Latasha Harlins murder
Latasha Harlins was a fifteen-year-old African American girl who was shot and killed over a $1.79 bottle of orange juice in a liquor store in South Central Los Angeles on March 16, 1991. The incident involved a confrontation with the store owner, Soon Ja Du, a Korean woman, who shot Harlins in the back of the head, and the act was captured on security video. This event occurred shortly after the beating of Rodney King by police, intensifying existing racial tensions between African Americans and Korean Americans in the area. During the trial, Harlins' family faced dismissive remarks from the presiding judge, who suggested that the tragedy could have been avoided if Harlins had not entered the store.
Soon Ja Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter but received probation, a verdict that sparked outrage within the African American community and led to increased hostility towards Korean-owned businesses. This incident, along with the Rodney King case, contributed to the civil unrest and riots that erupted in Los Angeles in 1992, highlighting deep-seated issues of racial conflict and injustice in urban communities. The murder of Latasha Harlins remains a significant event in discussions about race relations, systemic inequality, and violence in America.
Latasha Harlins murder
After a dispute over a $1.79 bottle of orange juice, fifteen-year-old Latasha Harlins was shot and killed at the Empire Liquor Market Deli in South Central Los Angeles on March 16, 1991. A security camera recorded the African American teenager being shot in the back of the head by the market owner. The merchant, Soon Ja Du, a forty-nine-year-old Korean woman, was charged with murder. Because the shooting occurred only thirteen days after African American Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles police, it aggravated racial and ethnic tensions in Los Angeles.
At the court proceedings, Judge Joyce Karlin lectured African Americans and reportedly told Harlan’s grandmother that the murder would not have occurred if her granddaughter had not gone into Ja Du’s store. On March 26, 1991, Ja Du was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but Judge Karlan granted the defendant probation. This decision angered African Americans in Los Angeles and made Korean businesses primary targets for theft and vandalism by African Americans. In addition, the decision escalated the number of conflicts between African American and Asian youth in Los Angeles. Bitter feelings generated by the Harlins and Rodney King verdicts were unleashed during the Los Angeles riots of 1992.
Bibliography
Ballinger, Lee. "Race, Inequality, and the Murder of Latasha Harlins." CounterPunch 21.6 (2014): 10–14. Print.
Monroe, Sylvester. "South Central: 20 Years Since . . ." Ebony May 2012: 132–40. Print.
Neal, Mark Anthony. "A Fallen Black Girl: Remembering Latasha Harlins." Root. Slate Group, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
Stevenson, Brenda E. The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins: Justice, Gender, and the Origins of the LA Riots. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.
Sue, Derald Wing. Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race. Hoboken: Wiley, 2015. Print.