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. She adds that the film belongs in part to Ty OBard and Shinese Harlins, and she would like to use it to help them realize a memorial to their friend. 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. Almost none of the girls had acted before. "[41][43] After Denise Harlins was removed from the ballroom, Karlin gave a speech, stating "There are those in the community who demand that we define justice by what is politically correct. 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. I wanted to tell Latashas stories from those that knew her best. It made it so much easier working with young girls, not actors, to not have a big bulky camera in their face, Allison says. 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. Tensions were high in the area after just two weeks before, the video of officers pummeling Rodney King came to light. So what will it take for Black girls to just exist on and off screen? In July, two months after the end of the riots, her grieving family were awarded a $300,000 settlement for her death. Please try again. MARTINEZ: That's Christina Rogers and Vester Acoff remembering their sister Latasha Harlins. Police later 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. [28], After the widely publicized shooting of Latasha Harlins, relations between the black and Korean communities continued to deteriorate rapidly. 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. And theres no protection for Black girls when we have to rely on a system that is deeply rooted in white supremacy. 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." The videotape of the incident lasted less than a minute, but showed Harlins and Du grappling at the store counter in a dispute over a bottle of orange juice. Harlins responded by lifting up her hand, which contained two dollar bills, and explained that she intended to pay. Du observed Harlins putting a $1.79 bottle of orange juice in her backpack. And I think people will always blame young Black girls for their outcome. Dus store was looted, set on fire, and never reopened. Latasha was shot in the back of the head and died at the scene at the Empire Liquor Market on March 16, 1991. And something that really deeply touched me was some of the young girls that I featured, I went to high school with their parents. If they don't validate the existence of other Black women and girls then they have no right to work with me. Two were found guilty, Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon, while two were acquitted. 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. 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. Its 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. Months later, they gave her a grant. "[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. [36] Though these ethnic tensions have not resulted in wide-scale violence since 1992, the relationship between Koreans and the black community was still strained as of 1996. Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images. The judge sentenced Du to 10 years in state prison but the sentence was suspended and the defendant was instead placed on five years' probation with 400 hours of community service, a $500 restitution, and funeral expenses. And I was even thinking about just how Black girls are continuously having to deal with the adultification bias, how Black girls are not protected, wanting to hold space for this young girl who deserved so much more. 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 . 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. On the morning of March 16, 1991, though, Harlins did plan to make a purchase. Harlins, after telling Du she intended to pay for the juice, hit the grocer twice in the face as Du held onto her clothing, the witness said. Latasha's parents' marriage was not a happy one and she, along with her younger siblings, had seen her father attack Crystal. in reference to the Korean War. What do you think this says about the academys ability to recognize Black stories, especially those about Black girls? Directed by Sophia Nahli Allison, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021. Click here to sign up for our email newsletter and get the weeks top stories delivered straight to your inbox. Atop these voice-overs, there are photos of Harlins and footage of the South Central community in which Harlins grew up. Sixteen-year-old Bryant was shot and killed by a police officer in Columbus, I remember when I watched Eves Bayou and when I watched Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. WebLatasha 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. Her death happened thirteen days after the videotape of the Rodney King beating was released. cultfacts 1.6K 31 dethb0y 3 days ago NSFW 4 dead including 3 teens in murder-suicide khou 1.5K 148 AmethystOrator 7 days ago NSFW 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. After Harlins backed away, Du angrily threw a stool at her. And I remember Latasha buying that little girl an ice cream. Riots. [27], During the 1992 riots, Du's store was looted and burned down; it never reopened. . At just 15 Latasha Harlins had known more than her fair share of tragedy. Im hoping that people really begin to engage with new ways of discussing Black trauma. This is not the movies, said Deputy District Attorney Roxane Carvajal before showing the tape in court. 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. 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. And a little girl didn't have enough money. Thats why the image of Latasha is always changing in the film. 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. And when I was 15, I actually lost my dad. A video of the incident was given to a local TV station and ignited international outrage. All rights reserved. A year later, residents of Harlins neighborhood took to the streets in outrage. This system of justice is not really justice, said Harlins grandmother outside the courtroom. 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. How come she can she just die for one bottle of juice?" Accuracy and availability may vary. The area was recovering from the recent Watts Riots and Koreans began buying businesses because they were inexpensive and there wasnt much competition. They came to StoryCorps to remember her. Sophia Nahli Allison: There were so many intersecting reasons that I wanted to pursue this story. "I have been honored to spend the last 20 years serving the public but now I want to devote time to my family," Karlin wrote. 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. Sophia Nahli Allisons short film A Love Song for Latasha describes the friendship between three girls who grew up together in South Central Los Angeles: Latasha Harlins, her cousin Shinese Harlins and her best friend, Tybie Ty OBard. Here's her grandmother, Ruth, who the kids call Madea (ph), remembering the day she sent Latasha to the store. I really want to interrogate what it means to not take the time, care, and intentionality to speak to those who were directly affected by this moment in history. [32], In 1984, seven years before Harlins was shot, an editorial was posted in a black community newspaper urging a boycott of Korean stores, saying that any black person who went to their stores was a 'traitor'. Diversity, I think, is a really watered down word just for visibility. She made the short walk to the market and picked up a $1.79 bottle of orange. Police also discovered the gun had been tampered with so that it would fire with much less pressure on the trigger than would normally be needed to shoot a handgun. After a short scuffle, Du grabbed a 0.38-caliber handgun and shot Harlins in the back of her head. Tupac dedicated his song, Keep Ya Head Up, to Latasha Harlins. The hardest part about losing Latasha was not having that older protective sister that I had. 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. Want morePDN? Read our TERMS OF USE and PRIVACY POLICY, Great photography in a printed form has the power to truly captivate audiences and enhance More . And I wish she still had her life and was here. In the L.A. courtroom during the trial months later, the Harlins family sat in the front row, praying for justice. Everyone knew about the disrespect shown to black customers by the Korean owners, and they tried to avoid it as much as possible. Latasha, 15, was shot in the back of the head by a Korean woman who owned a South Los Angeles liquor store. She was briefly caught but escaped from jail and was never seen again. A police officer testified later that injuries Du received may not have all come from the fight with Harlins. The judges decision exacerbated racial tensions between African Americans and Korean immigrants. The funding allowed her to travel between North Carolina, where she had returned to graduate school, and South Central to keep filming. The court also stated that Du shot Harlins under extreme provocation and duress and deemed it unlikely that Du would ever commit a serious crime again. 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