Not Business as Usual : Black, Asian Commercial Groups Meet in Bid to Promote Harmony

The smiles were warm and the greetings hearty as members of Asian-American and black business groups came together this week in an unprecedented joint meeting in Torrance, hoping to help heal inter-ethnic wounds opened by the Los Angeles riots.

Organizers said the goal was to get people talking--and, eventually, do some business together.

Despite the show of camaraderie, as more than 150 people exchanged business cards and a few laughs, there were signs at American Honda Motor Co.’s U.S. headquarters Wednesday evening of a continuing gap.

During a buffet dinner, many of the Asians sat with Asians, the blacks with other blacks. Asian-Americans talked of “the riots” or the “civil disturbances,” blacks of the “rebellion.”

When discussing an incident that helped sunder the two communities--a Korean-American shopkeeper’s shooting of a 15-year-old black girl--a black businesswoman referred to the Latasha Harlins shooting, while a Korean-American man referred to the Soon Ja Du matter.

And few participants seemed ready--at least yet--to confront the divisive issues roiling beneath the surface, though most appeared willing to meet again.

“One meeting by itself isn’t going to solve all the problems,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo, a mayoral candidate who was one of the night’s speakers. “I expect there will be a lot of ups and downs before the relationship improves. . . . (But) this is an important first step forward.”

Participants agreed that such meetings are necessary to dispel misunderstandings and resentments that could prove destructive to both communities.

The meeting was also designed to move inter-ethnic dialogue beyond the churches, organizers said. Broadening such talks is especially important, they said, if minority communities are to take seriously the call for more self-reliance in economic development, which many believe is necessary to revitalize the inner city.

“There’s a lot of dollars circulated within each business organization . . . and I think there’s an opportunity to trade those dollars,” said Paul T. Suzuki, head of the 500-member Asian Business Assn.

The meeting grew out of a joint press conference by the Asian Business Assn., the Black Business Assn. and Young Black Professionals a week after the riots.

At the time, the groups’ leaders made the point that the riots were less about race than about economics. So it seemed natural for the three groups to begin networking. (Subsequent meetings are to include Latino business groups.)

“You do business with people you feel comfortable with, that you get to know and form a relationship with,” said Maxine Ransom Von Phul, chairwoman of the 400-member Black Business Assn. and president of Winmax Construction Corp.

Still, on Wednesday night, some individuals privately acknowledged that there was a way to go.

A Korean-American business owner said he believed that many blacks incorrectly viewed Asian-Americans as disrespectful “money-chasing animals” who don’t put money into the community.

A black businessman, conversely, worried that some Asian-Americans improperly fear blacks as criminals.

But Howard S. Han, president of Daeyang Ocean Inc., said he believes that the division between blacks and Asian-Americans has been instigated by political opportunists and overplayed by the media.

“I don’t really think the cultural gap is that significant,” added Beverly A. King, a management consultant. “When we get together on a personal level, we rarely see any of that.”

Part of the reserve exhibited Wednesday may have been an understandable part of getting acquainted.

“It’s just a fear of the unknown,” said Thyonne Gordon, a partner in an event-planning business.

“It’s almost like going into a dark cave and not knowing what’s there,” she said.