City Services and the Justice System: Do Korean American Storeowners in Baltimore, Maryland Get Equal Treatment? Maryland Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights July 2004 This report of the Maryland Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was prepared for the information and consideration of the Commission. Statements and viewpoints in this report should not be attributed to the Commission, but only to the participants at the community forum, other individuals or documents cited, or the Advisory Committee. The United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency established by Congress in 1957, reconstituted in 1983, and reauthorized in 1994. It is directed to investigate complaints alleging that citizens are being deprived of their right to vote by reason of their race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or by reason of fraudulent practices; study and collect information relating to discrimination or a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice; appraise federal laws and policies with respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice; serve as a national clearinghouse for information in respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin; submit reports, findings, and recommendations to the President and Congress; and issue public service announcements to discourage discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws. The State Advisory Committees By law, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has established an advisory committee in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The committees are composed of state citizens who serve without compensation. The committees advise the Commission of civil rights issues in their states that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction. More specifically, they are authorized to advise the Commission on matters of their state’s concern in the preparation of Commission reports to the President and the Congress; receive reports, suggestions, and recommendations from individuals, public officials, and representatives of public and private organizations to committee inquiries; forward advice and recommendations to the Commission, as requested; and observe any open hearing or conference conducted by the Commission in their states. This report is available on disk in ASCII and WordPerfect 5.1 for persons with visual impairments. Please call (202) 376-8110. It is also posted on the Commission’s Web site at www.usccr.gov. City Services and the Justice System: Do Korean American Storeowners in Baltimore, Maryland Get Equal Treatment? Letter of Transmittal Maryland Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Members of the Commission Mary Frances Berry, Chairperson Cruz Reynoso, Vice Chairperson Jennifer C. Braceras Christopher Edley, Jr. Peter N. Kirsanow Elsie M. Meeks Russell G. Redenbaugh Abigail Thernstrom Les Jin, Staff Director The Maryland Advisory Committee submits this report, City Services and the Justice System: Do Korean American Storeowners in Baltimore, Maryland, Get Equal Treatment? as part of its respon- sibility to advise the Commission on civil rights issues in the Free State. The Committee approved this report in a vote of 11 to 0, with no abstentions. The Asian American population in Maryland, which includes Korean Americans, grew over 60 per- cent in the last decade according to the 2000 census. While Korean Americans reside throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area, they own and operate many small businesses in the predominately African American inner city. In the 1990s, frictions between the Korean American community and the Afri- can American community developed amid complaints about the treatment of African American pa- trons by Korean merchants and the quality of food sold to African Americans by Korean grocery stores. Adding to the tension were the growing fears of personal safety after a rash of violent robber- ies, shootings, and murders of Korean Americans. The simmering tensions reached a boiling point in the mid-90s after a mostly black jury acquitted an African American suspect accused of murdering a Korean American college student in a robbery. Questions arose as to whether these crimes were racially motivated with accusations that it was “open season” on Korean Americans and their establishments. Korean American storeowners and Korean community representatives complained to the Committee that law enforcement and city gov- ernment failed to respond to their need for police protection and other city services. In addition, lead- ers of both the Korean American community and the African American community sought ways to foster better relationships between the groups. The Committee conducted a community forum to investigate the allegations of discrimination that helped bring attention to the concerns of Korean American storeowners. As a result, Baltimore City’s mayors, municipal departments, and police and fire officials have expanded communication with the Korean American community, and recently enacted federal and state laws now require that language assistance be provided by law enforcement and government agencies. While the report documents iii events from several years ago there are, nevertheless, issues that still need to be addressed by govern- ment officials. The Committee hopes the observations made in this report will help inform these agen- cies so that they can better respond to the needs of Korean Americans and other new immigrant groups, as required. Sincerely, Rev. Douglas B. Sands, Sr., Chairperson Maryland Advisory Committee iv Maryland Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Rev. Douglas B. Sands, Sr., Chairperson Mt. Airy Gary Gerstle Jenkins Odoms, Jr. College Park Maryland City (Laurel) Lea A. Gilmore K. Patrick Okura Baltimore Bethesda Mary Louise Jones Mariana A. Pardo Cumberland Fort Washington Anne Lee Houng-Mai Tran* Timonium Potomac Debra Lemke Chester L. Wickwire** Westminster Baltimore Arthur Nierenberg* Gilberto Alejandro Zelaya, II Randallstown Montgomery Village *Former member **Past chairperson, presided at the forum Acknowledgments The Maryland Advisory Committee wishes to thank the staff of the Commission’s Eastern Regional Office. The planning and holding of the community forum, initial report writing, and follow-up re- search were conducted by Edward Darden, civil rights analyst. Ki-Taek Chun, then director of the Eastern Regional Office, provided overall supervision of the project. Ivy Davis, acting director of the Eastern Regional Office, edited the final report draft. Barbara de La Viez updated the report for pub- lication. Dawn Sweet provided editorial services and prepared the report for publication. Dorothy Pearson-Canty and Alfreda Greene provided production and distribution services. The Committee also wishes to acknowledge Chester Wickwire, former chairperson and member of the Committee, for his leadership in developing the project’s proposal and convening the forum, and former members Arthur Nierenberg and Huong-Mai Tran for their invaluable contributions during the planning and holding of the Committee’s forum. v [blank page] vi Contents Chapter 1: Background.......................................................................................................................1 Purpose of the Forum.......................................................................................................................1 Organization of the Forum...............................................................................................................2 Organization of This Report ............................................................................................................3 Chapter 2: Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics of the Baltimore Area ..................5 Urban Losses, Suburban Gains........................................................................................................5 The Central City: Majority Black, Highly Segregated ....................................................................6 Sharp and Rising Inequality.............................................................................................................6 Whites and Asian Americans Concentrated in the Suburbs ............................................................7 Business Ownership by African Americans and Asian Americans.................................................8 Chapter 3: Chronology of Key Events Leading Up to the Forum...................................................9 The Renovation of Lafayette and Belair Markets............................................................................9 The Boycott and Closure of Canaan Food.....................................................................................10 The Campaign to Close Chang’s Mart ..........................................................................................11 The Joel Lee Case..........................................................................................................................11 The Shootings of January 1997 .....................................................................................................12