The Family Red Apple boycott, also known as the "Red Apple boycott", "Church Avenue boycott" or "Flatbush boycott",[1] was the starting point of an eighteen-month[2] series of boycotts targeting Korean-owned stores which The New York Times described as "racist and wrong."[3] It began in January 1990[4] with a Korean-American-owned shop called Family Red Apple at 1823 Church Avenue in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn and extended to other stores, both within and beyond the original neighborhood.[3]
class=notpageimage|
Location of Family Red Apple on a map of New York City.
The boycott coincided with the economic downturn and recession that had exacerbated poverty, crime and drug use in underprivileged New York neighborhoods during the first half of the 1990s. The racially-motivated boycott presaged the Crown Heights riot the following year, which further compromised relations between Jewish-American and African-American communities in the borough, and diminished support for mayor David Dinkins' tenure in the city.
During the latter half of the 1990s, as crime and unemployment rates plummeted in the city, community relations between erstwhile black protesters - some of whom were radicalized by the racialist rhetoric espoused by black nationalists (such as Robert (Sonny) Carson) and Asian and Jewish residents generally improved. As early as 1991, the Family Red Apple boycott ended amicably, with a "steady stream of customers" frequenting the Korean-owned grocery store after the previous owner relinquished his lease.[5]
The boycott was sparked by an alleged assault of a Haitian American woman, Giselaine Fetissainte, by a Korean-American shopkeeper. The woman alleged that she had been searched[6] and then struck by three of the shop's employees. The shopkeeper said that the woman had refused to pay for store items and that she had not been attacked. The boycott was led by Robert (Sonny) Carson, a local activist and black nationalist, and George Edward Tait, a community activist and educator. The incident led to public criticism of New York City'sMayorDavid Dinkins for failing to end the protest.[7]
Threatened escalation
Carson threatened the storeowners that the boycott would escalate, stating "in the future, there will be funerals not boycotts".[8] Police discovered 18 Molotov cocktails on nearby rooftops.[9] In one instance the boycott turned violent, when a black protester attacked a Vietnamese man with a claw hammer while other black protesters shouted "Koreans go home". Race relations were less dire than people feared, but at the time the prospect of racial unraveling seemed real.[10]
A New York City judge, Gerald S. Held, issued an order barring the demonstrators from picketing within 50 feet (15 metres) of the Korean stores. However, the NYPD refrained from enforcing the order, saying it involved a civil dispute.[11] The mayor's office attempted to mediate between the two sides. Eight months into the boycott, with the picketers continuing to refuse to cooperate, Dinkins made a personal effort at reconciliation by shopping at the grocery shop.[12] Dinkins's effort was received well by the Korean storeowner but was met with curses from the black picketers. Dinkins's symbolic gesture did not end the boycott.[12]
Related events
Family Red Apple was not the only store affected. Seven months after the first boycott,[4] another one began in Brownsville, another Brooklyn neighborhood.[3]
This boycott elicited a stronger response by the Dinkins administration.[13]
Resolution
The boycott ended after the owner of Family Red Apple sold out his lease to another Korean-American.[14] The store reopened three days later and had a steady stream of customers.[2]
Criticism of Mayor Dinkins
Mayor Dinkins was criticized in the press for his administration's handling of the affair. The situation was described as[3]
"not just one boycott but a gratuitous strike against a Korean-owned grocery across the street."
It was also noted that
"leaflets exhorted blacks to boycott all Korean stores
and avoid shopping with people who do not look like us."
Finger-pointing was also reported:
The mayor blamed the Brooklyn District Attorney
A Deputy Mayor said that boycotts by aggrieved customers are appropriate only as a last resort, not the first, and never against whole groups of people.[3]
The Mayor looks back
In his memoir Mayor Dinkins writes, "I was criticized for not crossing the picket line and ending the boycott by example. I was prepared to mediate the dispute, but I suspected my presence would not have helped at that juncture....In this instance I believed that my participation would do more harm than good."[15] In his memoir Dinkins writes, "It may well be that I waited an overly long time to take this step, but I had faith in the court system and in the rational ability of people to come to satisfactory conclusions among themselves. I may have been wrong on both counts."[16]
New York looks back
This type of "antagonism ... led to boycotts of a half-dozen Korean stores ... since 1984."[8] Seven months after the January 1990 start of the Family Red Apple matter in Flatbush, The New York Times wrote regarding August's[3][4] Brownsville case, "At least the Mayor acted quickly this time, and acknowledges the likelihood of a racial motive.[3]
1823 Church Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11226 in the year 2022
References
^Kim, Claire Jean. ""No Justice, No Peace!": The Politics of Black-Korean Conflict". Trotter Review. (1993): pp. 12-13.
^ ab"A tale of ... may finally have come to an end last week." Janet Cawley (June 2, 1991). "Racial dispute seems to have finally ended". Chicago Tribune.
^ abcdefg "These Boycotts Are Racist, and Wrong". NYTimes.com. August 31, 1990.
^ abcDon Broderick (August 8, 1990). "Cherry Feud Sparks Riot at Korean Deli". The New York Post. p. 12.
^"The News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^Richard Stier (May 2, 1990). "City Hall seeks halt to black boycott of Korean delis". The New York Post.
^Goodman, Walter. "Review/Television; The Boycotting of a Korean Grocery in Brooklyn". The New York Times. July 12, 1990.
^ ab"It started .. Jan. 18" M. A. Farber (May 7, 1990). "Black-Korean Who-Pushed-Whom Festers". NYTimes.com. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
^Maykuth, Andrew. New York Boycott Settles In For The Long Haul. The Inquirer. Philly.com. September 30, 1990 Accessed February 21, 2014.
^Reider, Jonathan. Trouble in Store. New Republic. July 2, 1990. Accessed February 21, 2014.
^Lubasch, Arnold H. "Woman Sues Boycotted Grocery in Flatbush". The New York Times. May 19, 1990. Archived article.
^ ab"Dinkins Tries to Break Black Boycott of Korean Stores". Los Angeles Times. September 22, 1990. from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
^Terry, Don. "Dinkins Responds to 2d Boycott of a Korean Store". The New York Times. August 28, 1990. Archived article.
^"After.. 16-month boycott ... sold... began in January, 1990, when ..." John H. Lee (May 30, 1991). "Grocer Sells Brooklyn Store That Was Target of a Boycott". Los Angeles Times.
^A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic by David N. Dinkins with Peter Knobler April 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^Roberts, Sam. "Their Honors". The New York Times. November 24, 2013. [1]
family, apple, boycott, also, known, apple, boycott, church, avenue, boycott, flatbush, boycott, starting, point, eighteen, month, series, boycotts, targeting, korean, owned, stores, which, york, times, described, racist, wrong, began, january, 1990, with, kor. The Family Red Apple boycott also known as the Red Apple boycott Church Avenue boycott or Flatbush boycott 1 was the starting point of an eighteen month 2 series of boycotts targeting Korean owned stores which The New York Times described as racist and wrong 3 It began in January 1990 4 with a Korean American owned shop called Family Red Apple at 1823 Church Avenue in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn and extended to other stores both within and beyond the original neighborhood 3 class notpageimage Location of Family Red Apple on a map of New York City The boycott coincided with the economic downturn and recession that had exacerbated poverty crime and drug use in underprivileged New York neighborhoods during the first half of the 1990s The racially motivated boycott presaged the Crown Heights riot the following year which further compromised relations between Jewish American and African American communities in the borough and diminished support for mayor David Dinkins tenure in the city During the latter half of the 1990s as crime and unemployment rates plummeted in the city community relations between erstwhile black protesters some of whom were radicalized by the racialist rhetoric espoused by black nationalists such as Robert Sonny Carson and Asian and Jewish residents generally improved As early as 1991 the Family Red Apple boycott ended amicably with a steady stream of customers frequenting the Korean owned grocery store after the previous owner relinquished his lease 5 Contents 1 Events 1 1 Initial events 1 2 Threatened escalation 1 3 Related events 2 Resolution 3 Criticism of Mayor Dinkins 3 1 The Mayor looks back 3 2 New York looks back 4 ReferencesEvents EditInitial events Edit The boycott was sparked by an alleged assault of a Haitian American woman Giselaine Fetissainte by a Korean American shopkeeper The woman alleged that she had been searched 6 and then struck by three of the shop s employees The shopkeeper said that the woman had refused to pay for store items and that she had not been attacked The boycott was led by Robert Sonny Carson a local activist and black nationalist and George Edward Tait a community activist and educator The incident led to public criticism of New York City s Mayor David Dinkins for failing to end the protest 7 Threatened escalation Edit Carson threatened the storeowners that the boycott would escalate stating in the future there will be funerals not boycotts 8 Police discovered 18 Molotov cocktails on nearby rooftops 9 In one instance the boycott turned violent when a black protester attacked a Vietnamese man with a claw hammer while other black protesters shouted Koreans go home Race relations were less dire than people feared but at the time the prospect of racial unraveling seemed real 10 A New York City judge Gerald S Held issued an order barring the demonstrators from picketing within 50 feet 15 metres of the Korean stores However the NYPD refrained from enforcing the order saying it involved a civil dispute 11 The mayor s office attempted to mediate between the two sides Eight months into the boycott with the picketers continuing to refuse to cooperate Dinkins made a personal effort at reconciliation by shopping at the grocery shop 12 Dinkins s effort was received well by the Korean storeowner but was met with curses from the black picketers Dinkins s symbolic gesture did not end the boycott 12 Related events Edit Family Red Apple was not the only store affected Seven months after the first boycott 4 another one began in Brownsville another Brooklyn neighborhood 3 This boycott elicited a stronger response by the Dinkins administration 13 Resolution EditThe boycott ended after the owner of Family Red Apple sold out his lease to another Korean American 14 The store reopened three days later and had a steady stream of customers 2 Criticism of Mayor Dinkins EditMayor Dinkins was criticized in the press for his administration s handling of the affair The situation was described as 3 not just one boycott but a gratuitous strike against a Korean owned grocery across the street dd It was also noted that leaflets exhorted blacks to boycott all Korean stores and avoid shopping with people who do not look like us dd Finger pointing was also reported The mayor blamed the Brooklyn District Attorney A Deputy Mayor said that boycotts by aggrieved customers are appropriate only as a last resort not the first and never against whole groups of people 3 The Mayor looks back Edit In his memoir Mayor Dinkins writes I was criticized for not crossing the picket line and ending the boycott by example I was prepared to mediate the dispute but I suspected my presence would not have helped at that juncture In this instance I believed that my participation would do more harm than good 15 In his memoir Dinkins writes It may well be that I waited an overly long time to take this step but I had faith in the court system and in the rational ability of people to come to satisfactory conclusions among themselves I may have been wrong on both counts 16 New York looks back Edit This type of antagonism led to boycotts of a half dozen Korean stores since 1984 8 Seven months after the January 1990 start of the Family Red Apple matter in Flatbush The New York Times wrote regarding August s 3 4 Brownsville case At least the Mayor acted quickly this time and acknowledges the likelihood of a racial motive 3 1823 Church Ave Brooklyn NY 11226 in the year 2022References Edit Kim Claire Jean No Justice No Peace The Politics of Black Korean Conflict Trotter Review 1993 pp 12 13 a b A tale of may finally have come to an end last week Janet Cawley June 2 1991 Racial dispute seems to have finally ended Chicago Tribune a b c d e f g These Boycotts Are Racist and Wrong NYTimes com August 31 1990 a b c Don Broderick August 8 1990 Cherry Feud Sparks Riot at Korean Deli The New York Post p 12 The News Google News Archive Search news google com Retrieved August 19 2020 Richard Stier May 2 1990 City Hall seeks halt to black boycott of Korean delis The New York Post Goodman Walter Review Television The Boycotting of a Korean Grocery in Brooklyn The New York Times July 12 1990 a b It started Jan 18 M A Farber May 7 1990 Black Korean Who Pushed Whom Festers NYTimes com Retrieved February 21 2014 Maykuth Andrew New York Boycott Settles In For The Long Haul The Inquirer Philly com September 30 1990 Accessed February 21 2014 Reider Jonathan Trouble in Store New Republic July 2 1990 Accessed February 21 2014 Lubasch Arnold H Woman Sues Boycotted Grocery in Flatbush The New York Times May 19 1990 Archived article a b Dinkins Tries to Break Black Boycott of Korean Stores Los Angeles Times September 22 1990 Archived from the original on December 23 2014 Retrieved February 25 2014 Terry Don Dinkins Responds to 2d Boycott of a Korean Store The New York Times August 28 1990 Archived article After 16 month boycott sold began in January 1990 when John H Lee May 30 1991 Grocer Sells Brooklyn Store That Was Target of a Boycott Los Angeles Times A Mayor s Life Governing New York s Gorgeous Mosaic by David N Dinkins with Peter Knobler Archived April 29 2014 at the Wayback Machine Roberts Sam Their Honors The New York Times November 24 2013 1 Coordinates 40 38 59 N 73 57 45 W 40 649849 N 73 962477 W 40 649849 73 962477 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Family Red Apple boycott amp oldid 1136947292, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
