Episcopal Press and News
Episcopalians Respond with Aid and Prayers in the Wake of Los Angeles Riots
Episcopal News Service. May 13, 1992 [92105]
Catheryn Franklin, Assistant Editor of Episcopal News, the diocesan newspaper in Los Angeles
Spared destruction in the city's worst rioting, churches in the Diocese of Los Angeles mobilized quickly to offer physical and emotional support to a dozen congregations most deeply affected by the violence in the wake of a verdict acquitting four white police officers of beating black motorist Rodney King.
Funds from Bishop Frederick Borsch's discretionary fund and a $25,000 emergency grant from the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief were quickly dispersed to rectors of churches with largely black and Korean memberships to help meet their human needs.
Even as church leaders scrambled to mount relief efforts, the steadily expanding violence forced the closure of Diocesan House on April 30. Diocesan staff worked out of the Christian education offices at St. James Church in South Pasadena through the weekend, coordinating offers of help from various churches in collecting food, clothing, and money. Three of the dozen Los Angeles churches eligible for relief set up food and clothing drop-off centers. By Sunday, May 3, food was piled high on the lawn of All Saints Church in Pasadena, where the Rev. Jesse Jackson preached.
In a statement released on May 1, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning said that the violence "compels us to confess that in the 25 years between the hopeful dream of Martin Luther King and the hopeless nightmare of Rodney King, we as a nation have made little moral progress." Browning traveled to Los Angeles, toured riot-torn neighborhoods, and offered words of consolation and promises of financial support from the national church. (See the Newsfeatures section for the text of Browning's statement.)
"Isolation just can't be a part of who we are," Browning said during a May 6 visit to St. Mary's Parish in the hard-hit Koreatown neighborhood. During a service in which he celebrated the Eucharist, Browning said that he felt the "same sense of dismay, shock, and anger" at the scenes of civil unrest in Los Angeles as he did "when the Persian Gulf war began."
"I knew in the deepest recesses of my heart... that I had to come to Los Angeles and stand with you. I had to make that witness," Browning told the 275 worshippers.
Among those Browning listened to during an earlier walking tour of the neighborhood around St. Mary's was 70-year-old parishioner Young Sook Chuong. Through an interpreter, Chuong expressed dismay that the Korean community seemed targeted for much of the violence, and she told of feeling a new sense of fear and depression since the rioting.
Browning told the woman, "I really have come to say that I and the whole national Episcopal Church wish to stand with the people who have been affected by the riots and the destruction."
During an afternoon meeting in St. Mary's parish hall, Browning said that the question now is "how do you translate all that pain and emotion into a constructive response?" Despite deep anger and frustration, Browning said that he also sensed "real hope -- and a determination to stay in the community and rebuild."
Many vented a sense of frustration.
Julia Harris, from St. John's Church in Los Angeles, said that whites have been isolated from African-Americans and the poverty in the ghettos for too long.
The vicar of St. Francis Church in Simi Valley -- the community where the trial was held -- said that she reacted with shame at the verdicts. "I had such a feeling of shame I didn't know what to do," the Rev. Barbara Mudge said. The parish was among the most generous in responding to a special relief drive.
Browning said that he had been asked by reporters to comment on remarks by President George Bush that blamed liberal poverty programs for the riots. "I thought that was an irresponsible comment," Browning said. "It's a much deeper thing. A lot of misdirected values come from an emphasis by both political parties toward consumption."
Before returning to New York, Browning said that he saw congregations moving forward in three areas -- dispersal of immediate relief, cross-cultural training to deal with the issues of racism, and adopting a leadership role in redeveloping the "community that has been so devastated. If that doesn't happen, we'll be back to where we were."
Browning later announced that the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief had designated an additional $300,000 for assistance to the Diocese of Los Angeles, and the committee on investments and trusts would also provide $300,000 to assist in local development projects.
For churches in the Los Angeles area, mobilizing the physical aid after riots was the easy part. More difficult was the struggle to deal with the horror and comprehend the genesis of the forces that sparked the eruption of the violence.
"It may be that the most important thing we can do now is to come together and pray," Borsch told 300 clergy and lay leaders who gathered on May 3 at St. James Church in Los Angeles, while fires still smoldered and National Guard units were posted nearby. "People are angry and upset, deeply saddened and deeply hurt. Many people I talked with today are in desperate situations," Borsch said.
Suffragan Bishop Chester Talton said that he was at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, along with other religious and city leaders on the night of April 29 as violence escalated in South Central Los Angeles. "I find there is a considerable amount of openness to discuss some of the issues we have been avoiding for the last few years," Talton later told reporters.
During the meeting at St. James, several pleaded for an end to racism in society.
"How can we become one with people we sometimes don't want in our churches?" Hispanic Missioner Carmen Guerrero asked. "People cannot go forward in a healthy manner unless we acknowledge what happened. Unless we begin to realize what is going on beyond the wall, we're only kidding ourselves."
Earlier in the day during a visitation to St. Philip's Church in Los Angeles, Borsch stressed the need for resolve in rebuilding the community. "We must have a vision to change the situation," he said. "We do have enough resources in this country if we would only share them."
Many of the parishioners said that they had steered clear of the violence but still felt the impact. During the service, 10 children were confirmed or had their first communions.
Eduardo Bresciani, who prepared the children for the ceremony, said that people in the area, now peppered with burned-out markets, were "afraid to go out of their homes." He added, "The kids have been very broken. They have been crying and asking why all this happened."
Parishioners of churches most affected by the riot returned to St. James Church on May 9 for what was described as a service of healing and hope.
Several speakers from the Korean community called for a new resolve to rebuild lost businesses and foster a new understanding.
"Koreans are seen as rough on the outside, but we are very warm-hearted people," said Steve Rim, from St. Francis Church in Norwalk. "This creates problems for those people who are not aware of our backgrounds. We have to think how to heal and recover from this situation," Rim said. He called for lending a hand "to those who have difficulties in their lives" and learning "each others' culture so we can have a better understanding."
In his sermon at the concluding Eucharist, Bishop Talton sought cooperation among races and cultures. "There is unfinished business in this country," Talton said. "But all of you must work together. Those who have been privileged must be prepared to give up what they have enjoyed if they are sincere."
Diane Porter, executive of Advocacy, Witness, and Justice Ministries for the national church, said that she was "sickened to think how far backward we have gone in the last 12 years." Porter, who accompanied the presiding bishop on his trip to Los Angeles, said that the issue now was "how do we heal the soul -- and rebuild the people, not just the buildings?"
"We must focus on the root causes of racism in our society -- the lack of understanding of our differences, and how power structures contribute to the powerlessness of people," Porter said in an interview. She observed that many still deny the presence of racism and how it pervades American society.
For those who thought the Episcopal Church was overreacting to the racism issue at the General Convention, Porter contended that "racism is still the issue for this society." She said that the results of the church's racism audit will be released in the coming weeks, before the Executive Council meeting in Albuquerque, and that she expects that it will be widely used on the provincial level of the church.