Tasha died. She decided to use animation to depict Harlinss death, rather than relying solely on the surveillance video. The family moved from Illinois to South Central Los Angeles in 1981. And so thinking about this young Black girl who was taken from everyone, whose life was lost, [I wondered] why this story didnt exist beyond the headline and discussions of trauma and visuals that really produced triggering reactions from the community, from family members and friends that knew her and loved her. THE AFTERMATH OF LATASHAS DEATH. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. You always have dreams.. [9], The documentary short received strongly favorable reviews. [29] However, while tensions had exponentially increased because of the killing of Harlins, they were built on existing conflict that had been present in the community. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. However, on the morning of the shooting, Du was working behind the counter, and her husband was outside resting in the family van. Racial tensions were high, especially between local Korean store-owners and their impoverished black patrons. (2017, September 14). Shocked, Latasha can be seen hitting Du twice, which knocked her to the ground, before she started to back away, after dropping the orange juice in the fracas. After six days of violence, the California National Guard, military and other law enforcement agencies were called in, while the city was placed under curfew. More , December 6, 2019 A police officer testified later that injuries Du received may not have all come from the fight with Harlins. 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. We [talked to] real girls, and I never wanted the image of any of the girls in the film to feel like something that was curated or feel like it was of an actor, but for other Black girls to just see themselves reflected. I wanted it to feel intimate and personal and not invasive at all.. [39] The sentencing of Soon Ja Du reflected that of the police officers who beat Rodney King. But Judge Joyce Karlin gave Du probation instead. Du was tried and convicted of After these riots, a federal trial saw two of the LAPD officers who beat Rodney King finally serve time for their crimes, although they only ended up serving 30 months in prison. because of the force he was using.. [31] The distrust ran possibly even further, because in the same editorial the writer exclaims, "The real question is, why was my brother's brains blown out fighting for those Koreans?" 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. Surveillance video captured the shooting. Du concluded Harlins was attempting to steal, and did not see the money Harlins held in her hand. All Rights Reserved. She didn't do nothing! MaKhia Bryant. Wednesday night, family and community members came out to remember Latashas legacy. . "All you people sitting, applauding over a child killer," Harlins yelled. Latasha Harlins was a 15-year-old African-American girl who was fatally shot by Soon Ja Du, a 51-year-old Korean-born female convenience store owner. A year later, residents of Harlins neighborhood took to the streets in outrage. Denise Harlins, the maternal aunt of Latasha Harlins, led protests outside Karlin's home and the Compton courthouse. MARTINEZ: That's Christina Rogers and Vester Acoff remembering their sister Latasha Harlins. Site Map, 2023 Emerald Expositions, LLC. I for one am sick and tired of less than five percent of this community trying to tell the rest of us what to do, what to think, and what to say. Latashas grandmother was left in charge of her and her two siblings. If they don't validate the existence of other Black women and girls then they have no right to work with me. How come she can she just die for one bottle of juice?" PDN Subscribers get instant access to this site for FREE. So understanding this idea of how loss can deeply affect and disrupt Black girl childhood, I thought it was important for us to talk to the women who were then young girls [when Latasha died, in 1991,] about who Latasha was to rebuild the story, to engage in this process of collective memory and rebirth and archive. [33], Tensions only continued to mount, particularly after police officers were found not guilty of beating Rodney King. Soon Ja Du the markets Korea-born owner saw the orange juice sticking out of Harlins backpack and assumed she was stealing it, even though the teenager had cash in her hand. So what will it take for Black girls to just exist on and off screen? Du claimed to have asked Harlins if she intended to pay for the orange juice, to which Du claimed Harlins responded, "What orange juice?" L.A. would never be the same. In the L.A. courtroom during the trial months later, the Harlins family sat in the front row, praying for justice. Her dad worked in a steel foundary while he mum waited tables to try to make ends meet and provide for Latasha and her younger sister, Christina. Latasha, 15, was shot in the back of the head by a Korean woman who owned a South Los Angeles liquor store. Dus store was looted, set on fire, and never reopened. [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. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Some black activists say the incidents stemmed from racism on the part of the Koreans. But inclusion and agency means that we as Black folks, folks of color, queer folks, trans folks, are the ones who have power, that are making decisions. They remembered being young when Latasha was killed. Du was tried and convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Harlins' death and sentenced to time served, five years of probation, 400 hours of community service, a $500 restitution, and funeral expenses. Two were found guilty, Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon, while two were acquitted. Du observed Harlins putting a $1.79 bottle of orange juice in her backpack. And theres no protection for Black girls when we have to rely on a system that is deeply rooted in white supremacy. In memory, especially when trauma is involved, details are blurry, she notes. She stated, "Did Mrs. Du react inappropriately? [30] Korean immigrant shop-owners had a growing presence in black communities since before the 1970s. Webhow old is alec and kaleb on the shriners commercial. A Love Song for Latasha premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in late April, and was screened at the AFI Docs festival in June. What do you think this says about the academys ability to recognize Black stories, especially those about Black girls? She started to rebel and their relationship turned sour. She had picked up a bottle of orange juice and put it in her backpack and owner, Du, immediately though she was trying to steal it. "Thank everyone for coming out, supporting my sister Latasha Harlins. 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. The officers shot him twice with Taser stun darts and then brutally beat him with batons before handcuffing him. About Us | Only four years after the family settled into their L.A. apartment, Harlins mother, Crystal, was fatally shot in an L.A. nightclub. The neighborhood had its own host of problems during this time. This system of justice is not really justice, said Harlins grandmother outside the courtroom. Du reached under the counter, retrieved a revolver, and fired at Harlins from behind at a distance of about three feet (one meter). A Love Song for Latasha was nominated for an Oscar. 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. However, the officers involved in Rodney King's arrest were re-tried. As the voices of Shinese and Ty are heard reminiscing about their friend Latasha, impressionistic and sometimes fleeting images of little girls togetherwalking together, playing, swimming in a public swimming poolappear on the screen, intercut with footage of a swing set or other places where they played. The shopkeeper, Soon Ja Du, accused Harlins of trying to steal the juice before a scuffle broke out between the two. On November 27, 1985, Crystal was brutally shot dead outside a Los Angeles nightclub by Cora Mae Anderson, Acoff's new girlfriend, leaving Latasha and her younger siblings in the care of their maternal grandmother, Ruth Harlins. A security camera tape showed the entire heart-wrenching event on fuzzy, silent film. "[7] The day of the shooting is depicted in animation, intercut with VHS tape static, to heighten the sense of memory despite the lack of any home movies of Harlins. 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. 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 Korean-American Two years after they moved to LA, Crystal and Sylvester split up but in 1985, Latasha's mother was shot dead outside a nightclub by her ex-husband's new girlfriend. Time now for StoryCorps. Obsessed with Netflix? 4 min read. The youngsters, who were at the store to buy hair gel for their mother, said Du had falsely accused Harlins of trying to steal a $1.79 bottle of orange juice, then after a scuffle threw a stool at Harlins and shot her as the teen-ager walked away. Harlins then picked up the orange juice bottle that dropped during the scuffle and handed it to Du, who snatched the bottle from her, and Harlins turned to leave. I said: This cannot be the only way that this young girl exists. She did some research, and found Harlins cousin and then her childhood friend. It sparked five days of riots across Los Angeles. He said Du feared for her safety because her son had been beaten and forced to pay extortion at the store and she was aware of nearby merchants who had been killed during robberies. [41], Denise Harlins interrupted an awards ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel for Du defense attorney Charles Lloyd. (Harlins death was one of the inciting incidents of the 1992 L.A. race riots, and the trial against her killer, store owner Soon Ja Du, garnered national attention; although Du was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, she received a light sentence of probation and community service. [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. In justifying his directive, he said "[t]his was such a stunning miscarriage of justice that Judge Karlin cannot continue to hear criminal cases with any public credibility. But was that reaction understandable? In the years following Harlins killing, rapper Tupac Shakur provided her with a little hint of justice by ensuring that her name would never be completely forgotten. Sophia Nahli Allison: There were so many intersecting reasons that I wanted to pursue this story. Absolutely. ), Throughout the 19-minute film, Harlins cousin, Shinese Harlins, and her best friend, Tybie OBard, share their memories of Latashalike her aspirations to become a lawyer, her love of basketball, and a memorable poem that she wrote just one month before her life was tragically cut short. Du, 49, sat at the defense table crying after the tape was shown for the first of numerous times during the day and for the first time in public. And so it just became this collective moment of everyone wanting to remember Latasha together, of all these different moments in time connecting for us to share this story. 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. "[41] Since retiring from the bench Karlin has used her husband's surname Fahey. After putting it into her backpack, where it jutted out from the top, she made her way to the counter. Want morePDN? Police concluded that Latasha was not shoplifting and had the $2.00 dollars in her hand when she was killed. (Los The story of Latasha Harlins, who was killed at age 15, is explored in "A Love Song for Latasha," which scored an Oscar nomination Monday. And I want Black girls to see themselves and understand how beautiful and special and just deeply full of grace they are, and how they can be imperfect, unapologetic, and dont have to shift or mold themselves for anyone. 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. She will die in front of your eyes.. After Harlins backed away, Du angrily threw a stool at her. Once Allison had figured out the films narrative arc, she outlined some ideas for what footage she might shoot. 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. 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. I feel so grateful and honored that they would agree to it., At the time, Allison was living and working in Los Angeles while taking a break from getting her masters in visual communication from the University of North Carolina. WebLatasha Harlins was remembered Wednesday by a fervent crowd of about 50, including her grandmother, siblings and aunt, at a vigil in South Los Angeles in the place where she was Now that you about the tragic and senseless murder of Latasha Harlins, check out these 20 moving Civil Right protest photos. When she was six years old, her family moved to South-Central L.A. by Greyhound bus. They rented a place near 89th Street and Broadway, just a few blocks from where Latasha would later be murdered. Not enough has changed", "FindLaw's California Court of Appeal case and opinions", "Latasha Harlins' name sparked an L.A. movement. The case drew criticism after another LA County court case of cruelty to a dog was given a harsher sentence than the death of a teen. Protesters noted that a week after the death of Latasha Harlins, a Glendale man received a more severe sentence than Du for kicking a dog. In cross-examining Combs and her brother, Lloyd pointed out discrepancies among statements they gave to police the day of the shooting, to the grand jury that indicted Du, and to the jury Monday. This is real life. She created a script based on her interviews with OBard and Shinese Harlins, choosing recollections and anecdotes that touched the core of Latasha. She wanted the film to draw viewers into Latashas life and portray her girlhood dreams for the future before it revealed how she died. WebAP. In April the following year, just over a year after Latasha's death, the court of appeal upheld Judge Karlin's original sentence. In his opening statement, Dus attorney, Charles Lloyd, contended that Du pulled a handgun in self-defense and accidentally shot Harlins. 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. After he came to, Billy then phoned the emergency services to say there had been an attempted robbery at the store. Du insisted she asked the schoolgirl if she planned to pay for the orange juice and claims Latasha replied 'what orange juice'. The gunshot struck Harlins in the back of the head, killing her instantly. Officer Ralph Spinello told the jury that when he entered the store, Du was sitting in a chair behind a counter and her husband started slapping her at first not so hard, gradually to very hard slaps until I had to stop him . 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. [7], The film reimagines narrative of Harlins through intimate memories shared by her cousin Shinese Harlins and best friend Tybie O'Bard. She made sure we did our chores, did our homework. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiw6Q9-lfXc&has_verified=1. ROGERS: And we would have, like, spelling bees. So through the documentary, I want us to understand adultification bias and how that affects Black girls and tries to strip them of their childhood. Learn about Harlins until 2016 childhood friend on fire, and a $ 500.! 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