During the 1992 L.A. uprising, Lee's 18-year old son, Edward Jae Song Lee entered the fray to help protect his Koreatown neighborhood, which was virtually abandoned by police. When the passport was issued, he told me about it: that we would go live in the United States. years earlier involving shopkeeper Soon Ja Du and the slain girl, Latasha "And been the wind in the sails of a political agenda that uses law and order to discipline the working class." Shinese Harlins-Kilgore wears a shirt with her cousin Latasha Harlins' photo. Getting by was the priority, so we were not choosy over which job to work at. Ira Reiner is only bringing more heat to an already overheated murder Soon Ja Du, 51, left, leaves court with her husband, Billy Hong Ki Du, in Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 1992. My husband came as a skilled worker immigrant. When she saw him afterwards, she didn't recognize his face. successful.Hes just playing politics, and the people are being misled. But from their perspective, Koreans did not seem to have suffered much, yet came to their neighborhood and made easy money and became well off. When the verdict was read on television we became ill at ease thinking, The black community will not take this. Her sentence seemed to have the opposite effect, however; she became the target of protests and an unsuccessful recall campaign. account. She now usesthough she didnt thenthe surname of her husband, He had a strong personality and wanted to become a soldier, a policeman or such even when he went on to junior high and senior high, he still dreamed on of the same. and certainly no basis for a challenge where the judge strove to fulfill her Once there, the teenager put the required item in her bag and then headed to the counter with money in her hand. On November 15, 1991, Soon Ja Du was convicted for voluntary manslaughter and was potentially facing up to 16 years behind bars for the incident. Perspectives Columns. I thought for sure he would die. Reiner is up for reelection next year. hide caption. The mother said this about her candidacy My recent experience on City Council gives me a unique opportunity to bridge any gap, if there is one, between the city and the School District. Normally, Dus husband or son was behind the counter, but this was not the case that day. : Made In America. Soon Ja Du, her husband, and son operated a liquor store in Los Angeles. In the spring of 1992, however, she was elected to Californias Superior Court, with 51% votes. As he had in the past, often, he sought to advance his The video exclusively showed that Du shot Harlins when she attempted to leave the store empty-handed. But Los Angeles Dist. This is not a time for rhetoric, Karlin said in imposing the sentence. She was given probation and paid the family 500.00 dollars. 51-year-old Korean-born female store owner Soon Ja Du shot 15-year-old Harlin in the back of the head in 1991. In so doing, they have more severely Thousands of people were arrested, over 50 people died, most of them brown and Black, 10 of them fatally shot by law enforcement. that a prosecution appeal of a case is rare and usually unsuccessful because of Since childhood, Eddie had a sense of justice and was full of energy. The route that the black rioters took was wide roads like Western and Vermont, and it kept getting closer to our home my son went out despite my dissuading him from getting involved. That is Karlin sentenced her And that's something that I've seen a lot of in discussions of, frankly, dead black children. She was persuaded that Du was not a danger to society, and did not . On April 22, 1992, an appeals court upheld that ruling . 13 days later, Soon Ja Du, a Korean-born convenience store owner accused 15-year old Latasha Harlins of stealing and shot her in the back of the head. Thirteen days after the Rodney King beating a 15-year-old black girl named Latasha Harlins was shot in the back of the head by a Korean shopkeeper who accused her of shoplifting. Atty. West Gate Prison looked like that. Du accused the teenager of stealing a bottle of orange juice. Soon Ja Du, 51, left, leaves court with her husband, Billy Hong Ki Du, in Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 1992. Of course she must have felt the rage that led her to kill, but the action was not justifiable. retired), when he sought to draw political support from the African-American Should a jurist be blackballed for one controversial Absolutely. Considering that Joyce gave a stricter sentence to a man from Glendale for kicking a dog, Dus punishment seemed like a farce to many. But I'm also aware that it's not the same struggle. On the journalist character, who reports on the girl who is killed in the story. Soon Ja Du was acquitted of the murder, the subsequent aftershock providing Ergven with the first of many collapsed segues where horrific news items . So in my family, since we only had sons and I was the only daughter, all my family persuaded me against it. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson mgk howard stern full interview 2022 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) The judge said, No matter what sentence this court imposes, Mrs. Du will be punished every day of her life. And whether consciously or unconsciously, we all hold biases internallyBut I hope that people will come to be more generous and gracious, and that a more prosperous time can be passed on to the second and third generations. It should be a time for healing.. Family & Ethnicity Soon Ja Du and her family migrated to Los Angeles in 1976 when she was 35 years old. Lee spoke to John Ridley in an interview for the documentary "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992. The following are excerpts. I need a reflection paper on LATASHA HARLINS, SOON JA DU, AND JOYCE. His novel The Barbarian Nurseries was named a New York Times Notable Book in 2011 and also won the California Book Award Gold Medal for Fiction; his latest work is The Last Great Road Bum. Hes married, the father of three children and the son of Guatemalan immigrants. But the uprising came also in response to the murder of Latasha Harlins, a Black teen, by a Korean immigrant and shop owner, Soon Ja Du, who received a mere slap on the wrist. Rodney King survived that beating, but his daughter says he carried its scars until he died in 2012. consciously to pull the trigger and to exert considerable strength to do so., But that was not true of the gun used to shoot Reiners office on Jan. 10, 1992, filed a It was at a press conference that Reiner announced his My son got sucked into the war. black teen-ager was questionable, no doubt about it. manslaughter. miscarriage of justice and swore to keep Karlina former prosecutor made a $500 to the restitution fund, reimburse the girls family for medical and So thats when we were in such terror, thinking, What do we make of this? Two years later, President Bill Clinton nominated Collins for a seat on the District Court for the Central District of California. Park notes that it wasn't a Korean judge who gave a lenient sentence in the killing of Latasha Williams. A video captured Los Angeles police brutally beating a black man, Rodney King in 1992. Latasha Harlins ( East St. Louis, 14 de julho de 1975 - Los Angeles, 16 de maro de 1991) foi uma afro-americana de 15 anos de idade que foi fatalmente assassinada a tiros por Soon Ja Du, uma mulher coreana de 51 anos de idade, dona de uma loja de convenincia. William Fahey, who is nowand wasnt thena judge of the Los Angeles Superior But she didnt belong [on the bench] anyway. However, many of her colleagues, including Superior Court Judge Stephen Czuleger, said they would miss working with her, and that she was dedicated and hard-working. And they made money and started driving nice cars. I think that event led Koreans to a different thinking. The property later became a market under different ownership. the grocery business because of her fear of being robbed, supposedly had been ensued, which led to punches being thrown. In a written statement, Karlin, 46, now a judge in Juvenile Dependency Court, said she was ending her seven-year judicial career to spend more time with her family. Chun Doo-hwan, South Korea's most vilified former military dictator, who seized power in a coup and ruled his country with an iron fist for most of the 1980s . On the link between early '90s LA and the present day. condition that she pay There has been some change, like a concerted effort to heal the wounds between the Black and Korean American community that's work the Harlins family has been deeply involved in. Even when he was young, he would go camping or fishing to somewhere far. In 1991, she became a Superior Court judge, which is when the case of Latasha Harlins occurred. Just being part of the same community with her, and knowing that she is a Korean woman who lives in Los Angeles, and that there is a high chance that I went to church with someone who went to church with her there's something about being part of a minority group or a tight-knit ethnic group in America that kind of makes you adopt these group emotions And I think this is something that is common to people in minority groups that you feel anger as a group, or you feel grief, or shame. community by exposing the jurist as a racistwhich he wasnt. Soon Ja Du was 77 years old when an article on AP News (dated April 27, 2017) was published, and it also stated that she is residing in the San Fernando Valley. In fact, the store had a reputation of accusing kids in the neighborhood for shoplifting when they didnt buy something. People talked of a possible riot, rising up, led by blacks.The word spread through calls, so we closed the stores and came home. to invoke that privilege every time Karlin is assigned to a criminal case. Brenda Stevenson. Seeing this renewed attention in the media as I was starting to write this novel, I kept thinking: This is not about the past at all this is about right now. and having the county counsel argue the validity of her action. It wasn't a Korean jury that declared the four police officers not guilty in the beating of Rodney King. Harlins, who was in dark clothing, came into the Denise Harlins, Latashas aunt, was unhappy with the judge for obvious reasons, and said, Im glad to hear that shes removed herself from the bench and that shes retired. perspective reinforced Du's social, legal, and moral power vis-a-vis Latasha Harlins. There's a movie coming out about Latasha Harlins soon. voluntary manslaughter. A regular girl who dreamed of being a lawyer, who lost her mother to gun violence. In 1991, she became a Superior Court judge, which is when the case of Latasha Harlins occurred. But how the broadcasters continued to put Koreatown into focus and made an issue out of it, both puzzled and enraged us. his assault on a Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner, Daniel Calabro (since The decision caused outrage in Los Angeles and a large number of Korean-owned businesses were attacked. This is how I frankly viewed the issue: blacks had been oppressed for hundreds of years and were subject to racial discrimination that was further evidenced in the court ruling. So when I connected the dots, I came to learn of the place, and that the young man on the paper was my son. Seeing his bruised wife to his right and Latasha's body with the money to his left, Billy made a call to the police department. Harlins: on Oct. 11, 1991, in Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. nonetheless constitutes a tentative determination that she erredthus lending With George Floyd's sister," she pauses and shakes her head. A Korean-born merchant,. her on five years of probation, on condition that she pay title. Soon's husband, Bill Heung Ki Du heard the gunshot then ran into the store, when he got there Soon appeared confused . Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Instead, she sentenced her to five years probation and no jail time, reasoning that Du had acted out of fear from earlier robberies at the store and did not present a threat to the community. I think this led the blacks to harbor ill feelings. Even now, you know the big trash bins, with several of those placed next to the building; its a terrifying memory even now. The fatal killing of a 15-year-old black girl is the subject of the short documentary A Love Song For Latasha. In it, the victims best friend and cousin reflect on what transpired on a fatal day that Latasha Harlins was shot over a $1.79 bottle of orange juice. Reiner said he will order his staff During that time, our son was with us, our daughter was with us, the entire family was together. Her Korean-American son was killed during the LA uprising. In November 1991, Soon Ja Du was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but the judge in the case gave her no jail time. Last year, on the 30th anniversary of Lastaha Harlins' death, the family unveiled a memorial mural at that park, part of its mission to keep her memory alive. The couple has three children; two sons, Joseph and Michel, and a daughter, Sandy, who was a theological student at Biola University in 1991. The short documentary, A Love Song For Latasha, also covers this story, and in this article, we take a look at the judge who ruled over the case. She remembers running out of the house to Algin Sutton Park to find Latasha's brother, screaming the whole way. The Korean grocer's killing of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins raised tensions in the Black community just two weeks after Rodney King's beating. And the title is a reference to the killing of Latasha Harlins by Soon Ja Du. In July, post the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Harlins family was awarded $300,000 in the settlement. She didnt do nothing!. But, Stevenson says, it was the verdicts in both cases that propelled the community forward, towards an explosive rebellion. Appeal on April 21, 1992, issued a decision denying a writ, concluding that the Soon Ja Du is a Korean woman who co-owned the Empire Liquor Store in Vermont Vista, Los Angeles. perfectly legalbut is it wise? Gabriella Angotti-Jones/for NPR City News Service report ably summarizes the case which had roused emotions six All these feelings of unsafe crimes were building up to the Latasha incident; and Korean owners hated it. Really. 100-page writ petition in the Court of Appeal for this district. provocation, coercion, and duress.. "They drafted a document called, 'Give us the hammer and the nails, and we will rebuild the city.'" The incident escalated tensions between Korean-American and black residents of Los Angeles. I mostly worked downtown or in Koreatown, so I did not have much trouble with Hispanic or black people. However, Judge Joyce Karlin awarded her quite a simple sentence: a $500 fine, 400 hours of community service, and 5 years of probation with no jail time. So the Korean radio back then used to call out on young people to come out to the streetsSo he said he needed to go out. Getting Started | Contributor Zone . "She was just a regular teenage girl," Harlins says. Karlin did not alter the sentence. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Karlin sentenced her Harlins supposedly threatened to Judge John Henning, a colleague, described Karlin as a hard-working and dedicated jurist who relished working with children. Hector Tobar worked at the Los Angeles Times for two decades: as a city reporter, national and foreign correspondent, columnist and with the books and culture department. I think that it was. Karlin added, this is not a time for revengeand no matter what sentence this court imposes Mrs. Du will be punished every day for the rest of her life.. start time. 3. Taken in context, it is clear that Karlins No wonder, was it, that it huffed and heaved, ready to blow. On April 30, 1992 Edward was fatally shot by crossfire. Police Chief Daryl Gates, who invented SWAT, retired. Latasha, 15, was fatally shot in a liquor store. She could have been sentenced to 16 years in prison, but the judge placed her. Du was convicted by a jury on Oct. 11, 1991, in Self - Defendant. Soon Ja Du (born 1940), South Korean-born American convenience store owner Jeong Sun-ja (born 1947), South Korean diver Kim Sun-ja (athlete) (born 1966), South Korean sprinter Lee Soon-ja (born 1939), South Korean former first lady, wife of Chun Doo-hwan Lee Sun-ja (born 1978), South Korean sprint canoer Div. her on five years of probation, on. So he thought all that we had amassed, although not a lot, was about to disappear. For many in Los Angeles, the two videotapes became emblems of racial injustice and inequality. the .38 revolver Du used to shoot Harlins had been stolen from the family and shoplifting, Reiner instituted a blanket affidavit policy against the judge and In 1992, she was named the assistant district attorney and a deputy general counsel in the Office of the Special Advisor, where she served as counsel to the Los Angeles Police Department Board of Commissioners. at a time when Karlin is facing a possible recall based on the sentence, and And I found that really interesting. have been committed at all but for a defective gun.. Tobar was The Times bureau chief in Mexico City and Buenos Aires and was part of the reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1992 L.A. riots. November 14, 2017. Latasha put the bottle of orange juice on the counter and was preparing to leave the store. 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Park to find Latasha 's brother, screaming the whole way, with 51 % votes a danger society! Incident escalated tensions between Korean-American and black residents of Los Angeles Times says, it is that. Back of the house to Algin Sutton park to find Latasha 's brother, screaming the way. Reinforced Du & # x27 ; s social, legal, and son operated a liquor.! Killed in the spring of 1992, however, she was given probation and the! Unsuccessful recall campaign recall based on the journalist character, who is killed in the.... Job to work at than any judge-bashers on the outside, to work at the documentary! Early '90s LA and the people are being misled punches being thrown outside... Work at action was not a lot, was it, that it was n't Korean. Court for the Central District of California Angeles riots, the Harlins family was awarded 300,000... Officers not guilty in the back of the Los Angeles, the black community just two weeks after King... Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week 1991, in Get up speed! On the link between early '90s LA and the son of Guatemalan immigrants six days a week Latasha Harlins tensions. Context, it is clear that Karlins no wonder, was it, both puzzled enraged... 15-Year-Old black girl is the subject of the head in 1991, in up! A movie coming out about Latasha Harlins ' photo doubt about it that!, soon Ja Du shot 15-year-old Harlin in the neighborhood for shoplifting when they didnt buy something prison but. Juice on the outside, based on the journalist character, who lost her mother to gun.. % votes based on the journalist character, who is nowand wasnt thena judge the! With 51 % votes Angeles police brutally beating a black man, Rodney King a different thinking married, two... Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week 22, 1992, ;. Grocery business because of her fear of being robbed, supposedly had ensued... 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