LA Riots-10 Years Later-April 29

[brain]

Many people have forgotten about the Los Angeles riots that occured approximately 10 years ago. I'm sure it brings a little pain to the hearts of many Angelenos here. I never thought something like that would have an effect on my life, but it did. My friend's father was shot and killed closing up his liquor store that day. My friends helplessly watched as their bicycle store was being looted and burned to the ground. With all this crap going on in the world these days, let us not forget any of these events... Such as the Armenian genocide which took place April 24... Septemeber 11th...

Eddie Lee - RIP
A young gentleman that was killed by another Korean-American in "friendly fire."

[DoPeY5007]

I rember the Fedco the burned that was like really close to my parents place and all the ash that was in our yard, I even watered the roof incase it would still be warn ambers flying.....





I am sorry to hear what you and your friends when through....

it was a scary time :(

[brain]

For those of you who like math, I'll throw out some statistics.

Deaths: 55
Injuries: 2,325
Total Property Damage: $850 million
Businesses Destroyed: 3,100

This SOOO could have been prevented. :sigh:

[Speedfreak]

Ya, nothing like destroting YOUR OWN neighborhood because you are mad. :disa:

[NuTs62]

I remember I was in middle school at the time when I first heard about what happened. After the trial results, there was a whole bunch of commotion at school.. yelling, crying, etc. Sorry to hear about what you and your friends had to go through Brain. Lets just hope we never have to go through it again.

[sbp]

Absolutely this didn't have to happen. Thugs out there take advantage of any opportunity to riot. There are much better and peaceful ways to show concern and displeasure over what happened. There always will be those bad apples who engage in violence and try to justify their criminal conduct. They need to be condemned for the thugs they are.

And I am glad to see folk defended themselves against the scumbucket rioters.

[Nanotech9]

Humm... i sadly admit i dont eve know what the riots were about... I remember that they happened, but dont remember what they were about. I might earn myself some lienincy by saying i was only 11 at the time, and that i was in Spain at the time also, and new doesnt get over there nearly as well...

[Merlin]

What an amazing day that was. I remember I was in college at the time in Westchester (Loyola Marymount) and I could look out my window and see pillars of black smoke rising from several different spots that were not too far off to the east. It made you really want to prepare for the worst - like the barbarians would be coming through the gate at any time. But in reality I was safe where I was.

What did hurt to see was one of my economice professors the next day. He is a black man and he and his family live in one of the neighborhoods that were hit hard. Seeing this person who lived through the Watts Riots and had to hose down his roof showed the pain many felt that day. :disa:

Of course going out the next day ans seeing armed soliders at the mall was very disturbing. It seemed like for a few days it wasn't Los Angeles but rather someplace else.

Looking back I wonder if that venting of rage, needless violence and destruction actually made a difference in anything.

[DoPeY5007]

Originally posted by Nanotech9
Humm... i sadly admit i dont eve know what the riots were about... I remember that they happened, but dont remember what they were about. Correct me if I am wrong, But I think the Rodney King issue started it.....

[kimchicowboy]

Originally posted by DoPeY5007
Correct me if I am wrong, But I think the Rodney King issue started it.....

hm, at least for the rioting in k-town, wasn't that beause a korean storeowner shot and killed a young black girl because they got into an argument?

on a side note, my friend told me that in this one neighborhood, the only store that was untouched was a Christian bookstore. :) (i'm not too sure since i didn't see things first hand growing up in san jose)

[Merlin]

Originally posted by DoPeY5007
Correct me if I am wrong, But I think the Rodney King issue started it.....

Clearly that was part of what lit the fuse. But in my opinion I think it was the news coverage. When everyone watched on TV as R. Denny get beat and nobody did anything about it, that sent out a signal that lawlessness would be tolerated. That quickly translated into free TVs for everyone.

[asker]

I was living and working in the SF Valley. I remember everyone being anxious about the Rodney King verdict. My employer let people go home early if you were worried about family or had quite a distance to drive. Boy, the streets sure were quiet at night.

Merlin, the fighting, free TV's and other stuff, R. Denny beating, and 3-day curfew were all results of the verdicts. So much pressure was being built up prior to the verdicts, especially by the media. I feel it was just another link in the chain of incidences in Calif. that separated people by groups. Rodney King, O.J., and various CA voter propositions regarding immigrants and affirmative action have created bad feelings among the citizens. Rodney wasn't the best role model but he was right. "Can't we all just get along?"

[Thunder]

10 years...sheesh...
we've lived through some crazy stuff...i still remember those korean guys guarding their stores with automatic submachine guns...

[NuTs62]

I remember my brother tellin me a little about it at the time. He owned a computer store down in Westwood. The riots came as close as a block or two away.

10 years after all this occurs, stupidity still exists around the globe. Seems like some people never learn from people's mistakes.

[Burzhui]

Originally posted by Speedfreak
Ya, nothing like destroting YOUR OWN neighborhood because you are mad. :disa:

that's what i was thinking, it's the most retarded thing

[attgig]

Originally posted by NuTs62
10 years after all this occurs, stupidity still exists around the globe. Seems like some people never learn from people's mistakes.

*sigh* and 50+ years after hitler, the france has about 17% voting for pretty much a neo-nazi, austria has pretty much a nazi president...

you know what...(being very pessimistic), no matter how much we 'learn' from our mistakes, there's plenty of people not learning, or caring about the past - playing on peoples emotions and causing another ruckus.

:(
sigh.

now i'm all depressed :(

[Aristo]

It's been 10 years already? man....

[molecularfire]

Yeah... scary times. I got lucky. The rioters stopped moving east a few blocks from my house. In my neighborhood, they probably just met up with too much armed resistance (that and a lot of the rioters probably didn't want to move into their own city). This was meant only halfway as a joke. I was in high school at the time, and I remember a bunch of guys planning to go join the riots to get some stuff. :(

[eSDee]

To quote the great band Sublime:

April 26th, 1992
there was a riot on the streets tell me where were you
you were sittin' home watchin' your tv
While I was participating in some anarchy
First spot we hit it was my liquor store
I finally got all the alcohol I can't afford
With red lights flashin' time to retire
Then we turned that liquor store into a structure fire
Next stop as the music shop,
It only took one brick to make the window drop
Finally we got our own p.a.
Where do you think I got this guitar that you're hearing today

When we returned to the pad to unload everything,
It dawned on me that I need new home furnishings
So once again we filled the van until it was full
Since that day my livin' room's been more comfortable
Cause everybody in the hood has had it up to here
It's getting harder and harder each and every year
Some kids went in a store with thief mother
When she came out she was gettin some pampers
They said it was for the black man
They said it was for the mexican
But not for the white man
But if you look at the streets it wasn't about Rodney King
It's bout this phucked up situation and the phuckin police
It's about coming up and staying on top
or screamin' 187 on a muthalovin cop
It's not written on the papers, but its written on the wall
National guard smoke from all around

[dbax791]

Man, seems like it wasn't that long ago. I was working on assignment in Burbank, and the Friday the day after the riots I decided to try to make it to the airport to fly home. When I made it to the airport, it was eerie - Imagine being in LAX with only 1 or 2 airplanes at the gate. They were telling people over the intercom to go home, but I got lucky. My flight was only 1 of the few that made it out.

Flying over LA was weird - looked like a war zone. Plumes of smoke scattered all over.

[eSDee]

Originally posted by dbax791
Man, seems like it wasn't that long ago. I was working on assignment in Burbank, and the Friday the day after the riots I decided to try to make it to the airport to fly home. When I made it to the airport, it was eerie - Imagine being in LAX with only 1 or 2 airplanes at the gate. They were telling people over the intercom to go home, but I got lucky. My flight was only 1 of the few that made it out.

Flying over LA was weird - looked like a war zone. Plumes of smoke scattered all over.

Wow that must have been quite a sight. That's an incredible perspective to view such a significant event. I bet you'll be pulling that story out alot when you're an old fart ;)

[eSDee]

Originally posted by brain
Many people have forgotten about the Los Angeles riots that occured approximately 10 years ago. I'm sure it brings a little pain to the hearts of many Angelenos here. I never thought something like that would have an effect on my life, but it did. My friend's father was shot and killed closing up his liquor store that day. My friends helplessly watched as their bicycle store was being looted and burned to the ground. With all this crap going on in the world these days, let us not forget any of these events... Such as the Armenian genocide which took place April 24... Septemeber 11th...

Eddie Lee - RIP
A young gentleman that was killed by another Korean-American in "friendly fire."

BTW brain, sorry to hear about your friends father. It must have been really hard for his as well as your family. Can you share with us what happened or would you rather not?

At any rate, my condolences.

[dbax791]

Originally posted by EsDeeLoco


Wow that must have been quite a sight. That's an incredible perspective to view such a significant event. I bet you'll be pulling that story out alot when you're an old fart ;)

Yeah, but one thing that disturbed me was that the riots started as rage, but turned out to be "the thing" to do. I have a vivid memory of watching the live coverage in the airport bar, and they had live television of the people looting stores.

Anyway, they switched to coverage of people looting a grocery store and all kinds of people running out of the store with their bounty, but the camera panned to one guy running out of the store and his grocery cart was filled with cases and cases of beer! Everyone in the bar started to laugh and cheer this dude on. Kind of turned it into a party rather than a riot. :rolleyes:

[brain]

Originally posted by EsDeeLoco


BTW brain, sorry to hear about your friends father. It must have been really hard for his as well as your family. Can you share with us what happened or would you rather not?

At any rate, my condolences.

I don't mind sharing. My friend's father owned a liquor store in the Los Angeles area. He decided he would take the remaining money in the register and go home. As he was locking up his store, he was approached by two young Hispanic men. They opened fire... killing him with multiple gunshot wounds all over the body. They didn't bother taking the money. Was this a very senseless act of violence? Yes. Would I wish something like this to happen on anyone else? No. It was indeed a horrible experience since we were only 12 years old at the time so it was very traumatic to my friend that I had known since the first grade. The trauma did take its toll on my friend as he started hanging out with the wrong crowd and doing the wrong thing. He ended up moving to Seattle in 94 and we haven't heard from him since.

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by brain


I don't mind sharing. My friend's father owned a liquor store in the Los Angeles area. He decided he would take the remaining money in the register and go home. As he was locking up his store, he was approached by two young Hispanic men. They opened fire... killing him with multiple gunshot wounds all over the body. They didn't bother taking the money. Was this a very senseless act of violence? Yes. Would I wish something like this to happen on anyone else? No. It was indeed a horrible experience since we were only 12 years old at the time so it was very traumatic to my friend that I had known since the first grade. The trauma did take its toll on my friend as he started hanging out with the wrong crowd and doing the wrong thing. He ended up moving to Seattle in 94 and we haven't heard from him since.

Its been a long time.. try lookin him up.. I'm sure he'd like to hear from some old friends.. And know that some people still think and care bout 'em..

[brain]

Originally posted by NuTs62


Its been a long time.. try lookin him up.. I'm sure he'd like to hear from some old friends.. And know that some people still think and care bout 'em..

None of my friend had heard from him and the only clue we have is Seattle. It's not like "Kim" is a common last name or anything. :heh: I suppose it's worth a shot though.

[eSDee]

Originally posted by brain


I don't mind sharing. My friend's father owned a liquor store in the Los Angeles area. He decided he would take the remaining money in the register and go home. As he was locking up his store, he was approached by two young Hispanic men. They opened fire... killing him with multiple gunshot wounds all over the body. They didn't bother taking the money. Was this a very senseless act of violence? Yes. Would I wish something like this to happen on anyone else? No. It was indeed a horrible experience since we were only 12 years old at the time so it was very traumatic to my friend that I had known since the first grade. The trauma did take its toll on my friend as he started hanging out with the wrong crowd and doing the wrong thing. He ended up moving to Seattle in 94 and we haven't heard from him since.


Damn that sucks man. Did they ever catch those guys? You mentioned in your first post that it was "friendly fire" by another Korean American. This was downright murder. So sorry to hear it.

I would say the same thing about looking up your friend. He could probably use some support from an old friend these days.

[brain]

Originally posted by EsDeeLoco



Damn that sucks man. Did they ever catch those guys? You mentioned in your first post that it was "friendly fire" by another Korean American. This was downright murder. So sorry to hear it.

I would say the same thing about looking up your friend. He could probably use some support from an old friend these days.

Well... Eddie Lee (He was 20 years old or so) was killed by "friendly fire." He was on his way to help some store owners protect their businesses and was shot by mistake by some of his countrymen. Did these shopowners really need M16s and AK47s?

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by brain


Well... Eddie Lee (He was 20 years old or so) was killed by "friendly fire." He was on his way to help some store owners protect their businesses and was shot by mistake by some of his countrymen. Did these shopowners really need M16s and AK47s?

Are those actually THAT easy to get? well, back then.. but are they still that easy to get now?! :confused:

[brain]

Originally posted by NuTs62


Are those actually THAT easy to get? well, back then.. but are they still that easy to get now?! :confused:

They aren't all that hard to get. I know a guy that can get Chinese made AK-47s for $300.

[sbp]

Originally posted by brain
Well... Eddie Lee (He was 20 years old or so) was killed by "friendly fire." He was on his way to help some store owners protect their businesses and was shot by mistake by some of his countrymen. Did these shopowners really need M16s and AK47s? Its tragic that this happened. It really shows how bad the situation was that folks had to resort to such measures to protect themselves and defend their property against the despicable hoodlums. Some shop owners who were burned out never did recover.

Hopefully there won't be a repeat for the 10 year anniversity as thugs love to riot for for any reason nowadays. If these hoodlums do, hopefully they'll be taken care of again. :woo:

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by sbp
Its tragic that this happened. It really shows how bad the situation was that folks had to resort to such measures to protect themselves and defend their property against the despicable hoodlums. Some shop owners who were burned out never did recover.

Hopefully there won't be a repeat for the 10 year anniversity as thugs love to riot for for any reason nowadays. If these hoodlums do, hopefully they'll be taken care of again. :woo:

Now that it seems everyone is trained with :woo: through games like Counter-Strike, etc.., they better think twice! :fal:

[brain]

Originally posted by NuTs62


Now that it seems everyone is trained with :woo: through games like Counter-Strike, etc.., they better think twice! :fal:

So everybody would be bunnyhopping?

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by brain


So everybody would be bunnyhopping?

Luckily we can't be written up for referrals in school.. :heh: though i think the cops may want to step in..

and bunnyhoppin, nah, not for me. I have yet to play CS :)

[NuTs62]

April 28, 2002 Posted: 9:31 PM EDT (0131 GMT)

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2002/US/04/28/la.riot.anniversary/story.peace.jpg (Caption: Mark Craig cheers a fire outside Parker Center. Today, Craig is a suburban father who does not regret his role.)

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The verdicts seemed incomprehensible to a city that had seen the videotape of black motorist Rodney King's beating by police countless times.

Ten years ago Monday, a jury in the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley acquitted the four white Los Angeles police officers who had been caught on home video repeatedly clubbing King, who had led them on a car chase after they tried to stop him for speeding.

The verdict outraged much of the city, and all hell broke loose on the streets of Los Angeles barely an hour after the jury came back.

The riot that began that afternoon became one of the nation's bloodiest. It ended three days later with 55 people dead, more than 2,300 injured and 1,100 buildings destroyed.

That afternoon, television viewers watched in horror as a white truck driver, Reginald Denny, was pulled from his cab and beaten at the corner of Florence and Normandie avenues, in the mostly black South Central neighborhood. Police evacuated the neighborhood as the riot spread.

The violence and destruction reached a fever pitch as night fell. At the First AME Church in South Central, worshippers gathered to pray for peace as buildings burned and looters emptied stores.

"Those fires in South Central spread to mid-Central, then North Wilshire, then on the verge of Hollywood and Beverly Hills," said the Rev. Cecil Murray, the church's pastor.

"Indeed it was surreal, but it was real," Murray said. "We were planning what to do in case there was an eruption."

Murray said he is still haunted by that eruption a decade later.

"Here on this bend, the house was burning. Families lived there," Murray said, standing on a street near his church. "This child was looking back to his residence, the mother was weeping and the father was shaking his head, asking, 'How could this be? How could this be?' "

'All we could do was stand there'
Protesters also clashed with police outside Parker Center, the LAPD's headquarters downtown, amid chants of "No justice, no peace."

"We are going to tear this motherf---er down right here! That building's gonna come down!" one demonstrator yelled.

"They were throwing things at us, and all we could do was stand there and take it," LAPD Sgt. Greg Dust said.

"It was worse than being in Vietnam," he said. "At least in Vietnam, I could shoot back."

Before the trial, an investigation into the King beating concluded that racism and sexism were widespread in the LAPD. The probe, led by former diplomat Warren Christopher -- later secretary of state in the Clinton administration -- also called for Police Chief Daryl Gates to resign. He refused.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2002/US/04/28/la.riot.anniversary/story.dust.jpg (Caption: Through tears the next morning, LAPD Sgt. Gred Dust described the night of April 29 as "worse than Vietnam.")

Shortly after the conflagration broke out, Gates left police headquarters to attend a political fund-raiser. He left office a month after the riots amid intense criticism, and a commission led by former FBI and CIA Director William Webster concluded the LAPD had been caught "flat-footed."

The riots also ended the career of LAPD Lt. Michael Moulin. The department blamed Moulin for withdrawing his outnumbered and ill-prepared officers from the corner of Florence and Normandie in the first wave of unrest.

A decade later, Moulin says, "I was scared to death."

"The community was on edge," Moulin told CNN recently. "We had just seen a tape of what most black people believed had been occurring for years and years and years -- although they had no evidence that that was, in fact, the case -- and here we have evidence.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2002/US/04/28/la.riot.anniversary/story.williams.jpg (Caption: Actor Greg Alan Williams was hailed as a hero for saving a beating victim ten years ago. Today, he tells school groups about his experiences that day.)

"We have a tape made by an independent person ... of the activities of the Los Angeles Police Department, under cover of darkness, doing to a black man what is against the law to do to a dog -- and they were infuriated," Moulin said.

Greg Alan Williams, who intervened in an attempt to stop rioters from beating a driver in South Central, said police abandoned the streets when the trouble began.

"I'm talking just like, 'Excuse me, there's a man hurt here,' and they looked at me for a second -- and they drove away," Williams, now an actor, recalled.

'Can we all get along?'
The rioting continued for three more days as firefighters attempting to battle hundreds of blazes came under fire by snipers.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2002/US/04/28/la.riot.anniversary/vert.king.ap.jpg (Caption: While the riots continued, Rodney King appealed for calm.)

King went on television to plead for and end to the violence, asking plaintively, "Can we all get along?" State and federal authorities deployed thousands of troops from the National Guard, the Army and Marines to help restore order in America's second-largest city.

In the aftermath, authorities estimated the damage at more than $1 billion. Longtime Mayor Tom Bradley and District Attorney Ira Reiner decided not to run for office again.

There are no plans by city officials to acknowledge the anniversary, though President Bush plans to mark the date during a White House-sponsored event in California promoting the administration's faith-based initiative and economic growth measures.

Two of the four officers acquitted in the King beating -- Officer Laurence Powell and Sgt. Stacey Koon -- were retried and convicted on federal charges of violating King's civil rights. Officers Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno were not tried on federal charges.

Los Angeles officials settled King's claim against the city for $3.8 million. King has had numerous run-ins with the law in the decade since the riots and is currently in a substance abuse rehabilitation program.

In the South Central neighborhood, meanwhile, city officials promised a reconstruction effort after the riots. Since 1992, businesses have invested more than $1.4 billion in south Los Angeles, said Bernard Kinsey, the former chairman of the Rebuild Los Angeles effort.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2002/US/04/28/la.riot.anniversary/story.corner.ap.jpg (Caption: Today, the population of South Central Los Angeles' is mostly Hispanic instead of mostly black, but still poor.)

"I think the message that I'd like people around this country to hear is that Los Angeles is back in a big way, and south Los Angeles has recovered from the worst riot in its history," Kinsey told CNN. "We would offer that what has happened in our churches, what has happened in our City Council and areas in the county government, along with the business community, have been one huge success."

For longtime residents like Murray, that success seems to have come slowly.

Despite that investment and the boom of the 1990s, South Central remains one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. Unemployment remains well above 20 percent even after the boom of the 1990s.

"The wounds are in the process of healing," Murray said. "They have not healed, but there are isolated moments where you can note progress here on this hill."

Linkage to CNN story (http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/04/28/la.riot.anniversary/index.html)

[eSDee]

Originally posted by NuTs62
April 28, 2002 Posted: 9:31 PM EDT (0131 GMT)

Linkage to CNN story (http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/04/28/la.riot.anniversary/index.html)

Nice post NutS. I saw a story on the news about the demonstrations of peace in LA today. It was a good story, as this was. One of the ladies mentioned that if everyone worked together, they could build rather destroy. Although not very profound, its simpicity rings of truth.

[NuTs62]

Caught On Tape (http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/04/28/riots.video.ap/index.html)

What It Cost (javascript:openWindow('/interactive/us/0204/la.riots.after.10/frameset.exclude.html','620x430','toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollb ars=no,resizable=no,width=620,height=430'))

A Kinder, gentler LAPD? (http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/04/28/riots.lapd.ap/index.html)

Bush to mark 10th Anniversary (http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/04/27/bush.la.riots/index.html)

Gallery: Rage, Looting, Mayhem (javascript:openWindow('/interactive/us/0204/la.riots.ap/frameset.exclude.html','620x430','toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollb ars=no,resizable=no,width=620,height=430'))

Video: Three Days of Chaos (javascript:LaunchVideo('/us/2002/04/28/nat.la.riots.cnn.','300k');)

Key Players: Where Are They Now? (javascript:openWindow('/interactive/us/0204/riots.players.ap/frameset.exclude.html','620x430','toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollb ars=no,resizable=no,width=620,height=430'))

Edit: Doh, I guess those java windows won't appear here.. Oopsy Go to CNN's main page, and it'll have links to all those if you guys want it!

[NuTs62]

Monday, Apr 29, 2002, 11:51 am EST

In Los Angeles, Koreans and blacks try to get along as riot tensions fade
Associated Press
By DEBORAH KONG
-----------------------------

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Camillo Kim stands outside his corner liquor store in South Central, casually greeting customers with a smile, the occasional joke and an easy ``Hey, what`s going on?`

The relaxed banter between the Korean store owner and his mostly black customers is one small sign of how far relations between the two communities have come since the 1992 riots, which broke out 10 years ago Monday.

``The tensions are not the same,` said the Rev. Norman Johnson, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Los Angeles and pastor at a South Central church. ``We have seen what can happen. You just do not allow things to fester.`

After four white police officers were acquitted of beating black motorist Rodney King, rioting erupted in South Central and nearby areas.

Residents began looting and burning, causing dlrs 400 million in damage to Korean-American stores. Most of the offenders were blacks and Hispanics, according to an analysis of arrest records by the Santa Monica-based Rand Corp.

Korean-Americans experienced heavy losses in part because Koreans owned many of the stores in the hardest-hit areas, community leaders and advocates said.

But there also was a growing tension, fueled by a cultural divide, between Koreans and blacks. Just before the riots, a black advocacy group organized boycotts of two Korean-owned stores after their owners fatally shot black customers. The details of the incidents were disputed.

The rioting has won a place in infamy for Koreans. Borrowing a tradition from their ancestral homeland, where major events are known by the date they occurred, Koreans call the riots ``sa-i-gu,` or April 29.

Ten years later, store owner April Park still can`t bear to remember. Counting change for doughnuts, lottery tickets and vegetables inside a cubicle of bulletproof glass, Park pauses silently to recall the day. She can`t speak, and her eyes fill with tears.

The South Central store that Park owns with her husband burned to the ground during the riots. It took more than a year and dlrs 250,000 to rebuild it. Today, the 53-year-old Park works there 11 hours a day.

After the riots, the National Korean-American Grocers Association urged South Central Korean store owners to be more friendly to their customers. But language differences sometimes make it difficult, said David Kim, the association`s past president. ``We keep telling them to smile,` he said.

University of California at Riverside associate professor Edward Chang wrote a Korean-language book about black history and culture. In speeches to community groups and at universities, Chang emphasized the importance of small gestures: making eye contact, handing change back to customers instead of throwing it on the counter.

Longtime South Central resident David Smith, who is black, said he`s noticed the difference.

``The Korean businesses have made an effort to hire local people,` said Smith, 51, who shops several times a week at a Korean-owned market five blocks from his home. ``I have noticed a conscious effort to be more gracious.`

But 20-year-old Michael Ross, who shops at the same market, disagreed.

``We don`t much like Koreans because they always think we`re stealing,` said Ross, who is black. ``They stereotype us. Blacks do steal, but so do all races.`

Nearby, Camillo Kim said he didn`t know what to expect when he bought his store eight months ago and saw the bulletproof glass surrounding the cash register.

But, he`s found ``if you just talk to people, most people are reasonable. I met a lot of people here. They`re working hard at their jobs, their lawns are neatly kept.`

Yet while race relations have improved, conditions that contributed to the unrest - unemployment, poverty, poor housing and education – still exist, many community leaders said.

``It`s not about how people get along. It`s more about systemic inequities that breed competition,` said BongHwan Kim, a Korean-American who is executive director of the MultiCultural Collaborative, a group founded after the riots. ``People are still struggling to live day-to-day.`

Another group that tries to bridge the cultural divide is the African-American Korean-American Christian Alliance, which meets at monthly prayer breakfasts.

``It`s important we learn to live together, work together, worship together,` said the Rev. Leonard Jackson, an alliance member. ``The longer we mingle, the more we`ll see the commonalities.`

Linkage (http://www.asianavenue.com/Members/Channels/newsframe.html?ID=9370&CATID=374)

--------------------------------------

Though there still is much progress to be made, I'm glad to hear that it has gotten a little better.

I just read another article on CNN.com's site. Daryl Gates, the police chief at that time, wants to return as police chief again. You think he should be given the position again? I don't remember precisely the incidents that occured, nor do I remember his role. But I don't think we can pin the LA riots on him, so I'd say perhaps he should be given a second chance.

[whitak24]

nice articles, nuts. thanks for posting.

it's unfortunately that all the violence, death, distruction, and suffering ever had to happen. but it's encouraging that at least some people are working to move past it and solve some of the underlying problems.

[brain]

UPDATE: I did a little search on my friend that lost his father in the riots. He has a rather unusual name so I figured it was worth a shot. I found someone with the same name in the Washington area (His last known whereabouts). SO I shot off an email. We'll see what happened.

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by brain
UPDATE: I did a little search on my friend that lost his father in the riots. He has a rather unusual name so I figured it was worth a shot. I found someone with the same name in the Washington area (His last known whereabouts). SO I shot off an email. We'll see what happened.

Hope all goes well. If ya don't have any luck within a week or so, and ya don't mind posting it, post his name, and maybe the community here at G|A can try to help you scour the internet to find him. :)