‘She was more than a statistic’

Source: Netflix

Sometimes
when someone becomes the “face” of a movement, people tend to forget that they
were actual human beings. The focus shifted to the crime but not to the life
taken.

A love Song
for Latasha, is a brilliant documentary streaming on Netflix, portraying what
the life of Latasha Harlins would have been if she’d not been killed by a
Korean store owner in 1991 at the age of 15.

Until now,
Harlins’s tragic death was known to spark riots in Los Angeles in 1992 but
nobody has a clue about what her life would have been like… the trauma and pain
of her loved ones to carry for the rest of their lives. Her dreams, aspirations,
and promises were put to a tragic end. This documentary beautifully attempts to
paint the life that could not live.

While the
black community took to streets to protest against the brutal killing of a
young girl, Latasha’s family and friends silently mourned the death of a lively
child whose full story barely made it to the headlines.

Now, almost
three decades after her death, director Sophia Nahli Allison’s ‘A love Song for
Latasha’ removes 15-year-old from the context of a brutal death and reflects an
archive of a promising life lost.

She was more
than the “face” of the movement, and this documentary rightly portrays the
sentiment… In the documentary, her friends and family narrate the memories of
Latasha alongside dreamlike scenes that portray the impact a short but
brilliant life can have.

The 15-minute
movie adds new meaning to the concept of “short and sweet.” A Love Song for
Latasha is an inspiring piece of work that adopts a unique approach to
storytelling. It’s a must watch, especially now when we reflect on the entire
Black Lives movement going on in our country and around the world!

We need more
movies like these to keep telling the stories of the voiceless, because they
deserve to be heard!

Check out the
trailer here: