African-American, Jewish, Korean and Latino civil rights leaders held a press conference on August 21 to denounce Wal-Mart in the wake of the Andrew Young controversy.

Young, the former Atlanta mayor and civil rights movement icon, resigned as a paid spokesman for the company after making inflammatory remarks critical of minority owners of small businesses. Young has since apologized for the incident, which came to light after LAANE distributed copies of a Los Angeles Sentinel article in which the statements were made.

At the press conference, leaders from a broad array of communities charged that Wal-Mart itself has a long track record of playing on racial divisions and exploiting the civil rights legacy of African-Americans. The retail giant is also a key factor in the demise of local businesses in communities throughout the country.

The leaders—including Rev. James Lawson Jr., who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. for a decade—called upon Wal-Mart to stop its public relations offensive and begin to address the real needs of urban communities, including living wage jobs, affordable health benefits, support for minority-owned businesses, and a meaningful role for residents in decisions over large-scale economic development projects.

“The issue today is not Andrew Young, the issue is Wal-Mart,” said Lawson, Board President of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. “Wal-Mart has positioned itself squarely in the path of workers and communities seeking to realize Dr. King’s dream of civil and economic equality.”

Other speakers at the press conference included Minister Tony Muhammad, Western Regional Director, Nation of Islam, Rev. Eric Lee, Executive Director, Southern Christian Leadership Conference L.A., Daniel Tabor, Coalition for a Better Inglewood, Daniel Sokatch, Executive Director, Progressive Jewish Alliance, and Jiwon Hong, Board Member, Korean Resource Center. The event was held at the L.A. office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which played a seminal role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

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Additional Resources

[Wal-Mart] Civil Rights vs. Retail
Los Angeles City Beat - August 24, 2006