Issue of Brotherhood Crusade Funding Heats Up Over Boycott

The controversy over Brotherhood Crusade leader Danny Bakewell’s campaign to shut down a Korean grocery store moved to a new front Wednesday, as his backers and detractors clashed over whether Los Angeles County government workers should fund his organization through payroll deductions.

On one side is a coalition of black county employees and social service agencies who, while declining to endorse the boycott, said Wednesday that the Brotherhood Crusade does good work and should not suffer as a result of Bakewell’s actions.

But his detractors, including the county Human Relations Commission and the Chicano Employees Assn., contend that he is stirring up racial animosity and that the county should not sanction his behavior by allowing his group to receive money through government payroll deductions.

“We are urging a boycott of any contributions to Danny Bakewell,” said Raul Nunez, president of the Chicano Employees Assn., which represents about 2,000 county employees. “It is completely inappropriate for Mr. Bakewell, who heads this agency which distributes charitable dollars, to be doing what he is doing.”

At issue is Bakewell’s leadership in a boycott against a Korean grocer who, in an action that police said was justified, fatally shot a black man in South-Central Los Angeles earlier this year. Bakewell, joined by black church leaders and neighborhood activists, has criticized the police probe, vowing to continue his “selective buying campaign” until the investigation is reopened.

Bakewell has insisted that he is championing the boycott as an individual, not as a representative of the Brotherhood Crusade--an explanation that officials in charge of the payroll deduction program have accepted.

The payroll deduction flap flared earlier this month when the county Human Relations Commission’s president complained that Bakewell left the county in the “troubling position” of supporting the Brotherhood Crusade while disagreeing with the boycott.

The dispute has taken on a sense of urgency because the county is about to expand its payroll deduction program, currently limited to the United Way and Brotherhood Crusade. Plans call for the addition of four more groups, including the United Latino Fund, a group that was founded in part by Nunez of the Chicano Employees Assn.

At Wednesday’s press conference, officials of the Black Organizations Alliance implied that the Chicano Employees Assn. is trying to exploit the boycott controversy to help its own fund-raising efforts.

“We are concerned about the fact that those who are creating this controversy have motives relative to trying to obtain a portion of those charity contributions, trying to get into the county system,” said Anthony Samad of the alliance, which represents local black groups. “We need to look between the lines.”

During their heavily attended press conference, Samad and other alliance leaders refused to identify the Chicano Employees Assn. by name. “Just check the record and you will know,” Samad said.

Although Bakewell was not at the press conference, he said in a later interview that he applauds the alliance’s efforts and supports the United Latino Fund’s attempt to join the county payroll deduction plan, despite the criticisms.

“I find it ironic,” Bakewell added, “that (Nunez) has so much to say about me never having met me.”

This is not the Chicano Employee Assn.’s first confrontation with Bakewell and the county. Nunez’s organization obtained a court order last year banning the county’s practice of requiring employees to attend solicitation drives by the United Way and Brotherhood Crusade.

To skirt the restrictions, Nunez contends, Bakewell recently pushed a bill through the state Capitol that would allow such solicitations on county time. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Diane Watson, was approved by the Legislature and awaits Gov. Pete Wilson’s signature.

Nunez maintains that Watson sponsored the bill “as a favor” to Bakewell. But a Watson spokesman said the senator was asked to carry the legislation not only by Bakewell but also by county officials and the United Way. He said the bill will allow only voluntary solicitation and will not overturn the court ruling.

According to county officials, 30% of all county employees participate in the payroll deduction plan. Last year, the United Way raised $1.8 million through county payroll deductions, while the Brotherhood Crusade raised $713,000, said Evelyn Gutierrez, the county official overseeing the program.

In addition to the United Latino Fund, county officials are recommending that the payroll deduction program be expanded to include the Asian-Pacific Community Fund, the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation and the Environmental Federation of California. The Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the plan in October.