Episode One: Faith

A story about what it means to spend a lifetime – and to build a friendship - dedicated to uniting the Black community and Korean community, 30 years after the LA Civil Unrest.

Guests:  Pastor, J Edgar Boyd, Pastory, First A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles and Emile Mack, Executive Vice President of the Korean American Federation of LA (KAFLA).

Reverend “J” Edgar Boyd is the Pastor of the 148-year-old First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles (FAME), the oldest African American church in Los Angeles. Assigned to the church in 2012, Pastor Boyd leads a congregation of thousands and emphasizes Biblically-based spiritual practices, stewardship, congregational involvement. In addition to ministering to the spiritual needs of the congregation, he has empowered the church’s leadership (through a commission system) to more proactively address the overall health, social and educational needs of the parishioners and the larger diverse communities in Los Angeles. Rev. Boyd was pastor of Bethel AME Church of Los Angeles at the time of the 1992 Civil Unrest and was called to the scene of several conflicts between the Black community and the Korean community to help foster and promote peace.

Emile Mack was one of the Los Angeles firefighters called to battle blaze after blaze as projectiles were hurled at them and as gun battles broke out between Korean merchants and looters during the 1992 Civil Unrest. Mack was a post Korean War orphan, adopted by a South-Central Los Angeles African American family.  He joined the LA Fire Department and rose to Chief Deputy second-in-command. He is now the Executive VP of the Korean American Federation of LA; Board Member, Biddy Mason Foundation, the outreach ministry of the First AME Church in LA (FAME).

Producer: Elle Davidson, USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism