06/07/2026
How quickly we forget.
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
