Picketers Blast Saturn Record Among Blacks : Protest: Rainbow Coalition members urge boycott at firm-sponsored car owners’ reunion.

Members of the Rainbow Coalition were outnumbered and without their leader, Rev. Jesse Jackson, as they picketed a Saturn Corp. event Saturday for what they charge is the car company’s poor record of awarding franchises to African Americans.

About 25 protesters, whose leader was attending a news conference in Los Angeles, brandished “Boycott Saturn” and other signs near the entrance of Knott’s Berry Farm, where more than 8,000 Saturn owners and family members attended a company-sponsored reunion.

The protest was sparked by the case of African American retailer Timothy L. Woods, whose license to set up a franchise in Chino was revoked last year.

Saturn officials said that Woods failed to set up a dealership after having the license for four years. Woods sued, but a federal court upheld an arbitration panel’s decision in Saturn’s favor.

Saturday’s protest was “an issue of access and empowerment,” said Eddie Wong, western regional director for the Rainbow Coalition, a political group Jackson founded 11 years ago to advance the economic condition of minorities.

“In some ways, it’s like a wake-up call to Saturn until they can sit down with Rev. Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition” to discuss African American ownership in the company, Wong said.

But Saturn officials asserted in a news release that the company’s record for signing minority and African American franchisees is actually higher than it is for other car makers.

The company in a written statement passed out to Saturn owners Saturday stated that its dealerships and future “commitments” for facilities will include at least 11 controlled by African Americans. They did not say how many are currently owned by African Americans.

The release also said that Saturn has signed an agreement with another African American businessman to replace Woods.

“If you look at the facts, our record of minority representation is the highest in the industry,” said George Doss, an African American who is Saturn’s western area manager. “We can always do better--everyone can--but I think the proof is in the pudding.”

But Saturn owners attending the fete at Knott’s weren’t sure.

“If what I hear (from pickets) is true, I think it’s wrong,” said Larissa Brown, 20, of Santa Ana.