As if by fate, African-American Latasha Harlins walked into Soon Ja Du's store a few weeks before the Rodney King beatings. Like King, Latasha Harlins became a victim of white hegemony.
Soon Ja Du shot and killed Latasha Harlins. Like the five police officers who were acquitted for their brutalizing Rodney King, the white judge in the case also gave Soon Ja Du a unjustly lenient sentence. The situation added fuel to an already robust fire over the Rodney King trial. The two issues brought to a head the conflicts that had been brewing under the surface in South-Central Los Angeles. In South-Central Los Angeles, about 30% of the liquor stores were owned by Korean-Americans. Many of those Korean-Americans like Soon Ja Du and her family did not actually live in the communities surrounding their stores. Nor did they employ local black workers as a rule. Korean store owners found themselves in an uncomfortable position. On the one hand, the Korean-Americans were self-employed and finding viable means to support themselves. On the other hand, their presence in a predominantly black community caused racial tensions.
The Rodney King verdict and the Soon Ja Du verdict both climaxed in rioting that caused the deaths of 52 people. Most of the financial burdens of Sa-I-Gu were borne by the Korean-American store owners, who saw their livelihoods go up in flames. The Rodney King riots would go down as the "worst domestic uprising in the 20th century" (Lee 244).
Unfortunately it took a tragedy, a horrific crisis in the American consciousness itself, to clarify the Korean-American experience. Sa-I-Gu brought to light the uniqueness of the Korean immigrant experience, even if by way of violence and ethnic tension. The riots made it possible to view the Korean-American experience in a more honest...
This, obviously, is morally wrong, but as long as people continue to see the world through the lens of race, there are likely to be widespread injustices. It seems to me that there is no easy solution to the problem of racism and lack of social representation of the racial minorities in this country. It would be almost contrary to human biology to suggest that people should be able to
Asian-Americans With Diabetes: Assessing the Intervention PICOT question: How do Asian-Americans with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes perceive barriers to implementing dietary and lifestyles changes to reduce A1C levels in the first 3 months after diagnosis? Evaluation plan Although Asian cuisines have traditionally been regarded as healthier than Westernized diets because of their high fiber and vegetable content, relatively low levels of sugar, and their emphasis on rice vs. highly sweetened starchy grains,
First, it masks society to the continued dearth of Asian-Americans in decision-making positions, both in government and in corporate America. It also stops people in authority from addressing the issue, because the problem is buried. Towards this, the first step is to educate people regarding the folly of the model minority. If Asian-Americans realize that there is a systemic racism that still acts to block their efforts at career advancement,
Sociology / Panethnicity Asian-American Panethnicity -- by Yen Le Espiritu What issue is at stake and what is the author's point-of-view? Before addressing the intellectual question that the author is pursuing in this book, there are some important preliminary concepts that are important to report about this book. There are positions the author takes, points-of-view he sets out to explain, in order to set up the main problems discussed in the book. For example,
Representation of Asian Women: American Television Sitcoms and Media Introduction American Asian women exist within a culture that is at times resistant at providing a realistic portrait of what an Oriental woman is and how she expresses herself. This can be seen in personalities like Margaret Cho, whose sitcom, All-American Girl forced her to see the reality of how America perceived Asian American women and Oriental people in general. These negative images,
Asian Studies Segregation can breed empowerment, by creating self-defined and self-sustaining communities. Asian communities, for example, have been able to maintain identities that are separate from the white hegemony. Terms like Asian-American music, Asian-American literature, and Asian-American humor both promote and challenge social segregation in American society. Hawaiian band Sudden Rush uses the vehicle of music to convey a unique cultural identity, and to resist the appropriation of Hawaiian culture. For example,
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