In August 1991, a small fire broke out just before the trial kicked off. 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? She was trying to walk out the door, when she was shot, Lakeshia Combs testified. Judge Karlin suggested that there were mitigating circumstances in the killing of Harlins. 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." I felt as though she was a celebrity because everyone knew her. Harlins was 15-years-old in 1991 when she died instantly after being shot at the time by 51-year-old, Soon Ja Du, who accused her of attempting to steal the juice. Finally, 2,000 troops from the California National Guard were called in, and the 1992 riots came to an end. 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. And something that really deeply touched me was some of the young girls that I featured, I went to high school with their parents. Family members said they hope Latasha's legacy evolves to be about love and justice. 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. Police concluded that Latasha was not shoplifting and had the $2.00 dollars in her hand when she was killed. But security footage and the statements of the eye witnesses directly contradicted her account. The childrens maternal grandmother, Ruth Harlins, then raised Latasha and her siblings. She pulled the trigger and Harlins hit the floor. Want morePDN? 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. RedditThis may have been the last known photo taken of Latasha Harlins. For Latasha, the action had come to late and she is buried next to her mother in Paradise Memorial Park in California. 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. "All you people sitting, applauding over a child killer," Harlins yelled. 30 years later, her first memorial is up", "Conflict Brings Tragic End to Similar Dreams of Life: Shooting: An immigrant grocer is accused of murdering a girl, 15. WebAP. Proceedings held in Compton were marked by confrontations between Dus supporters and backers of Harlins family. Like Udeorji, Duncan was eager to help tell Harlins story., When Allison and Duncan toured South Central, they had ideas of what they wanted to shoot but let a lot unfold, Allison says. "[3] Instead she worked closely with Harlins' friends, developing a depiction of their childhoods and South Central Los Angeles. MARTINEZ: Latasha's brother Vester and her sister Christina were 10 and 8 when she died. [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. 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. Im hoping that people really begin to engage with new ways of discussing Black trauma. Allison asked them if they would be comfortable being interviewed. Bryant and Harlins, like so many Black girls in America, have had their lives reduced to the circumstances of their deaths, as videos and images of their final moments continue to circulate for the world to see. What signal does this send to Black girls about how society sees them in life and even in death? All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. She was killed. 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. And something that was really important to me is, what does it mean to speak to people like her cousin, Shinese Harlins, and her best friends, like Tybie OBard, who were the same age as Latasha? [2] (Harlin was shot to death by a convenience store owner only days after the police beating of King. And I think people will always blame young Black girls for their outcome. "[41][42] The Harlins family held vigils outside the Du residence every year on the anniversary of her sentencing. Please try again. But her testimony was contradicted by the statements of the two witnesses present at the time, as well as the store's security camera video, which showed Du shooting Harlins in the back of the head as she turned away from Du and attempted to leave the store. This is real life. 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. For me, dismantling the root is through my art, through my work as a storyteller and as an artist. 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. [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. 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. In March 1991, when Harlins was 15, a store owner accused her of stealing a $1.79 carton of orange juice, though she had approached the cash register with $2 in her hand. [22] In July 1992, Latasha's brother and sister received a $300,000 settlement from a civil suit brought against Soon Ja Du, which was paid by the store's insurance policy. Latasha 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 Netflix series, A Love Song for Latasha, tells her tragic story. When she wanted to give up, I thought: But Latashas story deserves to be told. In the spring of 2018, she landed a grant from Glassbreaker Films. Menu. Diversity, I think, is a really watered down word just for visibility. People have seen it, and I think we really need to interrogate what it means to constantly think that it is necessary to see Black trauma, to see Black death as a way to make some sort of connection or as a way to make people understand the importance and the significance and the core of it. Here's her grandmother, Ruth, who the kids call Madea (ph), remembering the day she sent Latasha to the store. Site Map, 2023 Emerald Expositions, LLC. By the summer of 2017, Allison had edited the first two minutes of the video, which helped her establish the films visual style. [29] In the eyes of many in the black community, it was tragic that Soon Ja Du did not receive any jail time for her crime. Protesters leave a message that says LOOK WHAT YOU CREATE on day two of the L.A. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. The Oriental lady started pulling on her sweater saying: Thats my orange juice, the boy testified under cross-examination by Dus lawyer. Harlins repeated, Let me go, let me go, but the woman wouldnt release her grip. I think we have to first acknowledge that theres an issue. [2] The sentencing was widely regarded as an extremely light sentence, and a failed appeal[3] contributed to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, especially the targeting of Koreatown, Los Angeles, California. What are you hoping that people take away from your documentary about both Latasha Harlins story and the larger concept of Black girlhood? RUTH HARLINS: I had said, get some orange juice. And I remember Latasha buying that little girl an ice cream. Both sought to overcome adversity", "Liquor Permit Denied at Site of 1991 Killing", The People, petitioner v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Respondent; Soon Ja Du, Real Party in Interest, "A Senseless and Tragic Killing: New tension for Korean-American and African-American communities", "Merchant Charged in Girl's Fatal Shooting", "Legal Audio Opinions and Courtroom Video LexisNexis Courtroom Cast", "Videotape Shows Teen Being Shot After Fight: Killing: Trial opens for Korean grocer who is accused in the slaying of a 15-year-old black girl at a South-Central store", "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 Historical Timeline", "Judge Who Gave Probation In a Slaying May Be Moved", "U.S. Looks Into Korean Grocer's Slaying of Black", "Grocer Given Probation in Shooting of Girl", People v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (Du), "LOS ANGELES: Family of Latasha Harlins Wins $300,000 Settlement", "African-Americans, Koreans Try to Heal Deep Wounds", "The L.A. She then moved to Juvenile Dependency Court, a transfer she had requested before the Du case. How 15-Year-Old Latasha Harlins Murder Over A Bottle Of Orange Juice Helped Spark The L.A. 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. Harlins responded by lifting up her hand, which contained two dollar bills, and explained that she intended to pay. 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. Allison spent two years making A Love Song for Latasha, serving as director, cinematographer, editor and producer. Tensions within the LA neighbourhood where Latasha lived had been killed were already nearing boiling point and her death and the subsequent sentence of Du did nothing to alleviate the issues. Copyright 2022 NPR. Latasha Harlins was born on July 14, 1975, in St. Louis, Illinois. She pitched her idea for a video about Harlins life to her employer, the news website Fusion (now called Splinter). Du reached under the counter, retrieved a revolver, and fired at Harlins from behind at a distance of about three feet (one meter). 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 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. The officers shot him twice with Taser stun darts and then brutally beat him with batons before handcuffing him. Please don't believe the hype. You will see Latasha being killed. However, on the morning of the shooting, Du was working behind the counter, and her husband was outside resting in the family van. However, the trial judge, Joyce Karlin, sentenced Du to five years of probation, 10 years of suspended prison, 400 hours of community service, and a $500 fine.[18][19][20]. 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. [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. 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. One of the businesses targeted was Du's store, Empire Liquor, which was burned to the ground and has never re-opened. And I want people to know that Latasha was an honor roll student. 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. [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. White Judge Joyce Karlin, however, gave Du probation, 400 hours of community service, and a $500 fine. Time now for StoryCorps. She died instantly. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. She was briefly caught but escaped from jail and was never seen again. The best-known fact about Harlins, whose friends and family called her Tasha, is that she was killed over a $1.79 bottle of juice. I think theres a difference between inclusivity and agency. [1] At the time, security camera footage of Harlins' death was broadcast widely on television news, but Allison's work does not include it. ACOFF: You know, she was a caretaker. Harlens was a student at Westchester High School in Los Angeles, California. When she was six years old, her family moved to South-Central L.A. by Greyhound bus. Police later How did the young Black girls, the young boys that knew Latashahow were they affected by this? 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. Riots. And so for me, dismantling means making people uncomfortable and building something completely new. Some members of Harlins family wept as they watched the March 16 shooting on television monitors. I guess it made her think of her mom, said her cousin, Shinese. I think every single one of them deeply affected me. 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. 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 Residents shouted Latasha Harlins name as they torched Korean-owned businesses including Soon Ja Dus own Empire Liquor. . MaKhia Bryants murder really makes me upset. She didn't do nothing! [6], In early 2021, a mural celebrating Latasha Harlins was unveiled in front of Algin Sutton Recreation Center. One of my favorite memories is just wandering into a church in South Central and then being allowed to film the granddaughters of the pastor, because their parents remembered Latasha. At the time, "[41] Since retiring from the bench Karlin has used her husband's surname Fahey. This is not the movies, said Deputy District Attorney Roxane Carvajal before showing the tape in court. About Us | Once Allison had figured out the films narrative arc, she outlined some ideas for what footage she might shoot. They lived near 89th St. and Broadway, just a few blocks from where Latasha would be killed ten years later.[7][8]. On the morning of March 16, 1991, though, Harlins did plan to make a purchase. The family moved from Illinois to South Central Los Angeles in 1981 when Latasha was six years old. It sparked five days of riots across Los Angeles. By this time, a city-wide curfew had been enforced. Tupac dedicated his song, Keep Ya Head Up, to Latasha Harlins. I think the police need to be stripped of all of their power. Left Ken Browar and Deborah Ory; Right John Paul Caponigro, Sundance Institutes New Frontier Lab Programs. In her book American Dream, Sapphire wrote the poem Strange Juice (or the murder of Latasha Harlins) giving voice to the murdered girl. The mural was created by visual artist Victoria Cassinova.[6]. 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