DETROIT—Racial tensions remain high in Black and Arab communities here after the beating death of 34-year-old electrician Kalvin Porter by two Arab immigrants from Yemen. Adel Altam and Fadhel Mazeb used a stick and tire iron to allegedly beat Mr. Porter to death in front of his five children at the Sunoco gas station where the two men worked.

Both men admit to the attack and are being held without bond on second-degree murder charges, according to police. They will return to court May 28 for preliminary hearings.

Detroit police confirm that one defendant made lewd remarks to Mr. Porter’s 12-year-old daughter, leading to an argument and a fight.

"My children were there and watched their father beaten and choked to death by these men," said Barbara Ann Wright, the victim’s fiancee. She joined protesters at the gas station on the evening of May 18 where she expressed her outrage at the killing.

Ms. Wright expressed some satisfaction that suspects Altam and Mazeb were held without bond, but she is demanding, along with community activists, that the gas station be shut down completely. Some area activists want the gas station and store turned over to neighborhood residents as compensation for Mr. Porter’s wrongful death.

According to WHPR-FM morning talk show host Joann Watson, Sunoco world headquarters was contacted about the killing and issued a formal apology to Ms. Wright and the Porter family.

The gas station’s owner, who is also an Arab and was not present during the incident, also offered to pay for Mr. Porter’s funeral. Ms. Wright declined the offer.

Black community and political leaders have joined protests at the East Side gas station, which has not reopened since the May 14 killing.

The Detroit African American Police Association, among others, have come out publicly charging Mr. Porter’s death was racially motivated.

When questioned by police, Mr. Mazeb admitted fighting with Mr. Porter, hitting him with the tire iron and throwing more punches as the man lay on the ground. But according to police, Mr. Altam said Mr. Porter provoked the incident "for no reason," using the stick. Then, Mr. Mazeb wrestled Mr. Porter to the ground and held him, according to Mr. Altam’s statements, reported by police. The suspects’ attorney, himself a witness, said the killing was self-defense.

State Rep. Ed Vaughn called the death "tragic," and the result of racist attitudes in the Chaldean/Arab community.

"The vast majority of food and beverage stores in the city are owned by Chaldeans and in recent years other Arabs. Most of them have never attempted to make inroads into the Black community. They don’t care about Black folks and don’t want anything to do with us except to take our money," said Rep. Vaughn.

"I believe the killing was racially motivated and needs to be investigated by the Justice Department as a hate crime. The disrespect of African Americans by Chaldeans and the Arab community has been an ongoing problem; it’s not new," commented activist Joe Madison, former executive director of the Detroit NAACP.

Detroit has one of the largest Arab populations outside of the Middle East with more than 200,000 people. After the 1967 riots, Arab Americans gained a foothold in ownership of inner-city stores, replacing fleeing white and Jewish store owners. Most of the Arab store owners are Chaldeans from Iraq.

Arab American business leader Ed Deeb called the killing a tragedy, but not a racial incident.

"There are cultural differences and the men involved were from Yemen, so there was a problem with language," he said. Mr. Deeb helped organize a community meeting along with the Michigan Food and Beverage Association and the Detroit police department in an effort to calm an angry Black community.

According to Mr. Deeb, 70 percent of stores in Detroit proper are Arab-owned, with 52 percent Arab ownership in the surrounding areas.

Many Detroit Blacks accuse Arab businesses of poor treatment, high prices, outdated food and few or no Black employees. Some activists report serious incidents of beatings of Black customers suspected of stealing by store employees, sales of cigarettes to children and sexual harassment of Black women.

"We need to stop spending money with people and companies who are not serving us and who undervalue our lives. We need an organized effort to send a message to merchants," said Rev. Wendell Anthony, Detroit NAACP executive director. Rev. Anthony felt it was premature to call the killing racially motivated.

The NAACP has joined a coalition of Arab/Chaldean American and Black groups formed as a response to the death. The coalition includes the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Urban League, New Detroit, Inc., the Muslim Center, the Arab-American Chamber of Commerce and several others.

The group plans to promote a code of conduct for merchants, training for store employees, and greater access to capital and more business opportunities for Blacks.

"It is obvious that the relationship between Blacks and Arab people is not an ideal one," noted Min. Dawud Muhammad, of the Nation of Islam.

But, Min. Dawud added, the Hon. Louis Farrakhan addressed the problem of disrespect of Blacks and the need for proper behavior last November, during an address to a predominantly Arab audience at the Islamic Center in Dearborn, Mich.

Min. Farrakhan warned business leaders that their religious principles should be evident in the way they treat communities that they service, said Min. Dawud, who oversees Detroit’s Muhammad Mosque No. 1. Min. Dawud also said he has spoken with Ms. Wright, offering condolences and whatever assistance that she might need.

Rep. Vaughn predicts the Porter death will result in more activism and exacerbate racial tensions in the city. "The activist community is very upset," he said.

Kalvin Porter had just proposed to his girlfriend of 10 years, Ms. Wright, the day he died. A fund has been established for his children. Contributions can be made to: The Porter Children’s Fund, c/o First Independence Bank, 44 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48226.