WHO IS VINCENT CHIN?Vincent Chin was a 27-year-old Chinese American attending his all-American bachelor party in Detroit on June 19, 1982 to celebrate his upcoming wedding. That night, he was brutally beaten to death by two white men in an era of Anti-Asian hate. His death gave birth to a movement.
WHO IS VINCENT CHIN?
Vincent Chin, Courtesy of The Estate of Vincent and Lily Chin
Vincent worked two jobs–a draftsman by day in Oak Park and a waiter on weekends at a Chinese restaurant in Ferndale. He also attended night school to learn computer operations.
Vincent was well-liked by coworkers and supervisors for his friendly, easy-going nature as well as his strong work ethic and skills. Instead of celebrating his wedding, his 400 guests attended his funeral.
Remembering Vincent Chin and His FamilyYoung Vincent was an outgoing boy with a ready smile who was always popular in school. He was an avid reader, wrote poetry, and, like his parents, was involved with Detroit's Chinese American community centered in the Cass corridor, where Chinatown was then located.
Vincent was the only child of Lily and C.W. Hing Chin, a Highland Park couple who adopted him from a Chinese orphanage when he was six. Lily and David, a U.S. Army veteran who fought in World War II, were both working-class immigrants from China's Guangdong province. They labored in Detroit's Chinese laundries and restaurants–the few industries where Asian immigrants could find jobs. His father passed away in 1981, and Vincent and his fiancée were looking for a house with room for his mother Lily.
By 1982, Vincent and his fiancée had planned for a June wedding. Vincent worked two jobs-- a draftsman by day in Oak Park and a waiter on weekends at a Chinese restaurant in Ferndale. He also attended night school to learn computer operations. Vincent’s father had died in 1981 and the couple was looking for a house with room for his mother Lily. Vincent was well-liked by coworkers and supervisors for his friendly, easy-going nature as well has his strong work ethic and skills. Instead of celebrating his wedding, his 400 guests attended his funeral.
The Night of June 19, 1982 Witnesses at the bar overheard Ronald Ebens say, "It's because of you motherf---s that we're out of work"–an allusion to the massive layoffs and unemployment caused by the collapse of the auto industry. Vincent objected and a fight took place in the bar; outside, the killers took a baseball bat from their car and stalked Vincent and one of his buddies.
Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, paid $20 to a neighborhood passerby to help them "Get the Chinese." The killers spotted Vincent and his friend as they waited for a bus in front of a crowded McDonald's. Surprising Vincent from behind, Nitz grabbed Vincent and held him down while Ebens swung the bat into Vincent's head, "as if going for a home run," reported witnesses. Four days later, Vincent's widowed mother Lily Chin removed her son from life support.
MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICEThe horrific hate-filled slaying of Vincent Chin would have been tragic enough, but on March 16, 1983, the two killers were sentenced after pleading "no contest" to a reduced charge of manslaughter and freed without spending a day in jail.
Defense attorneys told the sentencing judge, Charles Kaufman, that Vincent started the fight against the two white defendants, who appeared in court clean, wearing suits, never having spent a day in jail. No prosecutor was present to refute the claim, and no family members had been notified that the sentencing was to take place.
After 15 minutes of proceedings, Kaufman sentenced Ebens and Nitz to three years' probation and $3,000 in fines. Explaining his sentence, Kaufman said, "These aren't the kind of men you send to jail."
Modern Day Asian American Civil Rights Movement
May 9, 1983 demonstration in Kennedy Square, Downtown Detroit, Photo by Victor Yang, Courtesy of Vincent and Lily Chin Estate
After the shocking sentence of probation for a violent murder, the disparate Asian American communities of Detroit came together for the first time to seek equal justice from the legal system.
This pan-Asian effort brought together different Asian ethnicities together across culture, language, immigration experience, class backgrounds all to stand against racism and to fight for equality. His case ignited the modern Asian American civil rights movement and built a multiracial, multicultural coalition united for equal justice and human dignity, which stands as a landmark of American history. Since 1983, numerous pan-Asian legal advocacy organizations, many grassroots community groups and newer generations of young AAPI activists have emerged as a direct result of the campaign for justice for Vincent Chin.
Defense attorneys told the sentencing judge, Charles Kaufman, that Vincent started the fight against the two white defendants, who appeared in court clean, wearing suits, never having spent a day in jail. No prosecutor was present to refute the claim, and no family members had been notified that the sentencing was to take place.
After 15 minutes of proceedings, Kaufman sentenced Ebens and Nitz to three years' probation and $3,000 in fines. Explaining his sentence, Kaufman said, "These aren't the kind of men you send to jail."
Why Vincent Chin’s Legacy Matters TodayToday, more than four decades later, the legacy of Vincent Chin and the campaign for justice offers lessons to all on how people of all races, including between Asian and Black Americans, and from all creeds and walks of life, can organize and come together to stand against intolerance of all kinds to build a beloved community that is safe and welcoming to all. That is the vision and goal of VCI.
A Message From Helen Zia on Behalf of the Vincent & Lily Chin Estate
“Today's anti-Asian hate has uncanny parallels to the anti-Asian hate of the 1980s. The Vincent Chin movement’s founding principles are the legacy of solidarity: in 1983, we declared our commitment to equal justice FOR ALL and a stand against racism and discrimination OF ANY KIND.
As Vincent’s mother Lily courageously said on national television, “Our skin color is different, but our blood is the same.” The Vincent Chin Institute continues the Vincent Chin movement’s legacy to advance the ideals of equal justice, solidarity against racism and hate, and a commitment to the right all families and communities to live in safety, without fear of violence.”
— Helen Zia, Executor, Estate of Lily and Vincent Chin