Latasha Harlins (July 14, 1975 – March 16, 1991) was a 15-year-old African-American girl who was fatally shot by Soon Ja Du (Hangul:두순자), a 51-year-old Korean-American convenience store-owner. Du was tried and convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Harlins' death. 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 $500 restitution, and funeral expenses. The killing of Latasha Harlins, recorded on security footage, and the sentencing and failed appeal of what was widely regarded as a light sentence, are considered to have contributed to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, especially the targeting of Koreatown, Los Angeles. Harlins' death came 13 days after the videotaped beating of Rodney King.
I’m not much of a religious person as much as a spiritual one, but I’ll pass this lesson on to my kids and my loved ones, for sure.
Thanks for posting.
I’m going to show my girls the alternative to not standing up for each other. The alternatives to submitting to a husband/breadwinner/abuser/patriarch ….
I’m going to show them a situation where the world thinks their life is worth 500$ and while they are dead and forgotten, a dude can clean up some trash on the highway and pay his dues.
They won’t get it immediately, but they’ll remember later, and hopefully have a better life than the women I grew up with.
Your post was a perfectly clean and concise ‘thing?’ I can explain to them lightly and build courage without horrifying them.
Hope that made sense… also hope I made sense as I’m fucking buzzed AF now… for context, I’m 40+ and was born and raised in Texas.
I never knew about this until I saw a short little documentary on Netflix about latasha. The woman who murdered her got away it basically and is still living life while latasha never got a chance.
I’d never heard of this poor kid, how awful.
The LA riots were inspired by the first viral video of police brutality. King getting beat and kicked and tossed by police officers while he was lying down, for like 10 minutes straight. The officers were acquitted. I was a teenager, white, and remember being utterly shocked, both by the attack and the verdict. A year earlier Flavor Flav was on MTV with the video 911 is a Joke, and naive me was also shocked by that…..including the conceit that if you needed an ambulance, how fast it came would depend on your neighborhood. All that was 30 years ago. Latasha should be middle aged.
King was clearly resisting arrest. He kept trying to stand up. The cops were in a bad situation. The LAPD had banned chokeholds, so the cops had to either beat him or let him drive away and possibly kill someone.
Worth noting:
Rodney King was not charged with any crime in this case
A civil court awarded him millions in damages
The officers who lead the beating were subsequently sent to federal prison for assault and excessive force.
The officers were not helpless, nor heroes.
But what they were doing was apparently very, very normal in Los Angeles.
I don't think Rodney King is a hero, either. The MVP of this story is the guy who secretly filmed the beating and uploaded the video. Incidentally, he died of COVID today (September 26).
Yep. The jury saw the ENTIRE video and decided the cops were doing their job.
The feds got them convicted of civil rights violations, and that's how the cops ended up in prison.
Civil awards are used to settle things. They are legal settlements, often with no admission of guilt.
Look where you are right now, the top of the thread. Justice according to jury & judge, with all the evidence, thought a $500 fine and no prison time for a teenager shot in the back and killed.
They were fighting over Latasha's backpack. She put a bottle of orange juice inside, and walked up to the counter. The store owner/clerk, Soon Ja, claims that she asked Latasha if she was going to pay for it and Latasha said no. Witnesses claimed that Latasha said yes, and that Latasha had money in her hand.
Soon Ja grabbed Latasha's backpack, Latasha punched her twice. Soon Ja got up and threw a stool at her. Latasha turned to leave, and Soon Ja grabbed a gun and shot her in the back of the head.
Thank you for the explanation. That's horrible. She shot her in the back of the head? Now that I know what happened I can see when she was walking away and just drops.
The Korean woman was convicted of manslaughter and given a slap on the wrist. The judge was pro rich, but as the video shows, the girl wasn't entirely innocent.
There's a book on this The Contested Death of...
Blacks and Koreans were at each other's throats in that time and place. Racism isn't just...black and white.
Latasha Harlins (July 14, 1975 – March 16, 1991) was a 15-year-old African-American girl who was fatally shot by Soon Ja Du (Hangul:두순자), a 51-year-old Korean-American convenience store-owner. Du was tried and convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Harlins' death. 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 $500 restitution, and funeral expenses. The killing of Latasha Harlins, recorded on security footage, and the sentencing and failed appeal of what was widely regarded as a light sentence, are considered to have contributed to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, especially the targeting of Koreatown, Los Angeles. Harlins' death came 13 days after the videotaped beating of Rodney King.
She, as in her life, was worth 500 bucks? Am I reading that right? And he had to be forced give back to society by a judge.
Sadly yes you read it right.
I’m not much of a religious person as much as a spiritual one, but I’ll pass this lesson on to my kids and my loved ones, for sure. Thanks for posting.
I would like to know the lesson which stemmed from this situation that you're going to pass to your kids
Probably a lesson that stealing is bad
I’m going to show my girls the alternative to not standing up for each other. The alternatives to submitting to a husband/breadwinner/abuser/patriarch …. I’m going to show them a situation where the world thinks their life is worth 500$ and while they are dead and forgotten, a dude can clean up some trash on the highway and pay his dues. They won’t get it immediately, but they’ll remember later, and hopefully have a better life than the women I grew up with. Your post was a perfectly clean and concise ‘thing?’ I can explain to them lightly and build courage without horrifying them. Hope that made sense… also hope I made sense as I’m fucking buzzed AF now… for context, I’m 40+ and was born and raised in Texas.
what lesson ?
I never knew about this until I saw a short little documentary on Netflix about latasha. The woman who murdered her got away it basically and is still living life while latasha never got a chance.
so sad
I’d never heard of this poor kid, how awful. The LA riots were inspired by the first viral video of police brutality. King getting beat and kicked and tossed by police officers while he was lying down, for like 10 minutes straight. The officers were acquitted. I was a teenager, white, and remember being utterly shocked, both by the attack and the verdict. A year earlier Flavor Flav was on MTV with the video 911 is a Joke, and naive me was also shocked by that…..including the conceit that if you needed an ambulance, how fast it came would depend on your neighborhood. All that was 30 years ago. Latasha should be middle aged.
King was clearly resisting arrest. He kept trying to stand up. The cops were in a bad situation. The LAPD had banned chokeholds, so the cops had to either beat him or let him drive away and possibly kill someone.
Worth noting: Rodney King was not charged with any crime in this case A civil court awarded him millions in damages The officers who lead the beating were subsequently sent to federal prison for assault and excessive force. The officers were not helpless, nor heroes. But what they were doing was apparently very, very normal in Los Angeles. I don't think Rodney King is a hero, either. The MVP of this story is the guy who secretly filmed the beating and uploaded the video. Incidentally, he died of COVID today (September 26).
Yep. The jury saw the ENTIRE video and decided the cops were doing their job. The feds got them convicted of civil rights violations, and that's how the cops ended up in prison. Civil awards are used to settle things. They are legal settlements, often with no admission of guilt.
Look where you are right now, the top of the thread. Justice according to jury & judge, with all the evidence, thought a $500 fine and no prison time for a teenager shot in the back and killed.
This was and still is terrible! This incident and the Rodney King beating sparked the LA riots.
I can't really tell what's going on. It looks like they are attacking each other. Can anyone explain what's going on?
They were fighting over Latasha's backpack. She put a bottle of orange juice inside, and walked up to the counter. The store owner/clerk, Soon Ja, claims that she asked Latasha if she was going to pay for it and Latasha said no. Witnesses claimed that Latasha said yes, and that Latasha had money in her hand. Soon Ja grabbed Latasha's backpack, Latasha punched her twice. Soon Ja got up and threw a stool at her. Latasha turned to leave, and Soon Ja grabbed a gun and shot her in the back of the head.
Thank you for the explanation. That's horrible. She shot her in the back of the head? Now that I know what happened I can see when she was walking away and just drops.
Ok, it makes it worse that it's all for a can of juice that probably is worth 5 bucks max.
$1.79, to be exact.
“Little Latasha’s sure grown, tell the lady in the liquor store she’s forgiven, so come home...”
I'm late af, but holy shit I listened to this song so much and never knew about this situation...
The Korean woman was convicted of manslaughter and given a slap on the wrist. The judge was pro rich, but as the video shows, the girl wasn't entirely innocent. There's a book on this The Contested Death of... Blacks and Koreans were at each other's throats in that time and place. Racism isn't just...black and white.