Subject Guides: Asian American and Pacific Islander Anti-Discrimination Resources: Detroit Connection: The Murder of Vincent Chin

It happened in Highland Park

The murder of Vincent Chin in Highland Park, MI in 1982 was another flashpoint for anti-AAPI violence in the United States, with several parallels to current events. The aftermath inspired a new wave of Asian-American activism and became a rallying cry for stronger hate crime laws. Because of its geographic relevance to our campus as well as the fact that recent acts of anti-AAPI violence call it back to mind, we wanted to showcase this incident in more depth.

The Murder of Vincent Chin

NBC News: Who Is Vincent Chin? The History and Relevance of a 1982 Killing
Although the death of Vincent Chin has become a staple of Asian-American studies courses taught across the country, there are still many — Asian Americans and others — who do not know about what happened the night Chin was beaten or understand its continued significance for the Asian American community.
How the 1982 Murder of Vincent Chin Ignited a Push for Asian American Rights
On June 19, 1982, a Chinese American man named Vincent Chin went with friends to a strip club in Detroit to celebrate his upcoming wedding. That night, two white men who apparently thought Chin was Japanese beat him to death. At the killers’ trial, the men each received a $3,000 fine and zero prison time. The light sentencing sparked national outrage and fueled a movement for pan-Asian American rights.
From a whisper to a rallying cry: commemorating the Vincent Chin Case
This article presents Frances Kai-Hwa Wang's remarks about the role of the media in the Chin case and in the birth of the Asian American civil rights movement. Wang was the executive director of American Citizens for Justice (the nonprofit Asian American civil rights advocacy group founded when Vincent Chin was killed) when she gave the speech, which was made at the State Bar's 34th Michigan Legal Milestone ceremony commemorating the Vincent Chin case, "From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry," held on 19 June 2009.
NPR Codeswitch Podcast: How Vincent Chin's Death Gave Others A Voice

Books related to the murder of Vincent Chin

Detroit: Race Riots, Racial Conflicts, and Efforts to Bridge the Racial Divide by Joe T. Darden; Richard W. Thomas
ISBN: 9781611860665
Publication Date: 2013-03-01
Chapter 7 of this book, beginning on page 155, specifically covers Anti-Asian racism and the murder of Vincent Chin.

Documentary film "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" (1987)

New Yorker: The History of Anti-Asian-American Violence
The filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña discusses the Atlanta shootings, the murder of Vincent Chin, and the complexities of Asian identity in the United States. [The film is linked below.]

This documentary film by Renee Tajima-Peña and Christine Choy was nominated for a 1988 Academy Award for Best Documentary.