so was I. It worked both ways. I tried to stay out of their way and they stayed out of my way.

Q: Back then, you were the age of many of today’s gang members. Did you have the same sense of alienation from society?

A: No, but I think times are going to change. We’ve been witnessing the gangs coming together. One thing about the gangs, and I must say this to you, they are very smart. People don’t realize this about the gangs. These guys are smart people. They run their gangs like a business, like a corporation. You have to give them some credit for that.

Even though the things they do, shooting one another and all that, is wrong, they are intelligent people. So hopefully, now that they’ve come together, what we’ve got to do is supply them with jobs so that we can keep them off the streets.

Q: When you talk to these young people, do they listen to you?

A: I haven’t talked to them as much as (community activist and former pro football star) Jim Brown has. I think they’ll listen to him. They’ll listen to me. Yeah. But it’s not just what I tell them, but what I show them. Actions speak louder than words. They see I have a (clothing) business in the community.

But you also have to be in the community. The guy who does all my cabinet work in my home, he’s black. The guy who cleans our carpets is black and from the community. I get my hair cut in the community. The church that (wife) Cookie and I attend is in the community. The restaurants we go to are in the community.

Barbara Robinson (wife of Hall of Fame baseball player Frank Robinson) sold my old house and sold me my new house. You’re talking about a commission of $300,000 or $400,000. So it’s not just talking about it, but also putting money back into black people’s hands. It’s using black resources. I made it and now I want them to make it. Once you make it, you have to reach back and help another person or another 10 people.

Once we get the businesses, we also have to frequent them. We have to go and spend money there. One problem we have is, we get jealous of one another. We won’t go to a black business. We’ll walk another block just to go to another business because of jealousy. We’ve got to get out of that.

I’ve been supplying jobs for black people since I’ve come into money. We’ve sent 20 to 30 students every year to school through the United Negro College Fund. I have a Pepsi plant in Washington, D.C., that has over 150 black employees. I give free clinics to Boys and Girls Clubs. I’m putting together a group of people from sports and entertainment, everybody from George Foreman to Spike Lee, to help rebuild after (the riots). I try to help in various ways, whether it’s through ownership or just talking.

Q: Having already taken on the task of being a spokesman in the battle against AIDS, does the idea of getting involved in rebuilding L.A. worry you in terms of your health?

A: No, I don’t worry about it. This is a job I want to do. It goes hand in hand with my work on AIDS. Blacks, we lead all the categories. So while I’m talking to them about business, I can also talk to them about AIDS and how big it is in our community.

Q: How are you feeling?

A: Fine. I’m working out every day. I do weights at 6:15 in the morning. And then, every day at UCLA, I play ball.

Q: How is Cookie feeling with a month to go in her pregnancy?

A: Wonderful. We’re almost there. Everything is wonderful. I’m doing great. The doctors and I are all smiling.

Q: Are you still thinking about playing for the Lakers next season?

A: Yeah, I’m still thinking about it. But there’ll be no decision until after the Olympics. So I understand (General Manager) Jerry West has to move forward with the team. I won’t make a decision until August or September.

But in the meantime, I want to help my people get ahead. I’ve got to reach back. More and more of us have to reach back.