Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the LA riot due to the Rodney King trial. Many stories have been told on film and books regarding black vs white or cops vs blacks. Somewhat forgotten over the years were the pictures of Korean owned businesses being vandalized during the riot and the Koreans holding and shooting guns trying to protect their businesses. But now after 25 years there are stories of the Koreans during the riot on films and books. Some of the stories are written by Koreans who were kids 25 years ago and are now adults. They give a perspective of what they and their parents go through during this time.
But another perspective these authors and film makers give is that of the relationship between blacks and Koreans in LA during that time. Obviously, they talked of the violence that made life miserable for their families. They also talked of being called "gook" and other discriminatory words. But as these young people grew up, they also recognized the pain and anger the black community was going through. I think it is easy to understand the discrimination that some cops had toward blacks. But these Koreans also felt there was a lot of discrimination from the Koreans toward blacks. They all condemn the shooting in the back of a young black girl by a Korean grocer who subsequently got probation only. How can that possibly be fair?
Thankfully there are progress. Korean and black leaders having been reaching out each other over the years. For the 25th anniversary they along with other groups in the city met at the First AME church to remember the events and victims. Roy Choi, the food truck guy, opened a restaurant in Watts providing healthy meals and jobs for an under served area. The restaurant just won restaurant of the year award given out by the LA times. Certainly, the tension of the two groups are not anywhere like that of 25 years ago. We don't have utopia, but we do have hope.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
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I remember tensions being high with the Koreans and African Americans after the riots. It's encouraging to see Roy Choi be accepted in the area. There seems to be a healing process that's taken all this time, but it seems like progress. Things like this give me hope for future generations. Hard to believe it's been 25 years.
ReplyDeleteDid you happen to watch the monologue for the White House Correspondents Dinner? It was pretty good. This guy from the Daily Show made sure to skewer pretty much everybody. But he made some pretty good points.
-LBOAYM
I watched part of it today. It would have been interesting if Trump was there to respond. But I guess he is too thick skin! I remember Bush was there to laugh along with Stephen Colbert. But a bully can't take the heat.
ReplyDeleteNow Trump says he would be honored to speak to Kim. I can understand speaking with a dictator but be "honored" to do so? Of course he wants to invite Rodrigo Duterte to the White House after this guy killed thousands of people in a so called anti-drug campaign. Trump also praised Egyptian dictator Sisi for doing a fantastic job. And how we can forget him calling Putin a great leader. So I guess he would be honored in Kim's presence.
Trump also said that Andrew Jackson could have prevented the Civil War. Really? Jackson was long dead before the war and he owned slaves. First fake news and now fake history!
The bad thing is that he is re-writing history with his comments and people will take it as the truth. I don't even understand why he let's things come out of his mouth. He obviously is not well versed in history. Which now makes sense, because the old saying that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." is going to hold true.
ReplyDeleteI see that Nancy Kerrigan got voted off of DWTS. I can't figure out why the baseball player is still out there. There must be a huge voting block coming out of Chicago. I am slowly thinking that Val will win this thing. Is choreography and partner are just too good. If he had Simone, they would win it.
-LBOAYM
The former acting attorney general Yates, who was fired by Trump, is expected to testify that she sternly warned the White House about Mike Flynn's Russian problem two weeks before he was fired. Critics will say that she is an Obama supporter and so should not be trusted. But Spicer had acknowledged that Yates had conversation with the White House about Flynn. So basically the difference we are talking about is a stern warning vs a conversation. But even if it is not a stern warning, shouldn't the White House hold off bringing in Flynn before the matter was investigated?
ReplyDeleteYou know the Cubs' fans. I would not be surprised they voted heavily for him. Val's partner has been the best this season. Biles is not as good as her nor as good as Laurie Hernandez, her gymnastic teammate. However, I was very impressed with her Lindy last night. I almost went to a Lindy workshop a few weeks ago that was run by Minn Vo and his wife Stefanie Klausmann. We couldn't make it but maybe just as well, after seeing Youtube video of them dancing. Way too difficult of a dance. But Biles' athleticism makes her a good fit for this type of dance and I think she should have gotten all 10s last night. Minn Vo, by the way, is in the Lindy Hall of Fame.