Timely and Necessary: ‘A Love Song For Latasha’ Wants to Restore this Lost Black Girl’s Magic

There are some stories you hear about as an Angeleno, that stay with you forever. While I was not born in Los Angeles, I was raised there and lived most of my life in the city. Latasha Harlin’s death in the early 90’s was one I would think of from time to time growing up. I would look at her picture, the black and white photo circulated. I would search her face, look into her eyes, see the curl of her hair and wonder who she was. Wonder why her life was cut short. Wonder what type of life she would have led if her life was not forfeited. Initially released April 28, 2019, A Love Song For Latasha directed by Sophia Nahli Allison’s does something different with the slain black teen. This documentary film removes Latasha from the context of her death and rebuilds an archive of a promising life lost. Nearly three decades later, Allison’s vision brings us a dreamlike portrait of a vibrant 15-year-old girl whose shooting death sparks the 1992 L.A. Riots.

Evermore important, as her death is a spark in a long line of tragedies and instances of violence against Black folks –the vicious beating Rodney King that was recorded and shown around the world overshadowed hers. While I have family members who went to protest at the courthouse when the judge proceeding over the case, gave the convenience store owner who killed Harlins, a light sentence of community service–young Latasha Harlin’s life has been erased, dismissed, and glossed over in much the same way the coverage and history…