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EMILE MACK
Ex-Deputy Chief, LAFD
Emile Mack is a retired Los Angeles Fire Department Chief and Vice President of the Korean American Federation of LA. He is responsible for many changes in LAFD’s culture that targeted organizational practices, inequity, hostile work environments, and multi-million dollar litigation exposure. In 2009, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa presented Mack with the “Spirit of Los Angeles” award, which recognizes the high-profile community leader who best embodies the spirit and determination of Angelinos.
First off, we know you were adopted. Could you tell us a bit about your adoption story?
I was born shortly after the Korean War, a very difficult time in Korea. I’m told that my mother had to make a choice because it was so difficult to survive at the time. She took me to a police station and told them she couldn’t care for me, so the officers took me to an orphanage. Over here in the United States, my soon-to-be adopted parents attended an event held by an adoption agency at their church. The agency brought in these large books with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pictures of Korean children. And so my mom tells me the story that they were flipping through these hundreds of pictures, and at one point my dad pointed to my picture and said, “He's the one.” And my mom said okay. And she began turning the page, but my dad just put his finger down and said, “He’s the one.” So they sent word to Korea to adopt me, and the adoption agency sent a letter back saying, “Please choose another. He’s too sick.” And my dad told my mom “you write them a letter and tell them you send him or you send no one.” And next thing I know, I’m on the plane here. I grew up in an African American family, right off of Crenshaw and Jefferson. Normally when people are told they’re adopted, they feel accepted. Which is a good thing. But I often think about my adoption and how my family treated me, and you know for me it wasn’t even an acceptance. I never felt different. My family always made me feel like there was no difference between me and them. For me, being adopted was an amazing environment, to feel that I was part of this family. How did you foster a sense of Korean identity as you were going up? Or did you even see that as a priority? Because I spent my whole life in an African American family, that was my identity. That was who I was. I felt comfortable with people. Obviously I look Korean, but I grew up in an African American family. People would come to me and the Africans would say, “You don’t look like us. But you act like us.” And Asians would go “You look like us. But you don’t act like us.” So I could really see my upbringing had created my identity and my personality, who I was. That was how I went about life. Because of my outward appearance, I mixed with all circles. That was always something that helped me because while I was growing up, there were a lot of gangs. The Crips, the Bloods, all those types of things. I guess because of my connection with the African American community, a black gang leader became my friend. It’s a funny story - after my wife and I got married, she and I were sitting there watching National Geographic’s “Street Gangs.” I would always tell her about this guy that always protected me. And shortly into the show, he appeared. And he was giving a history about how he started the counter-gang to the Crips. It was so funny to see him on TV. I never felt a need to figure out who I was. I just am who I am. I really never even thought about it because interacting with all types of people, I never felt this need to question who I am. The thing that first exposed me to the Korean community was the [LA] Riots, when I was assigned a fire truck and sent out the first night of the riots, on a Wednesday. We were the first firetruck sent into Koreatown. Two cars pulled up in front of Payless ShoeSource, and eight guys got out of this car and lined up on the sidewalk, while we stared, wondering what they were doing. And they all pulled out guns and began shooting into the Payless. And within seconds, the Korean store owners came out and began shooting back. It was like a Western corral. The same thing was happening the next block down and all the way down to the Santa Monica freeway. There was this huge cast of smoke covering the entire boulevard. So during the LA riots, did you feel that divide between the two different groups? The riots were my first real “Hello, there’s this issue between the two communities.” That tore me because I grew up African American, but I am Korean. A few years after the riots, I went to this event where they brought Korean clergy and African American clergy together to talk and heal, and they asked me, “How do you feel? How does this affect you?” It hurts me. It hurts me deeply that the two parts of me are at odds. And it leaves me in this awkward state of my two identities not getting along. And I told them, what really helps me is what we’re doing here today. That I see my two communities trying to work together and repair that relationship. That gives me hope. We know that working as a firefighter is a pretty hard job to pursue. What inspired you? I never thought about being a firefighter. It was my friend that got me to even think about it. In high school, the group that I hung out with was all future lawyers, doctors, and businesspeople who were all going to go to UCLA. So I went to UCLA, and people asked me what I wanted to be. I thought, ‘I don’t know, what are all my friends going to be?’ So I took the path to pre-optometry, when suddenly my friend called me and said, “Hey! Let’s become firefighters.” What? I was in college; I was going to become a doctor, like all my friends. And he said, “Well if you don’t want to become one, at least help me.” I said okay. So we went and got all these firefighter study books, and he said, “You know, it’d really make me feel good if you went and took the test with me.” I asked, “Don’t I have to apply or something?” He said, “I already put your application in.” So we went and passed the test. Then he said, “I need to study for the interview, and I need you to go to the fire station with me because you’re a better talker than I am. Let’s go talk to the firefighters and find out about their job!” So here we are in the fire station talking to these guys, and I’m starting to hear stuff. “So you do what? You work 11 days a month? And you make this amount of money? And you go out and you’re helping people and it’s exciting? This sounds pretty cool.” So we passed the interview, and they offered us a job. So now I’m going like, “Uh oh.” But it was at that point where I realized this is a really fulfilling job. When people call you, they have no one else to go to. So you come to them no matter what their problem is, and you solve it. And you’re helping people with their lives. So that just felt right to me. And when they offered the job, I took it. What did your parents and doctor friends say about it? They were like, “You’re doing WHAT?” And my mom was like, “You’re going to become a WHAT? You know how dangerous it is? You know they die?” But my dad was just like (motions thumbs up). He thought it was cool. Mom didn’t. |
Be bold. Be brave. Reach out. Do things that are totally out of your comfort zone. If you feel uncomfortable, that’s good. Because that means you’re doing things that are going to enrich your life. Sitting on your couch your whole life is very comfortable. Don’t do that.
Any lasting memories on the job?
The job is amazing, the exposure and things you get to do. I’ve met Obama, Bush, Biden, all at different ceremonies. I was with Arnold Schwartznegger - he’s funny. We were doing this big exercise out in the valley and the governor was coming to watch. We were waiting in the field, when all of a sudden we heard this “WOMP WOMP WOMP” and there’s a big black helicopter coming in. Rocks and dirt are just flying everywhere and the camera people are grabbing their cameras and running away. So it lands. We’re standing there for like ten minutes, wondering when this guy’s coming out. All of a sudden -- it was almost like a movie -- the door opens up, Arnold stands in the doorway, and he’s all made up. Completely made up. And he comes out of the helicopter -- thump thump -- with these two big bodyguards. And so I go up to greet him and kind of reach through the guards and they are like, “Who are you?” I was like, “I’m supposed to escort the governor around the exercise.” They look at me and step aside an inch. I squeeze my hand through the little crack and introduce myself. It was just like a movie. When I met the presidents, they were also all made up. These guys are always camera ready. The fire service is very exciting. Everything was different. Everything challenged me. We had situations where we didn’t know if we were going to get out or not, but it just made you so determined. One thing about firefighters is that we never give up. Because basically we can’t. It’s really rewarding and very exciting. You’re constantly doing different stuff -- from working with the Mayor and City Council to traveling all over the world...I wouldn’t have done that as an optometrist. Are there a lot of Korean firefighters? No. And actually one of the things I remember very clearly is that when I took over the Training Bureau, we actually went out and talked to a couple of Asians. One had just finished the training academy, which is hard. And they said, “I have to quit.” “Why?” “My family.” And they quit. Another one had gotten completely through the training academy and a year of probation, so he was basically on. Same thing. He had to quit. “My family doesn’t like this, and I’m supposed to be a doctor.” That was in a very short period of time. Two Asians who were very qualified and would have been amazing firefighters -- they both quit. But we are getting more Asians interested now, which is good. But it’s still a small number compared to how big the fire department is. For our final question -- we know that each person has a different perspective on success. Like some of those Asian firefighters who had to quit because their families wanted them to become doctors. What’s your definition, and do you think you’ve reached it yet? My definition of success is that you’re making a difference. Did I have that definition of success when I was younger? No. But now that I’m older, I look back and say “what has truly made me think I lived life?” You can literally go through life sitting on the couch in front of the TV. But does that fulfill you? I look at what fulfills me, which is feeling that I have a purpose, that I have done something to make things better. When I get together with young Koreans, I always tell them, be bold. Truly go beyond what’s comfortable for you. Especially for those who are in college. You are in an environment where you’re with all different races, with people you would never ever encounter in your ordinary life. Take that time and that opportunity to meet people. Don’t stay in your little Korean circle. Korean circle is fine, they’re your support, they’re your homies. And that’s all good and fine. But expand your network. Meet people. Make your connections there, because same thing that happened to me -- one day, you’re going to be at whatever you do and may need to connect with AT&T. And you’re just gonna go, “my white friend from college is now the senior manager of XYZ at AT&T! I’ll call him.” Do you think you’d be able to call him if you didn’t know him? You’d be on a waiting list and probably never get to him. So make your connections now. Reach out, broaden yourself. You become more valuable because you are connected and you have gotten over staying within your Korean community. So be bold. Be brave. Reach out. Do things that are totally out of your comfort zone. If you feel uncomfortable, that’s good. Because that means you’re doing things that are going to enrich your life. Sitting on your couch your whole life is very comfortable. Don’t do that. |