User:Mbrennan21/Killing of Latasha Harlins

Effect on Black and Korean relations

After the extremely publicized shooting of Latasha Harlins, relations between the Black and Korean communities continued to deteriorate rapidly. Despite intervention from leaders of both communities, the time after the death of Latasha Harlins was categorized by boycotts, tense debate, bitterness, Molotov Cocktails, and more convenience store murders. However, while tensions were exponentially increased because of the killing of Harlins, they were built on existing conflict that had been present in the community. Korean immigrant shop-owners have a growing presence in Black communities since before the 1970s. Since then, they have been a target of anger from both Black shop-owners and Black customers, with competing claims from either group that say Korean shop-owners "undercut prices" by the shop-owners and that they over charge by the customers. In 1984, seven years before Latasha Harlins was shot, an editorial was posted in a Black community newspaper urging a boycott of Korean stores, saying that any Black person who went to their stores was a 'traitor'. Korean immigrants bought their storefronts in Black neighborhoods, specifically South Central, LA, because the real estate was significantly cheaper than other neighborhoods. The distrust runs possibly even further, because in the same editorial the writer exclaims, "The real question is, why was my brother's brains blown out fighting for those Koreans?" in reference to the Korean War. Further, the stereotypes of the two groups was a source of contension, with Black people often being labeled at economically "dependent" while Koreans and other Asians are often labeled at economically self-sufficient. Tensions only continued to mount during 1991, where injustices against Black Americans, and the release of the police officers who beat Rodney King were released. These events all culminated in deadly and destructive riots beginning on April 29, 1992 and continuing through May 4, 1992. Many of the targets of looting and destruction were Korean stores, with more than two-thousand Korean stores being burned or looted. Though these ethnic tensions have not resulted in wide-scale violence since 1992, the relationship between Koreans and the Black community remains strained.

Los Angeles Riots in 1992

Latasha Harlin's murder was one of many tragic events in Los Angeles that lead to the riots in 1992. While the event itself was a tragedy, another tragedy that came from the event, in the eyes of many in the Black community, was that Soon Ja Du did not receive any jail time for her blatant crime. While the jury convicted Du of manslaughter, which normally carries a maximum of 16 years in prison, the judge, Joyce Karlins, commuted her sentence to probation and a mere $500 fine- this angered many in the Black community, as well as other community members, who felt that the sentencing set a dangerous precedent. The sentencing of Soon Ja Du eerily reflected that of the police officers who beat Rodney King. In both cases, there was concrete video evidence depicting wrongdoing and in both cases, the defendants did not serve any jail time. After the verdict in Rodney King's case was delivered, massive riots ensued in Los Angeles, protesting in anger the miscarriage of justice for Black victims and racial inequality. While Rodney King's case was the immediate catalyst to the violence, cases like Latasha Harlins' fueled anger and demonstrated injustices against Black people, which ultimately lead to the riots.