Koreans and Latinos Rally Behind Drivers License Law

Bridges Ethnic Media Digest

NCM, News Digest, Compiled and edited by Pueng Vongs, Posted: Oct 23, 2003

Latinos aren't the only group opposing California Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's promise to repeal the law granting drivers' licenses to undocumented immigrants. A petition is circulating in the strip malls of Los Angeles' Koreatown asking the governor to view SB 60 as a civil rights issue, not a political one, reports the Korea Times in Los Angeles.

Gi Suk Chon of the Korean Driving School Association (KDSA) in Los Angeles is among those passing the petition among Korean immigrants. "Driving is not a matter of being legal or illegal, it is a daily necessity," says Chon. Licenses are also needed to ensure safety on the road, proponents of the law say.

KDSA and Latino organizations are planning a demonstration backing the law at the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Los Angeles.

Mr. Kim, an undocumented immigrant who lost his job in Korea during the economic crisis in 1997and immigrated to the United States in the same year, is one beneficiary of the law. "The passing of SB 60 will make my life here much easier," he says.

The petition drafted by the Civil Rights Committee for the Undocumented emphasizes that Schwarzenegger, himself an immigrant, should give other immigrants an opportunity to start a new life.

Is a Backlash Against Undocumented Immigrants Returning to California?

Pilar Marrero, political editor of Los Angeles Spanish-language daily La Opinión, reports that one of the most controversial ballot initiatives in California history, Proposition 187, which in 1994 sought to eliminate public services for undocumented immigrants, has been resurrected by backers who hope it will qualify for the November 2004 ballot.

Ron Prince, Prop. 187’s author, is at it again, reports Marrero. Although Prop. 187 was overturned by the courts, Prince has presented another ballot initiative with the same name, “Save Our State,” or SOS, according to Marrero’s Oct. 20 column. Prince has presented the new initiative to state authorities, who must approve the paperwork before backers can begin collecting signatures to qualify it for the ballot, Marrero writes.

Marrero calls the new initiative “Daughter of 187” and says that it is part of a wider “deja vu” that Latino activists, especially veterans of the 1990s immigration battles, are feeling right now, as governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger prepares to take office. Schwarzenegger already angered Latino activists by promising to repeal SB60, the California law that after Jan. 1, 2004, will make it possible for undocumented immigrants in the state, who number at least 2.5 million, to receive drivers’ licenses.

Taxis: Vehicle for Racial Profiling, Violence

A new report on cabbies in the nation's capital calls attention to what many in the African American community already know: taxi drivers regularly drive by black customers, reports the BlackPressUSA.com, an Internet news source.

In response to the report by the Washington D.C. Equal Rights Center, District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams, who is African American, asked his Taxi Commission to review its policies. “I’ve had the same experiences here as well as in other cities. Stereotyping isn’t right. Whether it’s stereotyping by race or by red-lining certain areas, it is repugnant to all of us, ”says Williams

The issue was dramatically illustrated in 1999 when actor Danny Glover and his 23-year-old daughter waved futilely at five cabs in New York City and went public with his anger and frustration, writes Hazel Trice Edney.

In D.C., a citizen can file a formal complaint against drivers who pass them up, and drivers can be fined up to $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for each subsequent violation.

Taxi driver Joel Folorunsho, a native of Nigeria, says he was robbed by a
man he ignored at first and then returned to pick up. He said the experience stuck with him. “These young guys also, I don’t pick them up because they’re very, very vicious. It’s not a question of race," says Folorunsho. "Even white guys, if they don’t look right, I don’t pick them up. You just never know.”

Many blacks say repeated offenses, like seeing cabs drive by them, gnaw at them and erode their feelings of dignity and well-being.

***

At the Capitol, a delegation of Sikhs called on the White House to appoint a member of their community to a top post to counter the racial profiling and hate crimes Sikhs have been subjected to since Sept. 11, reports the weekly India Abroad.

After the terrorist attacks, Sukhpal Singh Sodhi, a taxi driver in San Francisco was shot dead on the job though police insist it was not a hate crime. But the family point out his money and valuables were not touched.

His brother, gas station owner Balbir Singh Sodhi was killed in Mesa, Ariz. by Frank Silva Roque who thought he was exacting revenge for the World Trade Center attacks. Roque was found guilty of the hate crime killing and sentenced to death, the first such verdict in a killing stemming from 9/11.

A third brother, Harjit Singh Sodhi, was among the delegation that met with White House Office of Public Liaison Director Tim Goeglein. Dr. Rajwant Singh, a Washington dentist and National Chairman of the Sikh Council of Religion and Education, who led the delegation said "There is a growing sense within the community that it is high time we seek a position at the table, given our numbers and economic strength."

Since 9/11 the Sikh community has tried to develop a close relationship with the White House and met with President Bush as well as his chief political adviser, Karl Rove.

Harjit Sodhi said despite the losses his family suffered "America is our homeland. We will do whatever to make our community strong wherever we live."

Asian Athletes Attract Bile, Envy

Asian American activist groups say Australian professional golfer Jan Stephenson took a swing at Asian female players when she said they are "killing" the tour with their lack of emotion and language skills, reports the Korea Times.

On Oct. 17,the Korean American Coalition (KAC) and 14 other Asian American organizations sent letters of protest to LPGA Commissioner Ty Votaw, calling for the LPGA to issue a formal condemnation of Stephenson’s comments to its players, sponsors and the press.

In the November issue of Golf magazine, Stephenson was quoted as saying, “Asians are killing our tour. Absolutely killing. Their lack of emotion, their refusal to speak English, when they can speak English. They rarely speak English.”

Stephenson released a statement of apology on Oct. 11, after Asian women players including the Korean golf sensation Se Ri Pak took offense at her remark.

But the Asian American groups' protest calls for Stephenson to issue a verbal apology through a joint press conference with Asian American community leaders.

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New York Yankee left-fielder Hideki Matsui is making a splash as only the second Japanese player to play in a World Series game. A major force for the Tokyo Giants where he hit 50 home runs last year, Matsui is the odds-on favorite to win the World Series Most Valuable Player award should the Yankees go on to win the series against the Florida Marlins, says Kenji Taguma, editor of the Nichi Bei Times, a Japanese American publication. “He had game-winning hits in games two and three,” says Taguma.

After the Yankees dropped the opening game in Yankee Stadium to the Marlins, it was Matsui who lifted the team with a three run home run in the first inning and behind Andy Pettitte, the team coasted to a 6-1 win. In game three in Florida, Matsui came up against Josh Beckett, the Marlin’s best pitcher to break a 1-1 tie batting in a run, leading to another 6-1 win.

Before Matsui, the best known Japanese player was Seattle Mariner’s Ichiro Suzuki who won the American League MVP award and the Rookie of the Year award in 2001, his first year in Major League Baseball. But Suzuki is a slap hitter with puny power figures hitting .312 with 13 home runs and 62 rbis in 2003. Matsui hit .287 with 16 home runs and 106 rbis.

Matsui is also a consummate pro, according to Taguma, “a real gentleman” and is at ease dealing with the press and the public.

Kapson Lee, Aruna Lee, Donal Brown, Sandip Roy, Marcelo Ballve contributed to this report.

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