RUTH HARLINS: I had said, get some orange juice. A year later, residents of Harlins neighborhood took to the streets in outrage. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. In August 1991, a small fire broke out just before the trial kicked off. ? The city was left with $1 billion in damages. Just get on with what you want to do and make the pictures you want to make. erupted in protests and riots, fire and gunshots. Latasha was shot in the back of the head and died at the scene at the Empire Liquor Market on March 16, 1991. The Harlins family received a $300,000 settlement from Dus insurance company. In her book American Dream, Sapphire wrote the poem Strange Juice (or the murder of Latasha Harlins) giving voice to the murdered girl. [1] At the time, security camera footage of Harlins' death was broadcast widely on television news, but Allison's work does not include it. 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A year later, residents of Harlins neighborhood took to the streets in 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. WebA 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. 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. Racial tensions were high, especially between local Korean store-owners and their impoverished black patrons. Work on the film became harder, she says, when she reached the point in the film when she had to reveal what happened to Latasha. All rights reserved. In November, 1991, Du was found guilt of voluntary manslaughter, a crime that can result in a 16 year prison sentence, which the jury recommended she service. 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. She was just always a motivating factor in my life. "[3] Instead she worked closely with Harlins' friends, developing a depiction of their childhoods and South Central Los Angeles. Everyone knew about the disrespect shown to black customers by the Korean owners, and they tried to avoid it as much as possible. 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. Click here to sign up for our email newsletter and get the weeks top stories delivered straight to your inbox. In July, two months after the end of the riots, her grieving family were awarded a $300,000 settlement for her death. But when she turned around to leave, the lady shot her in the head, and she died. 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. Directed by Sophia Nahli Allison, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021. "[44][45] Karlin was re-elected to the Superior Court bench by a reduced margin from previous elections. Those tensions were later interpreted by some members of the public and activists as being one of the catalysts for the 1992 Los Angeles riots. 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. When interesting scenes happened in front of them, we felt Latashas spirit with us, she says. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. And something that really deeply touched me was some of the young girls that I featured, I went to high school with their parents. Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesProtesters leave a message that says LOOK WHAT YOU CREATE on day two of the L.A. And thats the only way for us to really begin to engage with inclusivity. It hurts, because I think the only answer is to defund the police. 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. Harlins was born on July 14, 1975 in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Crystal Harlins and Vester Acoff Sr. Acoff never met Latasha. A Love Song for Latasha was nominated for an Oscar. [2] (Harlin was shot to death by a convenience store owner only days after the police beating of King. Shes not even buried there.. Our premiere educational content channel. 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. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Related Links:Frames Per Second: How Independent Filmmakers Earn Back Their Production InvestmentTips for Pitching Your Film Successfully to Festivals and FundersThe Funding and Distribution of a Feature-Length DocumentaryFirst-Time Director Jonathan Olshefski on Creating a Feature-Length Documentary, January 7, 2020 You will see Latasha being killed. Latasha Harlins. Latasha cried whenever she walked past a nearby cemetery. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. 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. She will die in front of your eyes.. Lastasha and her siblings were taken in by their grandmother, Ruth Harlins, but the youngster was understandably devastated by what had happened to Crystal. Harlins hit Du four times and one of the blows caused Dus eye to swell, Combs said. The Los Angeles mayor's office estimated that 65 percent of all businesses vandalized during the riots were Korean-owned. EN RU CN DE ES. [31] Korean immigrants bought their storefronts in black neighborhoods, specifically South Los Angeles, because the real estate was significantly cheaper than other neighborhoods. Du was arrested and her trial was held on November 15, 1991. 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. Diversity means we see you, but we really dont need to engage with you. (Never Ignorant About Getting Goals Accomplished)", "True to the Game: Ice Cube's 'Death Certificate', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Killing_of_Latasha_Harlins&oldid=1142220736, African-AmericanAsian-American relations, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 04:43. WebThe best-known fact about Harlins, whose friends and family called her Tasha, is that she was killed over a $1.79 bottle of juice. A Love Song for Latasha is not about Black trauma, but the most important part about this film is that we did not incorporate the footage of Latashas death. Police, after speaking to the people in the store at the time and watching CCTV of the incident, agreed that the youngster had been planning to pay. The buller hit the 15-year-old in the back of the head and she was killed instantly. Black customers were continuously frustrated by what they saw as rudeness and price-gouging on that part of Korean store clerks, as well as store owners refusal to hire any black employees. Harlins approached the counter with cash in hand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiw6Q9-lfXc&has_verified=1. The only video that exists of her is the grainy surveillance footage that captured the last minutes of her life. [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. 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. The Oriental lady started pulling on her sweater saying: Thats my orange juice, the boy testified under cross-examination by Dus lawyer. 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. Latasha, 15, was shot in the back of the head by a Korean woman who owned a South Los Angeles liquor store. [34] These events were considered factors in deadly and destructive riots which began on April 29, 1992, and continued through May 4, 1992. Latasha Harlins was born on July 14, 1975, in St. Louis, Illinois. I think every single one of them deeply affected me. [6], In early 2021, a mural celebrating Latasha Harlins was unveiled in front of Algin Sutton Recreation Center. But security footage and the statements of the eye witnesses directly contradicted her account. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. When I would watch Moesha or Sister, Sister, it meant so much for me to see my existence reflected. The DSLR was inconspicuous when she was shooting on location in schoolyards and streets in South Central. 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. Want morePDN? Im hoping that people really begin to engage with new ways of discussing Black trauma. 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. She created a script based on her interviews with OBard and Shinese Harlins, choosing recollections and anecdotes that touched the core of Latasha. 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