The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins
Justice, Gender, and the Origins of the LA Riots
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Narrated by:
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Lisa Renee Pitts
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By:
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Brenda Stevenson
About this listen
Helicopters thwopped low over the city, filming blocks of burning cars and buildings, mobs breaking into storefronts, and the vicious beating of truck driver Reginald Denny. For a week in April 1992, Los Angeles transformed into a cityscape of rage, purportedly due to the exoneration of four policemen who had beaten Rodney King. It should be no surprise that such intense anger erupted from something deeper than a single incident. In The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins, Brenda Stevenson tells the dramatic story of an earlier trial, a turning point on the road to the 1992 riot.
On March 16, 1991, 15-year-old Latasha Harlins, an African American who lived locally, entered the Empire Liquor Market at 9172 South Figueroa Street in South Central Los Angeles. Behind the counter was a Korean woman named Soon Ja Du. Latasha walked to the refrigerator cases in the back, took a bottle of orange juice, put it in her backpack, and approached the cash register with two dollar bills in her hand-the price of the juice. Moments later she was face-down on the floor with a bullet hole in the back of her head, shot dead by Du. Joyce Karlin, a Jewish Superior Court judge appointed by Republican Governor Pete Wilson, presided over the resulting manslaughter trial.
A jury convicted Du, but Karlin sentenced her only to probation, community service, and a $500 fine. The author meticulously reconstructs these events and their aftermath, showing how they set the stage for the explosion in 1992. An accomplished historian at UCLA, Stevenson explores the lives of each of these three women-Harlins, Du, and Karlin - and their very different worlds in rich detail. Through the three women, she not only reveals the human reality and social repercussions of this triangular collision, she also provides a deep history of immigration, ethnicity, and gender in modern America. Massively researched, deftly written, The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins will reshape our understanding of race, ethnicity, gender, and-above all-justice in modern America.
©2013 Brenda E. Stevenson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Righteous Troublemakers shines a light on everyday people called to do extraordinary things—like Pauli Murray, whose early work inspired Thurgood Marshall, Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus months before Rosa Parks did the same, and Gwen Carr, whose private pain in losing her son Eric Garner stoked her public activism against police brutality. Sharpton also gives his personal take on more widely known individuals, revealing overlooked details, historical connections, and a perspective informed by years of working in the social justice movement.
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Thank God for this book knowledge is power
- By JOAN REID on 02-23-22
By: Al Sharpton
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Malcolm X
- A Life of Reinvention
- By: Manning Marable
- Narrated by: G. Valmont Thomas
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Of the great figure in 20th-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins' bullets at age 39. Through his tireless work and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man.
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invites further reading on Malcolm X
- By connie on 05-14-11
By: Manning Marable
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Chokehold
- Policing Black Men
- By: Paul Butler
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Cops, politicians, and ordinary people are afraid of black men. The result is the Chokehold: laws and practices that treat every African American man like a thug. In this explosive new book, an African American former federal prosecutor shows that the system is working exactly the way it's supposed to. Black men are always under watch, and police violence is widespread - all with the support of judges and politicians.
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Good but not amazing
- By Andrew on 12-16-17
By: Paul Butler
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Disintegration
- The Splintering of Black America
- By: Eugene Robinson
- Narrated by: Alan Bomar Jones
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The African American population in the United States has always been seen as a single entity: a "Black America" with unified interests and needs. In his groundbreaking book Disintegration, longtime Washington Post journalist Eugene Robinson argues that, through decades of desegregation, affirmative action, and immigration, the concept of Black America has shattered.
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Written for Popular Consumption
- By Catherine S. Read on 06-03-11
By: Eugene Robinson
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Con Job
- How Democrats Gave Us Crime, Sanctuary Cities, Abortion Profiteering, and Racial Division
- By: Crystal Wright
- Narrated by: Crystal Wright
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Black voters have overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party for the last fifty years - and for their loyalty, black Americans have been rewarded with worsening schools, collapsed families, skyrocketed incarceration rates, disappearing jobs, and rising crime. Crystal Wright, editor of the blog Conservative Black Chick, exposes how the Democratic Party has systematically betrayed black voters.
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Awesome!
- By Tracy on 05-11-16
By: Crystal Wright
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Black Against Empire
- The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
- By: Joshua Bloom, Waldo E. Martin Jr.
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In Oakland, California, in 1966, community college students Bobby Seale and Huey Newton armed themselves, began patrolling the police, and promised to prevent police brutality. Unlike the Civil Rights Movement that called for full citizenship rights for blacks within the US, the Black Panther Party rejected the legitimacy of the US government and positioned itself as part of a global struggle against American imperialism.
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the explanation of rise and fall Black Panther
- By Antwine Hurst on 03-24-17
By: Joshua Bloom, and others
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Ida B. the Queen
- By: Michelle Duster
- Narrated by: Michelle Duster
- Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Ida B. Wells committed herself to the needs of those who did not have power. In the eyes of the FBI, this made her a “dangerous negro agitator”. In the annals of history, it makes her an icon. Ida B. the Queen tells the awe-inspiring story of a pioneering woman who was often overlooked and underestimated - a woman who refused to exit a train car meant for White passengers; a woman brought to light the horrors of lynching in America; a woman who cofounded the NAACP.
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I was expecting something different
- By L on 02-01-21
By: Michelle Duster
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The Blood of Emmett Till
- By: Timothy B. Tyson
- Narrated by: Rhett Samuel Price
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Mississippi, 1955: 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered by a white mob after making flirtatious remarks to a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. Till's attackers were never convicted, but his lynching became one of the most notorious hate crimes in American history. It launched protests across the country, helped the NAACP gain thousands of members, and inspired famous activists like Rosa Parks to stand up and fight for equal rights for the first time.
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Tough read. Rest in Peace Emmit. We are so sorry!
- By Melanie B on 09-16-18
By: Timothy B. Tyson
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A Nation of Nations
- A Story of America After the 1965 Immigration Law
- By: Tom Gjelten
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1950, Fairfax County, Virginia, was 90 percent white, 10 percent African American, with a little more than 100 families who were "other". Currently the African American percentage of the population is about the same, but the Anglo white population is less than 50 percent, and there are families of Asian, African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American origin living all over the county. A Nation of Nations follows the lives of a few immigrants to Fairfax County over recent decades as they gradually "Americanize".
By: Tom Gjelten
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Fight Back and Win
- My 30-Year Fight Against Injustice and How You Can Win Your Own Battles
- By: Gloria Allred
- Narrated by: Gloria Allred
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Abridged
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Fearless lawyer, feminist, activist, television and radio commentator, warrior, advocate, and winner, Gloria Allred is all of these things and more. Voted by her peers as one of the best lawyers in America, and described by Time as "one of the nation's most effective advocates of family rights and feminist causes", Allred has devoted her career to fighting for civil rights across boundaries of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and social class.
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Amazing book, amazing woman.
- By Hope on 04-05-12
By: Gloria Allred
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The Accommodation
- The Politics of Race in an American City
- By: Jim Schutze, John Wiley Price
- Narrated by: Mike Rhyner, John Wiley Price
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The powerful, long-repressed classic of Dallas history that examines the violent and suppressed history of race and racism in the city. Written by longtime Dallas political journalist Jim Schutze, formerly of the Dallas Times Herald and Dallas Observer and currently columnist at D Magazine, The Accommodation follows the story of Dallas from slavery through the civil rights movement and the city’s desegregation efforts in the 1950s and ‘60s.
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Floored
- By Anthony on 09-16-22
By: Jim Schutze, and others
What listeners say about The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- AmericanDreamer
- 03-12-17
Way too much sociological details
The parts of this audiobook which tell the actual story of Latasha Harlins, her family and the criminal case of her murderer are most excellent.
The dullest and most pointless parts of this book were the hours of narration devoted to the backgrounds of Soon Ja Du and Judge Karlin. As a result, I ended up listening to only about ha
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- Morgan E
- 09-14-24
Informative
This was a very informative book. I loved that the author pulled information from Memoirs of people in similar life circumstances. I was previously unaware of this history and it has helped me to better understand the legal process for a civilian shooting another civilian. The racial implications and the role of gender were explored at length which was very interesting.
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- C Z
- 03-14-16
Eye-opening, unbiased, and life changing
What made the experience of listening to The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins the most enjoyable?
It's hard to describe any part of this book as "enjoyable," considering the topic, but I really enjoyed the extensive background histories Stevenson gave for the people in this event. It really put so much into context for me and opened my eyes to the bases for conflicts between people in South Central LA. I also would say I enjoyed the author's unbiased approach to this topic. It allowed me to learn a lot about race relations in this part of the country and form my own understanding of what took place between Harlins and Du on March 16, 1991.
What other book might you compare The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins to and why?
I'd compare this to a book I'd have read in grad school. It is not for the faint of heart. It is a well researched book with a lot of data and information. This is not a superficial telling of an event and is not light reading!
What does Lisa Renee Pitts bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Pitts' voice was clear and properly paced, though I did speed it up at bit to 1.25x.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It's hard to not have a reaction to this book and, yes, I cried. How do you NOT cry when you hear about the torments of African-Americans in this country? How do you NOT cry when you hear about Latasha Harlins' hard 15 years of life? How do you NOT cry when you hear the details of the Rodney King beating, the killing of Korean shop keepers, and the struggles of people in South Central LA? I cried. I became obsessed with this story. I even drove through the neighborhood store Latasha was killed at. I seriously think about her every day now. This book is life changing.
Any additional comments?
Listen to this book. Yes, it's detailed. Yes, it's got a lot of university-level concepts and discussion. But it's important to hear this story and understand what happened that day and how it is reflective of so many other things that had been happening, and happened afterwards, in South Central LA. This book has really motivated me to learn more about the civil rights movement and the history of African-Americans in California. Really, this is a really good book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jessica
- 08-25-15
Reads Like A Textbook...Narration Is Terrible!
What would have made The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins better?
It needed more about Latasha and her family, and a lot less statistical data. Very dry, and I felt as though I was reading a college textbook about the 1992 riots. I could not even finish the whole book!
Has The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins turned you off from other books in this genre?
No. Learning about the riots (I was 5 when they happened) and stories of the atmosphere at the time, not to mention Latasha Harlins's case has always interested me. However, I would tell everyone to steer clear of this book. As I said previously, it has too much statistical data (like that such and such percent of African-Americans did this or that) that it is like reading a textbook.
What didn’t you like about Lisa Renee Pitts’s performance?
She was the MOST HORRIBLE choice of narrator ever!!! No emotion or inflection in her voice at all. Listening to her monotone, dry reading made the book all that much worse! It was so bad, I could not finish it!! I wish I could have given the narration zero stars.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins?
While a book like this does require background information to give the reader an idea of what was going on before and during the riots,this book has entirely too much of it. It was less about what people went through and more about the data to the point where it got long and boring to me.
Any additional comments?
Change the narrator!! PLEASE!!! And rework the entire book to be made like something most everyday people would want to read. It's too much like a scholarly essay for the classroom, or a college thesis. The only reason I gave the book two stars was because the subject matter does genuinely interest me. This book did a horrible job, however, at keeping my interest.
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