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Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. She will die in front of your eyes.. 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. It hurts, because I think the only answer is to defund the police. I think the police need to be stripped of all of their power. In reality, Latasha had been carrying the money to pay for the drink in her hand. Back in 2015, as London-based portrait photographer Benjamin McMahon was building his career, his mentor, photographer Julian Broad, gave him a valuable piece of advice: Dont start changing your style. For myself, growing up in Los Angeles as a young Black girl, I always want to really document these different stages of Black girlhood. ("Korean motherfuckers was crooked/So niggas had to burn and loot 'em [] Lickin' off shots for Latasha, that's proper"). Finally, 2,000 troops from the California National Guard were called in, and the 1992 riots came to an end. 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Witnesses testified that once inside the store, Latasha Sixteen-year-old Bryant was shot and killed by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio, on April 20, 2021. When I would watch Moesha or Sister, Sister, it meant so much for me to see my existence reflected. 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. In the documentary, you juxtapose the voices of Latashas loved ones reminiscing about her life with images of her community today, 30 years later. Did you feel it was essential to the film to center it around those who were close to Latasha? And I had a basketball game. By the late 1980s, racial tensions were high in South Los Angeles, and especially between Korean storeowners and African American residents of the city. Harlens was a student at Westchester High School in Los Angeles, California. 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. 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. She made sure we did our chores, did our homework. PDN Subscribers get instant access to this site for FREE. 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. 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 decided to use animation to depict Harlinss death, rather than relying solely on the surveillance video. In July, two months after the end of the riots, her grieving family were awarded a $300,000 settlement for her death. because of the force he was using.. A year later, residents of Harlins neighborhood took to the streets in [41], Denise Harlins interrupted an awards ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel for Du defense attorney Charles Lloyd. It also shows Du pointing a handgun and Harlins dropping to the floor, mortally wounded. She 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.". One of the businesses targeted was Du's store, Empire Liquor, which was burned to the ground and has never re-opened. Tasha died. She will die in front of your eyes.. Police concluded that Latasha was not shoplifting and had the $2.00 dollars in her hand when she was killed. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. A security camera tape showed the entire heart-wrenching event on fuzzy, silent film. After putting it into her backpack, where it jutted out from the top, she made her way to the counter. The death of Latasha Harlins, which was recorded on security footage, and the later sentencing and failed appeal, are considered to have contributed to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, especially the targeting of Koreatown, Los Angeles. A Love Song for Latasha was nominated for an Oscar. By this time, a city-wide curfew had been enforced. 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 In her book American Dream, Sapphire wrote the poem Strange Juice (or the murder of Latasha Harlins) giving voice to the murdered girl. These are the names of two Black girls whose lives were stolen from them, 30 years apart. So for me, its always about creating a secret language for other Black girls, so that they know they are seen, they know that their existence is important, they know that there are other people believing in them, supporting them, rooting for them. One, as an L.A. native, this is a story that was important, one that had not been discussed in the fullness of who Latasha was. The Oriental lady started pulling on her sweater saying: Thats my orange juice, the boy testified under cross-examination by Dus lawyer. 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. "I don't have a granddaughter. The family moved from Illinois to South Central Los Angeles in 1981 when Latasha was six years old. 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. WebLatasha King was just 15 when she was shot dead by a shop owner one Saturday morning - her death is widely thought to be one of the contributing factors to the 1992 LA Riots and [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. In order to break free, the 15-year-old girl struck Du in the face four times, knocking her down. She shot the footage herself, usually using a handheld Canon 5D Mark III. 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. Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject, "The heartbreaking L.A. story behind Oscar nominee 'A Love Song for Latasha', "Sophia Nahli Allison's 'A Love Song For Latasha' Captures The Fullness Of Black Girlhood", "Netflix to debut heartbreaking doc 'A Love Song for Latasha', "How Six Documentary Directors Explored Untold Stories in 2020", "Latasha Harlins' Death Fueled the 1991 LA Riots. erupted in protests and riots, fire and gunshots. 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. Site Map, 2023 Emerald Expositions, LLC. MaKhia Bryants murder really makes me upset. All rights reserved. This tension, along with the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police on March 3, 1991, became a catalyst for the 1992 Los Angeles riots. If they don't validate the existence of other Black women and girls then they have no right to work with me. Surveillance footage showed the girl was shot in the back of the head. After the four police officers that senselessly beat Rodney King that night in 1991 were exonerated by a mostly white jury, the people of South Central finally had enough. In April the following year, just over a year after Latasha's death, the court of appeal upheld Judge Karlin's original sentence. It was March 1991 when Harlins had put a bottle of orange juice in her backpack in a store owned by a Korea-born shopkeeper at 92nd and Figueroa Streets. 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. The short documentary film A Love Song for Latasha (2019) gives some biographical background on the life of Latasha Harlins, drawing on memories from her cousin and her best friend. These are the names of two Black girls whose lives were stolen from them, 30 years apart. Please don't believe the hype. I think that we must unanimously reject such demands What's politically correct today may not be politically correct tomorrow or the next day. It is a fictionalized account of the killing of Latasha Harlins and the effects on both her family and the family of the shooter. 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. Rodney was awarded $3.8million in damages from the City of Los Angeles and was found dead in 2012 from accidental drowning. The death of her mother had a devastating impact on Latasha, who began to rebel and argue with her maternal grandmother and her maternal aunt Denise. Los Angeles Times/GettyKorean grocer Soon Ja Du in court, after she fatally shot Latasha Harlins in the back of the head. 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. In August 1991, a small fire broke out just before the trial kicked off. In Esquire, Gabrielle Bruney called it a "stirring portrait". She then moved to Juvenile Dependency Court, a transfer she had requested before the Du case. Surveillance video captured the shooting. And it still hurts," Ruth Harlins, her grandmother, said. I hate the word reform. More than 50 people died and more than 2,000 were injured. Click here to sign up for our email newsletter and get the weeks top stories delivered straight to your inbox. By 1990, 65% of South Central businesses were Korean-owned and a 1992 survey of these storeowners revealed considerable racial prejudice against black customers and black people in general. "[3] Instead she worked closely with Harlins' friends, developing a depiction of their childhoods and South Central Los Angeles. And so thats the only way toward liberation for usto understand how young Black girls are some of the most vulnerable people, and how we have got to dismantle the root that has created an environment for Black girls to not be protected, for Black girls to be seen as threats. [13][14] The videotape[15] showed that Du grabbed Harlins by her sweater and snatched her backpack. And when I was 15, I actually lost my dad. [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. WebLatasha Harlins. [16], On November 15, 1991, a jury found that Du's decision to fire the gun was fully within her control and that she fired the gun voluntarily. Family members said they hope Latasha's legacy evolves to be about love and justice. [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. 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. Wednesday night, family and community members came out to remember Latashas legacy. She was killed. [39] In both cases, there was video evidence depicting wrongdoing and in both cases, the defendants did not serve any jail time. ), 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. When we look at Latasha Harlins, even Judge Joyce Karlin [who presided over the trial following her death] understands why Soon Ja Du reacted the way she did. MaKhia Bryant. [7] The film was released on Netflix on September 21, 2020. And I want people to know that Latasha was an honor roll student. Send me updates about Slate special offers. 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. The jury found Du guilty of voluntary manslaughter and recommended the maximum prison sentence of 16 years. Copyright 2022 NPR. 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