Nazaryan 1

Davit Nazaryan

ESL 33B

Dr. Carlisi

30 May 2017

Thesis Statement:

The interracial tension between the African-American and Korean-American communities during

1992 LA riots was determined by the economic inequality and social vulnerability.

Detailed Outline:

I. Introduction

A. LA Riots 1992: manifestation of the racial ideology in America in the late 20th

century.

1. Racial ideologies have become the core of the world-view of the American society,

and the cultural stereotypes govern the thinking and action of contemporary

Americans of different races (Philipsen 193).

2. The role of culture as a racial factor: in the conflict the role of culture emerged in

different ways such as how African Americans and Korean Americans perceived

each other's cultures, and how both the communities understood race as a social

construct in the frame of the dominant culture (Park 495).

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B. Thesis: despite the existing deep cultural gap between the African-American and

Korean-American communities, the interracial tension was determined by the economic

inequality and social vulnerability.

II. Causes of Riots

A. Differences in the Social Status of the Communities

1. Cultural Gap: Stereotypical perception of the Other.

a. Many Korean immigrants had developed the negative images of African Americans

as "lazy, complaining criminals from the movies (Cheung 7).

b. The image of Asian Americans, on the other hand, was introduced as of the model

minority. As it has been noted "this image was used...to cast a negative reflection

on other minorities, particularly African Americans" (Cheung 7).

2. Establishing a Social Status Through the use of English

a. African-American communities had an advantage of English which is their mother

tongue (Cheung 30).

b. The Korean-American community in LA in the early 1990s consisted largely of

first generation immigrants who acquired English as their second language and

maintained their foreign accent (Cheung 30).

The linguistic differences caused a sense of social hierarchy in the communities.

B. Differences in the Economic Status of the Communities

1. Segregation:

a. Analyses of the political economy of south central Los Angeles shows that the

African-American community has been isolated, politically and economically,

from mainstream society (Park 493).

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b. The studies revealed that in the areas where the African-American population was

most segregated in 1960 had significantly higher rates of race riots over the

following decades (Olzak, Shanahan, and McEneaney 605).

2. Environmental racism:

a. The study of the LA urban landscape has shown that there are complex functional

relationships between the industrial zones and residential suburbs. Their

development reflects a particular racist formation - the white population has secured

relatively cleaner environments by moving away from older industrial zones (Pulido

12). The segregation of the residential zones leads to the racial isolation.

b. As segregation barriers to residential contact break down, competition increases, which

in turn increases the rate of race riots (Olzak, Shanahan, and McEneaney 606).

3. Legal (in)equality:

a. African-American families do not have equal access to housing because realtors

steer them to certain areas and landlords quote them higher rents. Also, they do not

have equal access to jobs because some employers tell them nothing is available

when they do have openings, or ads are placed only in newspapers read

predominantly by Whites (Koepke 195).

b. The main mechanism by which racial inequality in educational system is produced

is the concentration of African-Americans in central cities, with their high rates of

poverty and difficulty in finding adequate funds for public schools (Walter 45).

4. Poverty :

a. During the period of growing poverty and oppression for the African-American

community, Korean immigrant merchants entered urban neighborhoods and became

economically thriving community by 1990s (Park 493).

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b. Paradoxically, studies revealed that racial unrest does not depend on poverty in the

minority community. It depends more on shifts in residential proximity among new

immigrants and established racial or ethnic groups (Olzak, Shanahan, and

McEneaney 591).

III. Conclusion

The case of the Black-Korean conflict in 1992 LA riots reflected racial problems which

were caused by the dis-balance in social-economic conditions between the two ethnic-racial

communities. The research has indicated that the key factors such as segregation, environmental

racism, and legal inequality are crucial in producing racial unrest. Contrary to this, the research has

also indicated that a conflict is not always provoked by the poverty level in the communities

racial gaps in poverty are less likely to provoke riots (Olzak, Shanahan, and McEneaney). In

certain cases the tension is caused by either continuous isolation of a community, or by shifting

ethnic-racial groups which causes an intensive interaction between them.

To sum up, economic stability and legal system are crucial in creating balance in the

multiethnic society. However, it is important to mention that the Black-Korean conflict had

socioeconomic implications as well as purely racial based on stereotypical perceptions of one

another. The latter is confirmed by research which indicates that the factor of the Other is

fundamental in ethnic-racial conflicts. It contradicts with the thesis of the current research, however,

it opens up new perspectives for the further research.

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Introduction

Can we all get along? this question asked by Rodney King, sounds rhetorical. Despite

the fact that almost five centuries have passed since the first African slaves were brought to North

America, the African Americans still have a double identity based on the color of the skin Black,

and the nationality - American (Philipsen). Although the African-American Civil Rights

Movement succeeded in large-scale progress of breaking down racial discriminations, obstacles to

equal opportunities and conditions to all the members of the multiracial society maintained. The

LA riots in 1992 alarmed a problematic reality of racism in America in the late 20th century. The

Upraising became the most deadly and costly race riots in U.S. history. It also brought

attention to the Korean population in Southern California. The clash between the African-

American and Korean-American ethnic-racial groups during the LA riots was caused by the biases

that developed due to absence of direct communication. The post-riot research showed that these

communities were trapped in stereotypical perception of each other: many Korean immigrants had

developed the negative image of African Americans as "lazy, complaining criminals from the

movies (Cheung). Koreans, on the other hand were perceived as hard working and industrious

merchants a model minority the members of which treat African American customers with

disrespect.

Perceptions about America of the two ethnic-racial groups also varied as each of them had the

different historical, economic and ideological experience in the country. The complex social

relations between the communities were intensified by the economic situation within the groups:

inequality in educational system, limited access to jobs, and segregation of the residential zones of

African-American communities are the reflections of their historical past in America. However,

by the majority of Korean immigrants America was perceived as a land of opportunities.

 Nazaryan 6

Paradoxically, the research revealed that the poverty level in the minority community is less

likely to provoke racial unrest (Olzak, Shanahan, and McEneaney). This factor indicates new

directions for the further research. However, the current research focuses mainly on the economic

inequality and social vulnerability as the cause of the interracial tension during the LA riots in

1992.

It is important to understand the dynamics of causes of riots. The research on the prior history

of the riots in the period of ten years between 1960 and 1970 has not indicated a direct relation

between the unemployment rate and the rate of race riots. Moreover, the study has revealed that

the higher rate of poverty among the non-white population does not increase the number of race

riots (see fig.1).

3.97
3.5

2.8 2.86 2.8 2.74 2.86 2.86

0.163 0.12 0.169 0.12 0.406

0.168 0.12 0.388
0.174 0.1190.367
0.163 0.1210.383
0.168 0.12

MODEL 1 MODEL 2 MODEL 3 MODEL 4 MODEL 5 MODEL 6

Proportion non-White,1960 Unemployment rate, 1960

Non-White poverty rate, 1959 Number of previous riots

Fig.1. the data for this chart is taken from the Table 3 - Coefficients from Weibull Model of Race riots

Measuring the Effects of Unemployment, Black Poverty, and Residential Segregation on the Rate of Race

Riots in 55 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (Olzak, Shanahan, and McEneaney).

As it is indicated by the research, one of the significant causes of riots are the demographic

shifts. The demographics of South Central LA in the period of thirty years from 1960 to 1990 are
 Nazaryan 7

dynamic, changing from a predominantly African-American stronghold to a multi-ethnic mix,

mostly of Latinos and a small population of Asians (see fig.2). As it is mentioned in the article by

Olzak, Shanahan, and McEneaney the influx of new ethnic immigrants initially raises the

importance of ethnic and racial boundaries. The residential isolation initially reduces interracial

contact while raising racial solidarity within the group. However, as racial barriers break down,

competition and conflict increase between ethnic-racial communities.

Fig.2. The demographics of South Central LA in the period of thirty years changing from a

predominantly African-American stronghold to a multi-ethnic mix. http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-

1111103-101742/unrestricted/Watts_thesis.pdf
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Works Cited

Cheung, King-Kok. (Mis)interpretations and (In)justice: The 1992 Los Angeles "Riots" and

"Black-Korean Conflict", MELUS, vol. 30, no. 3, Fall 2005, pp. 3-40. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/30029771

Koepke, Deanna. Race, Class, Poverty, and Capitalism, Race, Gender & Class, vol. 14, no. 3/4,

2007, pp. 189-205. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41675299

Olzak, Susan, Shanahan, Suzanne & McEneaney, Elizabeth H. Poverty, Segregation, and Race

Riots: 1960 to 1993, American Sociological Review, vol. 61, no. 4, Aug. 1996, pp. 590-

613. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2096395

Park, Kyeyoung. "Use and Abuse of Race and Culture: Black-Korean Tension in America",

American Anthropologist, New Series, vol. 98, no. 3, Sep. 1996, pp.492-499. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/682717

Philipsen, Dirk. Investment, Obsession, and Denial: The Ideology of Race in the American

Mind, The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 72, no. 2, Spr. 2003, pp. 193-207. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3211169

Pulido, Laura. "Rethinking Environmental Racism: White Privilege and Urban Development in

Southern California", Annals of the Association of American Geographers, vol. 90, no. 1,

Mar. 2000, pp. 12-40. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1515377

Walters, Pamela. "Educational Access and the State: Historical Continuities and Discontinuities

in Racial Inequality in American Education", Sociology of Education, vol. 74, Extra Issue:

Current of Thought: Sociology of Education at the Dawn of the 21st Century, 2001, pp.

35-49. JSTOR, http:// www.jstor.org/stable/2673252