30 years later… We remember her name, Latasha Harlins

Written for The Link Entertainment by

Kiara Desirai, Author at The Link Entertainment

Netflix recently released ‘A Love Song for Latasha’ that was directed by Sophia Nahli Allison where the award-winning film played at more than a dozen festivals, including Sundance, Tribeca and AFI. In 2021, the short film was also nominated by the Oscars.

On March 16, 1991, Latasha Harlins was a 15-year-old girl who was fatally shot by Soon Ja Du, an owner of a Korean store. Her death was thirteen days after the video release of the Rodney King beating which contributed to the L.A. Riots of 1992.

Du saw Harlins put an orange juice in her backpack but didn’t notice the money she had to purchase it. Du proceeded to think she was stealing while Harlins continued to say, “I’m trying to pay for it.” Harlins returned the juice and as she walked away Du shot her in the back of the head.

When police arrived, they found the $2 in Latasha’s hand that she was going to use to pay for it. After trial, the jury gave her a maximum of 16 years but Judge Joyce Karlin only gave Du five years probation, 400 hours of community service and a $500 fine.

Tupac rapped about the real issues in the Black communities. He said her name, along with many other young individuals, various times in his music. Harlins death prompted Tupac to rap “a bottle of juice is no excuse – the truth hurts,” while ‘Keep Ya Head Up” music video opens with an image about being dedicated to Latasha Harlins.

In the movie Kings, starring Halle Berry, Latasha Harlins’ unfortunate story was played in a brief scene as well.

Latasha Harlins would be 45 now. Although justice was not correctly served, Latasha Marlins will forever be remembered.

Aunt Jemima changes name and logo to Pearl Milling Company

Written for The Link Entertainment by

Kiara Desirai, Author at The Link Entertainment

Aunt Jemima has officially dropped their well known brand name and logo. They will now be called Pearl Milling Company.

Over 130 years ago, two white men created the ‘Aunt Jemima’ syrup. The founders took a Black slave archetype and made her the face of the syrup for profit. Aunt Jemima is finally being replaced after the company made billions using a slave’s image.

Pepsi Co, which owns Aunt Jemima’s parent company Quaker Oats, the pancake-mix and syrup line began rebranding itself after the negative criticism the company has been receiving for years, especially within the past year pushing them to move one step closer to permanently abandoning its long lasting name.

Aunt Jemima has been a part of the American breakfast table for over a century and the rebranded products will be arriving in stores in June. Along with the new redesign packaging the company plans to pledge $5 million to support Black communities where $1 million will go to empower and uplift Black girls and women.

Several known companies came under fire as well due to receiving criticism about their roots of their branding including Uncle Ben’s and Quaker Oats. Mars Food announced that they were changing the name of its Uncle Ben’s rice products to Ben’s Original and that it would also remove the image of an older Black man smiling from the box. Also the parent company of Cream of Wheat also said that the Black chef will no longer appear on its packaging.

Companies are finally listening to the voice of the consumers and change will soon be seen on the shelves.

Stacey Abrams nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Written for The Link Entertainment by

Kiara Desirai, Author at The Link Entertainment

U.S. voting rights activist and Democratic party politician Stacey Abrams has been nominated by a Norwegian lawmaker for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize due to her promoting nonviolent change through the ballot boxes for elections.

Abrams played a critical role to help thousands of Georgia citizens register to vote for the 2020 presidential election, which helped Joe Biden win the U.S. presidency, and Senate runoff election in Georgia. She is now being nominated for her outstanding role in politics and change.

Abrams made history as the first woman to lead a political party in Georgia’s General Assembly and the first African American to lead the Georgia House of Representatives.

Abrams launched Fair Fight to ensure every American has a voice in the election system. Through programs such as Fair Fight, they are able to fund and train voter protection teams in 20 battleground states.

The nominations for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize is outstanding, the nominations ranges from the Black Lives Matter protest movement as well as Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the “Pentagon Papers” about the Vietnam War to voting rights campaigner Stacey Abrams, climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, and former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, for his work in building peace deals between Israel and several Arab states.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee decides who ultimately wins the award. Although they do not comment on nominations, nominators can choose to reveal their picks.

The winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize is expected to be announced in October 2021.

Past winners of the prestigious award include former U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama; former South African President Nelson Mandela, and female education activist Malala Yousafzai.

Abrams continues to be a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where she serves on the Subcommittee on Diversity. She continues to live out the missions of historical individuals such as Martin Luther King. She is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award and a current member of the Board of Directors for the Center for American Progress.

Abrams has also written eight romantic suspense novels under the pen name Selena Montgomery, in addition to the New York Times best-selling Lead from the Outside and Our Time is Now.

There is no stopping Abrams as long as there is need for change and efforts for equality.