This is not the movies. We encountered an issue signing you up. [7], The film reimagines narrative of Harlins through intimate memories shared by her cousin Shinese Harlins and best friend Tybie O'Bard. 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. They remembered being young when Latasha was killed. [37] Recent years have seen improved relations between the two communities, as a younger generation of Korean-American LA residents showed up in great numbersin some cases even organizing proteststo support the Black Lives Matter movement during the summer of 2020. 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. The judges decision exacerbated racial tensions between African Americans and Korean immigrants. In August 1991, a small fire broke out just before the trial kicked off. [10] In TheGrio, Cortney Wills described A Love Song as "a mesmerizing piece of work that takes an unconventional route to storytelling."[5]. 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." Latasha Harlins, however, saw no such justice. Frames Per Second: How Independent Filmmakers Earn Back Their Production Investment, Tips for Pitching Your Film Successfully to Festivals and Funders, The Funding and Distribution of a Feature-Length Documentary, First-Time Director Jonathan Olshefski on Creating a Feature-Length Documentary, Funding & Publishing Personal Projects: Alice Proujanskys Coming-of-Age Story, Meron Menghistab on Photographing Trevor Noah, and Shooting Personal Work, Photographer Benjamin McMahons Celebrity Self-Portrait Collaborations, An Immersive Experience: How Renowned Photographers are Captivating Audiences with Prints. Security-camera footage which showed Harlins attempt to pay for the juice and the subsequent scuffle between the two women convinced a jury to find Du guilty of voluntary manslaughter and call for the maximum 16-year jail sentence. All rights reserved, Man Accused in West LA Hate Shootings Was Subject of Law Enforcement Alert, Pepper Spray Used on High Schoolers as Anti-Racism Protest Grows Unruly', Experts Say Big Bear Bald Eagle Eggs Unlikely to Hatch, This 26-Year-Old Pays $0 to Live in a Luxury Tiny Home' She Built for $35,000 in Her Backyard Take a Look Inside, Beckham High School Teacher in Irvine Accused of Recording Students in Bathroom. 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. She picked the juice up from the floor, where it had fallen, placed it on the counter, and walked away. WebLATASHA HARLINS CCTV FOOTAGE. 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. Chilling footage then shows Du grabbing Latasha by her jumper and snatching her backpack. For example, a police officer in Columbus, Ohio, recently killed 16-year-old MaKhia Bryant, and Ive seen people online blaming Bryant for her own death. MaKhia Bryants murder really makes me upset. 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. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Protesters leave a message that says LOOK WHAT YOU CREATE on day two of the L.A. WebAP. I hate the word reform. 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. EN RU CN DE ES. 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. The world didnt. And so I think it is so important for that visibility to exist so Black girls know how worthy their lives are. I wanted them to feel comfortable being themselves and not feeling that they had to perform, she says. RedditThis may have been the last known photo taken of Latasha Harlins. And I want people to know that Latasha was an honor roll student. Du was tried and convicted of After a short scuffle, Du grabbed a 0.38-caliber handgun and shot Harlins in the back of her head. Judge Karlin suggested that there were mitigating circumstances in the killing of Harlins. Latasha Harlins was born on July 14, 1975, in St. Louis, Illinois. 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. The DSLR was inconspicuous when she was shooting on location in schoolyards and streets in South Central. [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. They came to StoryCorps to remember her. [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. Absolutely. 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 The only video that exists of her is the grainy surveillance footage that captured the last minutes of her life. She was briefly caught but escaped from jail and was never seen again. In memory, especially when trauma is involved, details are blurry, she notes. I should say between diversity and agency. Tupac dedicated his song, Keep Ya Head Up, to Latasha Harlins. This is real life, Deputy District Attorney Roxane Carvajal had warned the jury. When you go someplace else, youre always expecting things to be better, said her grandmother, Ruth Harlins. And a little girl didn't have enough money. I think that it was." 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. Advertise | Koreans in response argued that their attitudes evolved from high crime rates in the area and shop owner fears of shootings and burglaries. The sister firmly denied Lloyds repeated suggestion that Harlins had threatened to kill Du. 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. And theres no protection for Black girls when we have to rely on a system that is deeply rooted in white supremacy. In March 1991, when Harlins was 15, a store owner accused her of 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. A year later, residents of Harlins neighborhood took to the streets in More , December 10, 2019 )[2] But the organization's indifference and incomprehension of the subject's significance prompted a realization for Allison that "I could no longer work within institutions that don't validate the importance of my existence. After they had scouted a church they wanted to film, they returned just as the deacons wife was walking in with her two young daughters. She didn't do nothing! It is estimated damage cost around $1billion. 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. "[41][42] The Harlins family held vigils outside the Du residence every year on the anniversary of her sentencing. More than 50 people died and more than 2,000 were injured. The killing was captured on a grainy security video. She stated, "Did Mrs. Du react inappropriately? Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Black residents protested outside of the Empire Liquor Market, and Soon Ja Du was taken into custody. [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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. So often we hear from elders, adults, or community activists, and Im always really curious as to how our children process this moment. He fired at Latasha as she walked away from him from about three feet away from her. 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. The streets erupted in protests and riots, fire and gunshots. Surveillance video captured the shooting. It was 25 years ago that a 15-year-old girl lost her life over a bottle of orange juice. The riots lasted for almost a week and were, in part, triggered when four police officers were acquitted of using excessive force when they arrested Rodney King. 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. It really bothers me when I see people talk about these young girls that we have lost to violence and they describe them as a young woman, when actually they were just a child. In many ways, the shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins on March 16, 1991 by convenience store clerk Soon WebSecurity-camera footage which showed Harlins attempt to pay for the juice and the subsequent scuffle between the two women convinced a jury to find Du guilty of voluntary Harlins responded by lifting up her hand, which contained two dollar bills, and explained that she intended to pay. MaKhia Bryant. Latasha cried whenever she walked past a nearby cemetery. Months later, they gave her a grant. 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. Copyright 2022 NPR. Obsessed with Netflix? 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. The mural was created by visual artist Victoria Cassinova.[6]. Diversity, I think, is a really watered down word just for visibility. 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. She was killed. The Los Angeles mayor's office estimated that 65 percent of all businesses vandalized during the riots were Korean-owned. Jeanne Baret Was The First Woman To Circumnavigate The Globe And She Disguised Herself As A Man To Do It, An Isolated Miner In Alaska Just Survived A Week-Long Struggle With A Grizzly Bear Before The Coast Guard Saw His SOS, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. By the late 1980s, racial tensions were high in South Los Angeles, and especially between Korean storeowners and African American residents of the city. It took years before Los Angeles was rebuilt and many who live there say little has changed, with huge economic divides still existing in the city. All rights reserved. Something went wrong, please try again later. 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. Empire Liquor became a target for protests. Du concluded Harlins was attempting to steal, and did not see the money Harlins held in her hand. WebLatasha was a 15-year-old African-American girl who was unlawfully shot and killed by a Korean American store-owner. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. But when she got there, the lady said she had seen her put something in her backpack. Latasha's parents' marriage was not a happy one and she, along with her younger siblings, had seen her father attack Crystal. Born in Illinois, she was just six when her parents, Crystal and Sylvester, made the decision to move their family to Los Angeles. Hannah McKennett is a Dublin-based freelance writer that is dedicated to traveling the world while writing about it. Latasha's killer was convicted of manslaughter but served no jail time. Latasha Harlins voice isnt heard in the film. Latasha, 15, was shot in the back of the head by a Korean woman who owned a South Los Angeles liquor store. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, but was sentenced to probation and community service; she served no jail time. After Harlins backed away, Du angrily threw a stool at her. 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. [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. The funding allowed her to travel between North Carolina, where she had returned to graduate school, and South Central to keep filming. 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. A Love Song for Latasha is a 2019 American biographical documentary short film directed by Sophia Nahli Allison. It is a fictionalized account of the killing of Latasha Harlins and the effects on both her family and the family of the shooter. Everyone knew about the disrespect shown to black customers by the Korean owners, and they tried to avoid it as much as possible. And it still hurts," Ruth Harlins, her grandmother, said. Judge Karlin claimed there were mitigating circumstances surround Latasha's death and that Du had only fired the gun under "extreme provocation and duress", highlighting that she had been the victim of several robberies at her store. If you are a current subscriber and have not activated your pdnonline.com access, please provide the following information. [19] Karlin resigned from the bench in 1997. The gunshot struck Harlins in the back of the head, killing her instantly. 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. She started to rebel and their relationship turned sour. In the prosecutions opening statement, Carvajal said the gun used by Du had been altered by someone so that the trigger could be pulled with little pressure. 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. She was trying to walk out the door, when she was shot, Lakeshia Combs testified. Directed by Sophia Nahli Allison, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021. 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