The essays in this collection examine relationships between the Korean American and African American communities in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The contrast between the economic power and lack of political power of Korean Americans and the political power and lack of economic power of African Americans is traced. Essays 2-5 cover Los Angeles, essays 6-8 cover New York, and essays 9-11 cover Chicago. The essays are: (1) "Introduction" (Kwang Chung Kim); (2) "The Multiracial Nature of Los Angeles Unrest in 1992" (Kwang Chung Kim and Shin Kim); (3) "New Urban Crisis: Korean-African American Relations" (Edward T. Chang); (4) "Use and Abuse of Race and Culture: Black-Korean Tension in America" (Kyeyoung Park); (5) "The 1992 Los Angeles Riots and the 'Black-Korean Conflict'" (John Lie and Nancy Abelmann); (6) "The Dynamics of Black-Korean Conflict: A Korean American Perspective" (Heon Cheol Lee); (7) "Conflict between Korean Merchants and Black Customers: A Structural Analysis" (Heon Cheol Lee); (8) "The Middleman Minority Characteristics of Korean Immigrants in the United States" (Pyong Gap Min and Andrew Kolodny); (9) "Contemplating Black-Korean Conflict in Chicago" (InChul Choi); (10) "Portrait of a Community Program: The African American and Korean American Community Mediation Project" (InChul Choi and Shin Kim); (11) "Identity Politics; Chicago Korean-Americans and the Los Angeles 'Riots'" (Jung Sun Park); and (12) "Conclusion" (Kwang Chung Kim). (Each chapter contains references.) (SLD)