Latasha Harlins, whose short life came to a violent end in the midst of racial tensions in Los Angeles, California, became a major spark for the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. What do you make of police violence and racism continuing to rob Black girls of their childhoods and, in some cases, their lives? Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, Long Beach residents stymie plan for shelter; they say it wasnt about the homeless people, Linda Kasabian, Charles Manson follower who helped send him to prison, dies at 73, L.A. County agrees to $28.85-million settlement with Bryant family over crash photos, L.A. County moves to require quake retrofits as Turkey-Syria death toll exceeds 50,000, Column: As help pours in for World War II vet, 102, with huge bill, SoCalGas wants a rate hike. [5], A Love Song for Latasha, reimagines the life of Latasha Harlins, a Black girl shot by a convenience store owner in Los Angeles 1991, fueling the 1992 uprising. In March 1991, when Harlins was 15, a store owner accused her of WebLatasha was a 15-year-old African-American girl who was unlawfully shot and killed by a Korean American store-owner. After putting it into her backpack, where it jutted out from the top, she made her way to the counter. ? We did our best to pay just about everyone who was a part of the crew, and some people did it out of love, Allison says. She made the short walk to the market and picked up a $1.79 bottle of orange. Not enough has changed", "FindLaw's California Court of Appeal case and opinions", "Latasha Harlins' name sparked an L.A. movement. Rather than shooting crisp, clear frames that offered a literal recreation of what youre hearing, she wanted to combine the voiceover with fleeting images that suggest visual memories. Latasha Harlins was a 15-year-old girl who was shot and killed on March 16, 1991 by Soon Ja Du, a 51-year-old Korean store owner. For help with production, she turned to her childhood friend Fam Udeorji, who has worked as creative producer on the Childish Gambino video This is America, written for the TV show Atlanta, and was the music supervisor for Creed II. I think the police need to be stripped of all of their power. I spoke with Allison about the process of making A Love Song for Latasha, its Oscar nomination, finding parallels in MaKhia Bryants recent death, and representations of Black girlhood. It is a fictionalized account of the killing of Latasha Harlins and the effects on both her family and the family of the shooter. "[3] Instead she worked closely with Harlins' friends, developing a depiction of their childhoods and South Central Los Angeles. But just for me, as a young girl, acknowledging that there was this secret language happening on the screen, it made me feel like I had a community, a place to be seen and understood. A police officer testified later that injuries Du received may not have all come from the fight with Harlins. [17] The Los Angeles Police Department ballistics report also found that the handgun Du used was altered in such a way that it required much less pressure on the trigger to fire than an ordinary handgun. Outrage ensued after Du testified in court that she acted in self-defense, and the jury convicted her of voluntary manslaughter, which could have carried a sentence of 16 years. On the morning of March 16, 1991, though, Harlins did plan to make a purchase. [19] Karlin resigned from the bench in 1997. WebLatasha Harlins January 1 1976 March 16 1991 was an African-American girl who was fatally shot at age 15 by Soon Ja Du Korean a 49-year-old. Only four years after the family settled into their L.A. apartment, Harlins mother, Crystal, was fatally shot in an L.A. nightclub. Something went wrong, please try again later. He testified that Harlins did not use swear words, but his sisters testimony contradicted that. They dont have to perform for anyone to be important. Tensions were high in the area after just two weeks before, the video of officers pummeling Rodney King came to light. There was no audio on the tape, but the prosecutions first two witnesses--9-year-old Ismail Ali and his 13-year-old sister Lakeshia Combs--testified that there was a sharp exchange and name-calling by Du and Harlins. When you go someplace else, youre always expecting things to be better, said her grandmother, Ruth Harlins. These are people that I knew in high school when I lost my dad, and now their children are a part of this story. Some black activists say the incidents stemmed from racism on the part of the Koreans. Tupac dedicated his song, Keep Ya Head Up, to Latasha Harlins. However, the officers involved in Rodney King's arrest were re-tried. Now 30 years later, a mural honoring the South-Central L.A. teenagers life has surfaced at the Algin Sutton Recreation Center in Los Angeles. Thereafter, Shakur made frequent mention of Harlins in his songs, including in tracks like "Something 2 Die 4 (Interlude)" ("Latasha Harlins, remember that name 'Cause a bottle of juice is not something to die for"), "Thugz Mansion" ("Little Latasha, sho' grown/Tell the lady in the liquor store that she's forgiven/So come home"), "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" ("Tell me what's a black life worth/A bottle of juice is no excuse, the truth hurts/And even when you take the shit/Move counties get a lawyer, you can shake the shit/Ask Rodney, Latasha, and many more"), "White Mans World" ("Rest in Peace to Latasha, Little Yummy, and Kato"), "Hellrazor" ("Dear Lord if ya hear me, tell me why/Little girl like Latasha, had to die")[47][48] and "N.I.G.G.A." When Du's husband, Billy Heung Ki Du, heard the gun go off he raced into the shop to see what was happening and after speaking to his wife, saw Latasha and then fainted. But what is justice today is justice always. Witnesses testified that once inside the store, Latasha [6], In early 2021, a mural celebrating Latasha Harlins was unveiled in front of Algin Sutton Recreation Center. She pitched her idea for a video about Harlins life to her employer, the news website Fusion (now called Splinter). We explained what we were doing, Allison says, and she let us film her daughters with the girl we had playing Latasha that day.. Empire Liquor became a target for protests. Click here to sign up for our email newsletter and get the weeks top stories delivered straight to your inbox. The officers shot him twice with Taser stun darts and then brutally beat him with batons before handcuffing him. . Harlins threw the juice bottle back on the counter and turned to leave the store when Du pulled a .38-caliber handgun and shot 15-year-old Harlins in the back of the head. And I remember Latasha buying that little girl an ice cream. And so I think it is so important for that visibility to exist so Black girls know how worthy their lives are. For five days, Los Angeles burned and the LAPD left much of the city to fend for itself. Judge Karlin suggested that there were mitigating circumstances in the killing of Harlins. In March 1991, when Harlins was 15, a store owner accused her of stealing a $1.79 carton of orange juice, though she had approached the cash register with $2 in her hand. The store owner, Soon Ja Du, grabbed her, they tussled, and after Harlins threw the carton on the counter and walked toward the door, Du shot her in the back of the head. Site Map, 2023 Emerald Expositions, LLC. [39] After the verdict in King's case was delivered, massive riots ensued in Los Angeles, protesting the miscarriage of justice for black victims and racial inequality. In order to break free, the 15-year-old girl struck Du in the face four times, knocking her down. EN. Feder-Haugabook, A. Lastasha and her siblings were taken in by their grandmother, Ruth Harlins, but the youngster was understandably devastated by what had happened to Crystal. In the L.A. courtroom during the trial months later, the Harlins family sat in the front row, praying for justice. I guess it made her think of her mom, said her cousin, Shinese. A video of the incident was given to a local TV station and ignited international outrage. The best-known fact about Harlins, whose friends and family called her Tasha, is that she was killed over a $1.79 bottle of juice. Latasha Harlins voice isnt heard in the film. The shopkeeper, Soon Ja Du, accused Harlins of trying to steal the juice before a scuffle broke out between the two. Ty and Shinese want to create their own community center. The graphic images of the killing of 15-year-old Harlins, captured by a security camera inside the Empire Liquor Market in South-Central Los Angeles, drew gasps in the packed Superior Court courtroom where grocer Soon Ja Du is being tried for murder. She edited the footage herself every night after she shot, to make sure the puzzle pieces she was gathering fit together. In 1982, when Latasha was six years old, her father took a job in a steel foundry while her mother worked as a waitress in a local tavern. She died instantly. Why is it so important, especially now, to humanize Black girls on the screen? Only two weeks before Latasha Harlins walked into Dus Empire Liquor Market, a black man named Rodney King was pulled over by four LAPD officers, three of whom were white, for speeding. Latasha cried whenever she walked past a nearby cemetery. Karlin added, "this is not a time for revenge and no matter what sentence this court imposes Mrs. Du will be punished every day for the rest of her life." She didn't do nothing! WebAllison chose not to include the footage of Harlinss death taken by the stores camera, which was shown on national news and was later used in the trial of the woman who shot her. The Los Angeles natives documentary short A Love Song for Latasha, which was nominated for an Oscar this year and is streaming on Netflix, is a moving tribute from Allison and Harlins loved ones to the young girls life. Riots. VESTER ACOFF: One of the favorite memories we had was when we used to be in the living room dancing and lip-syncing over music like a talent show. I wish MaKhia had someone else to call rather than the police who could have helped in that situation, because theres just no protection when it comes to police. [3] Ava DuVernay programmed the documentary as part of Array 360, and it was then picked up by Netflix. Instead, she sentenced Du to 400 hours of community service, five years on probation and a $500 fine, which is around 385. And she had the money in her hand to pay the lady. Get the latest headlines, releases and insider-gossip direct to your inbox with our Binge-worthy newsletter. That is, until April of 1992, when the verdict came down for Rodney Kings assaulters. So I think we have to move past diversity and understand what it means for Black folks to have power and agency within the industry. When they rejected her pitch, she says, I knew I had to quit and do this story on my own. Allison had trained as a photojournalist, worked at a newspaper and attended the Eddie Adams Workshop. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. WebIts been 30 years since the death of Latasha Harlins, and through the efforts of her family and a new documentary, South Central Los Angeles is embracing her legacy in a new way. Harlens was a student at Westchester High School in Los Angeles, California. MaKhia Bryants murder really makes me upset. [1] She originally pitched it to a documentary organization she worked for, given the approaching 25th anniversary of Latasha Harlins' 1991 death and the 1992 uprising it fueled. Residents shouted Latasha Harlins name as they torched Korean-owned businesses including Soon Ja Dus own Empire Liquor. WebYou will see Latasha being killed. By this time, a city-wide curfew had been enforced. OBard reads a poem that Latasha Harlins wrote, and cries. ACOFF: That morning, Madea - she asked me to go to the store. Photography equipment news and reviews, business and technical advice from top pros, industry news and much more, delivered to your inbox each week. In the aftermath of the riots, LAPD's chief of police, Daryl Gates, resigned and rival gangs called a temporary truce, including the Crips and the Bloods. Thanks for signing up! Latasha, 15, was shot in the back of the head by a Korean woman who owned a South Los Angeles liquor store. They lived near 89th St. and Broadway, just a few blocks from where Latasha would be killed ten years later.[7][8]. Some Koreans and others contend that activists who have called for boycotts at a handful of Korean-owned stores are fanning racial tensions. [11], Shortly before 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 16, Harlins entered the store. He fired at Latasha as she walked away from him from about three feet away from her. Diversity means we see you, but we really dont need to engage with you. You bitch, you are trying to steal my orange juice, the boy quoted Du as saying when Harlins approached the stores counter with currency in her hand and the bottle of juice halfway protruding from her backpack. I never want to believe that a film will humanize anyone, because I really believe humanizing comes from folks in their own consciousness. Two eyewitnesses9-year-old Ismail Ali and his 13-year-old sister Lakeshia Combsdisputed that claim, saying that Du called Harlins a "bitch" and accused her of trying to steal, to which they claimed Harlins replied that she intended to pay for the orange juice. WebIt was a major reason why Korean-Americans believed they were targeted during the 1992 unrest the death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at the hands of a Korean-American in Bryant and Harlins, like so many Black girls in America, have had their lives reduced to the circumstances of their deaths, as videos and images of their final moments continue to circulate for the world to see. [21] Furthermore, Karlin deemed that Du's capacity to act rationally in the situation was undermined by her experience with past robberies. It was 25 years ago that a 15-year-old girl lost her life over a bottle of orange juice. [4] The killing of Harlins came 13 days after the videotaped beating of Rodney King. People think that for Black life to matter, it has to be a cis-hetero life, and until we acknowledge all of the intersections, all of the existences within Black identity, Black women, Black girls, Black queer folks, Black trans folks, Black nonconforming folks, there will never be a solution to this issue. White Judge Joyce Karlin, however, gave Du probation, 400 hours of community service, and a $500 fine. [7][9] Their unstable marriage eventually ended in 1983. According to a young witness named Ismail Ali, who was in the store with his older sister at the time, the middle-aged Soon Ja Du saw the girl and immediately yelled, You bitch, you are trying to steal my orange juice.. [39] The sentencing of Soon Ja Du reflected that of the police officers who beat Rodney King. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. She picked the juice up from the floor, where it had fallen, placed it on the counter, and walked away. I think Im just grateful that we have Black folks who are willing to do the work that is necessary, folks that are willing to challenge policies that are being set in place, people that are willing to march in the street, people that are willing to lay their lives down on the line, people that are willing to tell truth through art, through film, through music, scholars that are giving us the language to understand what it means to build new futures. ROGERS: Walk me through the day Latasha died. [24][25][26] On August 17, 1991, while Du was awaiting trial, a small fire occurred at her store. When I would watch Moesha or Sister, Sister, it meant so much for me to see my existence reflected. They rented a place near 89th Street and Broadway, just a few blocks from where Latasha would later be murdered. One of the businesses targeted was Du's store, Empire Liquor, which was burned to the ground and has never re-opened. How come she can she just die for one bottle of juice?" Du was arrested and when her case came to trial she told the court that she had shot Latasha on self-defence and that she believed her life was in danger. In August 1991, a small fire broke out just before the trial kicked off. All rights reserved. ACOFF: You know, she was a caretaker. [4] Alice Walker and Saidiya Hartman were influences in Allison's approach to creating a missing archive in the absence of home videos or other archival footage of Harlins. MaKhia Bryant. MARTINEZ: Latasha's brother Vester and her sister Christina were 10 and 8 when she died. The Harlins shooting is one of several confrontations between Korean grocers in South-Central and their customers. How did the young Black girls, the young boys that knew Latashahow were they affected by this? Latashas mother, Crystal, who worked as a waitress in a local tavern, was found brutally shot on November 27, 1985, in a Los Angeles nightclub. In many ways, the shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins on March 16, 1991 by convenience store clerk Soon She stated, "Did Mrs. Du react inappropriately? Let me go. . But was that reaction understandable? African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. And I really believe in collaboration to inform the process, to help inspire the visuals, and I wanted to share their truth, their memories, as a way to fill in this archival gap. I said I wanted to know more about Latasha beyond her death, and learn who she was as a person, Allison explains. Do you find this information helpful? You will see Latasha being killed. She insisted that Latasha was attempting to steal a $1.79 bottle of orange juice. It becomes more important for Black girls to see themselves reflected on screens and others to see us reflect it, to humanize them, to provide some form of consciousness and some understanding of why their lives are important in general. Wednesday night, family and community members came out to remember Latashas legacy. Who is that really benefiting? Last fall, she filmed the films final scenes: Ty OBard walks on the beach, her favorite place, talking about how much more she might have accomplished if her old friend had been around to push her forward. What happened to the schoolgirl is now believed to have been one of the contributing factors to the LA riots, which erupted just a few weeks after the appeal courts ruling. [1] At the time, security camera footage of Harlins' death was broadcast widely on television news, but Allison's work does not include it. And 15-year-old Harlins was shot and killed by Soon Ja Du at Empire Liquor in South Central Los Angeles on March 16, 1991. Black residents protested outside of the Empire Liquor Market, and Soon Ja Du was taken into custody. And we are the ones that are understanding how important it is that art is a representation of our current times, that we are forced to confront and be uncomfortable. Though Allison also grew up in South Central, she didnt learn about Harlins until 2016. When I was reading about her, I was disturbed to find that all that existed of her online was the retelling of her final trauma, she recalls. Latasha Harlins was killed just a few years after her mother was shot dead in a South-Central L.A. nightclub. And something that really deeply touched me was some of the young girls that I featured, I went to high school with their parents. The buller hit the 15-year-old in the back of the head and she was killed instantly. And a little girl didn't have enough money. These are the names of two Black girls whose lives were stolen from them, 30 years apart. 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