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The Conflict of the Asian Merchants in the Black Community

Introduction
Tensions caused between Blacks and Asian merchants in many urban communities are due to cultural differences and biases formed by stereotypes having resulted in numerous violent clashes. Violence, property damage, boycotts and the media have all fueled the conflict between these two groups. Black residents have their own prejudices against Asian store owners, sometimes viewing them as alien intruders in their neighborhoods. Some Asians view Blacks as lazy and unable to organize themselves. Both groups feel aggrieved by various actions, substantiated or not, caused by the other. Cultural differences, language barriers and negative perceptions have hindered a positive conclusion to this animosity and indifference which has resulted in numerous clashes.

The term “Asian” refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, to include: Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam (Barnes and Bennett, February 2002). The U.S. Census Bureau defines “Black or African-Americans” as persons having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa which includes Sub‐Saharan African entries (e.g., Kenyan; Nigerian) and Afro‐Caribbean entries (e.g., Haitian; Jamaican).

Tension incidents
On January 18, 1990, an altercation between Bong Jae Jong, owner of the Family Red Apple grocery store in Brooklyn, New York City, and a 45-year-old Haitian woman, Giselaine Felissaint sparked a boycott. Jong said that Felissaint tried to pay only $2 for fruit priced at $3 and when asked for the difference, Felissaint allegedly threw a pepper at Jong and then fell to the floor feigning injury. She was treated at a hospital and released. Felissaint's supporters, however, said the Koreans accused her of shoplifting and then beat her when she refused to open her bag. Jong was charged with assault, and Felissaint filed a $6 million suit against Jong's store. The second store, Church Avenue Fruit, became a target of the boycott because a Family Red Apple employee took refuge in that shop during the altercation.

The protesters denied that their boycott was racially motivated, and said they aimed to drive ''outsiders" from black neighborhoods. They pointed out that other Asian grocers on Church Avenue had not been boycotted. Rather, they said, the boycott was over the issue of respect - they said that the Asians have demonstrated a pattern of disdain toward blacks and should have been driven out of business as punishment (Chan, September 2008).

In 1991, four Los Angeles, California Police officers had severely beaten motorist Rodney King (a Black man), and Mrs. Soon Ja Du, a Asian store owner, had shot Latasha Harlins (a Black15-year old girl) in the back of the head mistakenly thinking she was stealing a can of orange juice. The shooting death of Harlins was caught on the store’s surveillance camera and was released to the public. For the murder of Harlins, Mrs. Du received 400 hours community service, a $500.00 fine and five years probation (Wilkinson, and Clifford, November 1991).

In 1992, the acquittal of the four L.A. Police officers who had beaten a motorist Rodney King sparked riots in Los Angeles, but the killing of Latasha Harlins focused the anger of the rioters on Asian people and their stores. Asians suffered severe financial loss: More than 2,000 Asian-run businesses were damaged or destroyed, with an estimated $400 million in losses. Two-thirds were not insured (Banks, May 2012).

Tensions depicted in media
The film industry has depicted this conflict in films such as the 1989 Spike Lee movie “Do the Right Thing”. Producer Spike Lee’s movie had a scene that showed how Asian store owners followed Black customers around in their stores believing they would steal. In the 1993 film “Menace II Society”, part of the plot is about the murder of two Asian store owners. The scene is in an Asian convenience store and two African-American males enter and buy some beer. As the youths leave, the Asian store owner made the comment “I feel sorry for your mother” to a young African American male who felt disrespected and shoots both of them in retaliation.

The 1996 film “Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood” was a parody of “Menace II Society”, which highly emphasized how African-Americans are treated rudely by Asian store owners who followed Black customers around in stores believing they were going to steal their merchandise.

A California rapper named Ice Cube highlighted the conflict in a rap song he wrote titled “Black Korea” and was featured on his 1991 album, “Death Certificate”. The lyrics of the song were targeted to the Koreans: “your [Korean] chop suey ass will be a target of a national boycott”. Ice Cube also used lyrics such as: “we’ll burn your store right down to a crisp” which made reference to the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Another rapper named Beanie Sigel highlighted the conflict in a verse he wrote in the rap song titled “Some How Some Way” and was featured on the 2002 Jay-Z album “The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse”. The lyrics explained the lack of food options in the urban community: “And all the mothers and their kids, that can't leave and how the chinks gotta feed 'em, for the rest of their life fuckin' wings, fried vegetable rice, gotta be kiddin', no breakfast cap'n crunch at night”.

Politics and Boycotts
From 1981 to 1995, Asian groceries were the target of 15 boycotts by African-American customers. Six of the boycotts lasted for at least four weeks. The longest was a 17-month boycott of two produce stores on Church Avenue in a Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York that began in January 1990 (Chan, September 2008).

On April 3, 2012, D.C. Councilman Marion Barry, at his primary election victory party said: “We’ve got to do something about these Asians coming in, opening up businesses, those dirty shops. They ought to go, I’ll just say that right now, you know. But we need African-American business -people to be able to take their places, too” (Grass, May 2012).

In response to his controversial remarks one prominent Asian entrepreneur criticized Barry for lumping all Asian business owners together, but said he understood the root of his concerns with “dirty shops”. “He shouldn’t have said Asians,” said Gary Cha, who owns the Yes! Organic grocery chain. But he added that “any of those people running a dirty store that have an adverse impact on the community should go. And sometimes I am ashamed some of the Asian business owners don’t spend the time to keep the stores in a respectful manner” (DeBonis, April 2012).

Black businesses compared to Asian businesses
In Asian business, the word Guanxi (gwan-shee) is a commonly used concept meaning “connections” or “relationship.” At its core, guanxi is based on trust and Asians like to do business with those they already know and trust. Thus the reasons Asians tend to hire from within their own families or own culture (US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC)).

The Asians who migrate to America typically have a strong family bond which provides for growth and opportunity within the family dynamic especially in business. Many Asian families still continue to provide for their children even into adulthood. Asian- run family businesses are typically what you will see in many communities. Normally, you will see an entire Asian family working together in their restaurant, liquor store, cleaners, convenience store or some other type of business establishment.

In a 1986 report, Recent Activities Against Citizens and Residents of Asian Descent, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights noted that African-American residents in various cities had complained that Asian merchants (primarily Korean) were disrespectful of Black customers, did not hire Blacks, and took profits out of the community, while Asian-American merchants complained of harassment, vandalism, and robberies against their stores (Maryland Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, July 2004).

Asians in America suffer from similar discrimination as African-Americans. During the 1992 riots in Los Angeles that followed, the police beating of motorist Rodney King, Asian shopkeepers were subject to violence. The belief by African-Americans that they are stereotyped by Asian business owners is a two way street. Asian-Americans are portrayed as unaggressive, unless viewed in a martial art films, and unable to properly communicate in English, except for counting money. These stereotypes have forced the majority of Asian-American immigrants to find shelter within their own culture and become entrepreneurs.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of U.S. businesses owned by people of Asian origin increased 40.4 percent to 1.5 million between 2002 and 2007, increasing at more than twice the national rate. These businesses also generated $507.6 billion in receipts, a 55.4 percent increase from 2002. “Asian-owned businesses continued to be one of the strongest segments of our nation's economy, bringing in more than half a trillion dollars in sales in 2007 and employing more than 2.8 million people,” said Census Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg, (U.S. Department of Commerce, April 2011).

In May 14, 2009, Wells Fargo Asian Business Services boasted it has reached its 10-year goal to lend $3 billion dollars to Asian business owners nationwide in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Wells Fargo also announced they have expanded the goal to $5 billion dollars by the end of 2013. Wells Fargo’s Asian Business Services program works closely with key community alliances to provide education and outreach to Asian businesses. This is the same company that will have to fork out $175 million in a settlement for allegedly engaging in discriminatory lending practices from 2004 through 2009, which forced 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers across 36 states and the District of Columbia to pay higher rates for loans simply because of their race.

Black and Asian businesses now
The number of U.S. businesses owned by people of Asian origin increased 40.4 percent to 1.5 million between 2002 and 2007, increasing at more than twice the national rate, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today. These businesses also generated $507.6 billion in receipts, a 55.4 percent increase from 2002. “Asian-owned businesses continued to be one of the strongest segments of our nation's economy, bringing in more than half a trillion dollars in sales in 2007 and employing more than 2.8 million people,” said Census Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg(U.S. Department of Commerce, April 28, 2011). From 2002 to 2007, the number of black-owned businesses increased by 60.5 percent to 1.9 million, more than triple the national rate of 18.0 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners. Over the same period, receipts generated by black-owned businesses increased 55.1 percent to $137.5 billion.

“Black-owned businesses continued to be one of the fastest growing segments of our economy, showing rapid growth in both the number of businesses and total sales during this time period,” said Census Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg. (U.S. Department of Commerce, February 8, 2011).