Racism killed Vincent Chin
Unless you’re Asian-American or involved in civil rights in some way, chances are you’ve never heard of the name Vincent Chin. Older people might remember about him. He would have been sixty-five years old in May 2020. Vincent Chin was murdered and died a violent death because of racism. Unlike George Floyd, Vincent Chin did not die at the hands or knees of a police officer. Vincent Chin was beaten to death by two ordinary citizens.
Vincent Chin was born on May 18, 1955 in China. He was living in an orphanage when he was adopted in 1961 by a Chinese couple living in the United States, Bing Hing “David” Chin and Lily Chin. Chin grew up in Highland Park, Michigan, during most of the 1960s, but the family moved to Oak Park, Michigan, in 1971. Vincent Chin graduated from high school in 1973 and studied at the Control Data Institute. He took a job as a draftsman at a car supply company and worked weekends as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant.
Detroit, Michigan was the scene of racial animosity toward Japan and the Japanese in the early 1980s. There was an oil shortage that caused gasoline prices to rise. Japanese cars, which were smaller and more fuel efficient than cars made in the United States, were gaining in popularity. The US domestic market saw the decline of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. US autoworkers were considered expensive with the cost of wages, pensions, health insurance and union labor standards. Many autoworkers in Detroit were laid off and lost their livelihoods. The workers were angry and blamed Japan and the Japanese. They did not distinguish between the different ethnicities of Asians. Thus, the animosity was directed at any Asians they came into contact with, even though most of them were Americans.
Being engaged with a wedding date set for June 28, 1982, twenty-seven-year-old Vincent Chin was having a bachelor party at a club with some of his friends on the night of June 19, 1982. Also at the club there were two white men, Ronald Ebens, a Chrysler foreman, and his stepson, Michael Nitz, who had lost his job at Chrysler. Assuming that Vincent Chin and his friends were of Japanese descent, a confrontation ensued with the two men who blamed Vincent Chin and his friends for causing them to lose their jobs. Asian-American youth were insulted as they were accused of being Japanese and causing their problems. Vincent Chin and his friends, along with Ebens and Nitz, were expelled from the club. Apparently, Chin was not intimidated, but they parted ways.
Ebens and Nitz drove for twenty minutes looking for Chin and his friends. They were found at a McDonald’s. Ebens savagely beat Chin with a baseball bat that he had in his truck. An off-duty police officer witnessed the attack and later testified that Ebens acted like he was swinging to hit a home run. He beat Chin to death, as Chin died four days later in hospital. It was absolutely racism that caused Vincent Chin to die forever.
Nobody disputed the fact that Ebens had killed Vincent Chin. However, Ebens and Nitz received no prison time and were fined $3,000. The murder was not national news at the time, but Asian Americans were outraged. The men admitted they were guilty as there were witnesses to the beating, but they went free. Racism was rewarded.
Black people have stood up to extreme racism and still do. Racism is a horrible problem and it affects a lot of people in this country. Something needs to be done about racism to improve conditions and create more equity in the world. People should not be subjected to racism.