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Author: jvarughese2000
Racial tension also arose in the boycott of a Korean grocer in Flatbush. A Haitian woman, Giselaine Felissaint, reportedly entered the Family Red Apple produce store on Church Avenue and was accused of stealing. When asked to open her bag she refused and her lawyers claimed that at this point she was beaten, while the storeowners claimed that she fell to the floor and was told to await the arrival of police. Some local residents sided with the customer, and refused to shop at the Korean-owned store.
The incident marked tensions between a new immigrant group, Korean-Americans who were rapidly opening small businesses, and the Caribbean-American community. According to an NBC news report, this wasn’t the first time these tensions led to a boycott.
NBC noted that two Korean grocers in Bedford-Stuyvesant were shut down by black boycotters in 1988, and that similar boycotts had occurred in in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and
In Flatbush, the tensions between Korean merchants and black customers sparked a 15-week boycott with 500 picketers stationed outside local Korean-owned shops. The Koreans were dismayed. Bong Jae Jung, owner of the Family Red Apple store at Church Avenue and St. Paul’s Place, stated, “This is not the way of the land of hope that America is supposed to represent.” Along Church Avenue and its surrounding streets, multiple vigils were held to support all the different people who were affected by these [1]
During the years from 1965 to 2000, West Indians opened many stores in Flatbush and nearby neighborhoods, helping to revitalize once-dormant commercial areas. This 35-year period was a time when immigrants from many nations settled in Flatbush and get accustomed to it.
[1] Calvin Sims, “Black Customers, Korean Grocers: Need and Mistrust; Shoppers Complain Of Hostile Treatment, But Choices Are Few,” The New York Times, May 16, 1990.
Nonetheless, there were tensions, including a rupture in police-community relations. That is seen in the case of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant who was tortured by police officers. He was arrested in the midst of a fight outside Club Rendez-Vous on Flatbush Avenue near Glenwood Road in 1997. At the 70th Precinct, a police officer sodomized Louima with a broomstick and later bragged about it, according to court testimony. The officer, Justin A. Volpe, blamed Louima for punching him during a brawl. It was later established that someone else had punched Volpe, who was sentenced to thirty years in prison for his assault on Louima. The case caused anger in Flatbush’s large Haitian community. [1][2]
...the Police Department needed to act quickly and expeditiously to calm the community.
-Police Commissioner Safir
By this time, Flatbush had a large percentage of Haitians and other West Indians. In order to combat these racial tensions that arose in Flatbush, Police Commissioner Howard Safir attempted to add more racial diversity to the ranks, putting more officers in the precinct. Racial tensions continued to grow and Safir and his precinct had to answer to the public. The New York Amsterdam News reported, “In a field deposition, Safir attempted to justify the transfer by stating there was a great potential for civil disturbance, and the Police Department needed to act quickly and expeditiously to calm the community.”This shows how controversial the case had become. If the people who have to keep the city safe do not know how to listen to the public, it becomes much more difficult to do effective police work. Safir also stated, “We need to move some additional African-American police officers into the Seven-O. We’re in the process of doing that.” This was directly after the Louima incident.[3]
[1] David M. Herszenhorn, “A Five-Year Legal Fight,” The New York Times, September 23, 2002.
[2]Joseph Fried, “In Surprise, Witness Says Officer Bragged About Louima Torture,” The New York Times, May 19, 1999.
[3]Charles Brooks. “NYPD transfers spur anger,” New York Amsterdam News, September 23, 1999.
Flatbush’s Caribbean community took part in the annual West Indian American Day Carnival, a massive parade that occurs annually on Labor Day on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. Maria Dasilva came to the Flatbush section to shop for her costume for the huge celebration. She was an immigrant coming from Brazil, a country where carnivals and sambas are common. “There is little difference between the carnivals” in Brazil and the West Indies, she said, “except, you have calypso. We have samba.” The parade has become such a big deal in Brooklyn that Mayor Rudolph Giuliani began to march in the parade himself. However, due to this there was a lot of political tension and agenda surrounding the parade. Once a political leader joins a rather cultural event, it becomes clear that the leader wants to gain the fondness and the support of the people in the event. This was especially evident after the Abner Louima case; outrage over his treatment was evident in the parade.[1][2]
[1] Garry Pierre-Pierre, “Mood Turning Political For West Indian Parade,” New York Times, August 31, 1997.
[2] Charisse Jones, “West Indian Parade Returns to Fill Streets of Brooklyn,” New York Times, Sep 1, 1996.