Getting Involved : Courtesy, Trust, Respect for All

Six months ago, my father suffered a debilitating stroke and passed away shortly thereafter. I quit my job in order to step in and run my parents’ grocery store. This store happens to be in Inglewood, and I happen to be Korean.

I immigrated to America with my family when I was 7 and grew up leading a very American life. I believed that I was open-minded, treating everyone with respect--regardless of their color, religion or sexual preference. But my thinking has always been within a “safe” environment, surrounded by people who were similar and who shared my socioeconomic level.

I used to fund-raise for an arts organization, dealing with wealthy individuals and corporations. I knew how to do that. I was good at that. But Inglewood? South-Central L.A.? The combat zone?

But working here the past six months and being part of this community has been an incredible eye-opener. I am truly fortunate to be experiencing a world that I knew nothing about--a world of people on welfare, of teen-agers having babies, of children who so frequently witness the deaths of their brothers and sisters. These are some of the people who work at our McDonald’s, as our housekeepers, as our gardeners. These are the people I saw often in the past, but chose not to know (until now).

By working here, I have been able to meet people--African-American, Latino and white--who value education, who work hard, who are honest and who cherish their families despite the prevailing media images of gang members, graffiti taggers, drug dealers and prostitutes.

When people ask me about my nationality, I proudly say that I am Korean. When people remark on how polite we are at the store, I reply, “So are you.”

I hope the people will see me as representative of the Korean community and see that all people want to be treated with courtesy, with trust, with respect. We need to stop being afraid, stop procrastinating and get out there. We have many common goals, and we have a lot of work to do.