Vincent Chin: A 35th Year Remembrance on Saturday, June 24, 2017, Michigan

We remember Vincent Chin, the 27-year old Asian American who was beaten to death in 1982, and whose death led to civil rights trials, and the beginning of an Asian American civil rights and victims rights movement right here in the Detroit area.

On Saturday, June 24, 2017, Association of Chinese Americans and American Citizens for Justice/Asian American Center for Justice host Vincent Chin: A 35th Year Remembrance at the Chinese Community Center, 32585 Concord Drive, Madison Heights, MI 48071.  The program starts at 9 am with the movie "Vincent Who?". The movie's director Curtis Chin will comment and have Q&A.  A panel at 10 am includes Carolyn Chin Watson, Kendall Kosai of OCA National, Steve Spreitzer of Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion, and Agustin Arbulu, Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, followed by remarks of Pastor Andrew Cheng, and lunch.  A gravesite visit takes place at 1 pm, weather permitting.

The Vincent Chin Remembrance is supported by the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion, Michigan Department of Civil Rights, Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, Council of Asian Pacific Americans, and Chinese Association of Greater Detroit.

Please spread the word about this event among your contacts and networks.

The event is free.  For more information, and to rsvp, please call ACA at (313) 831-1790 or (248) 585-9343.

Sarap: A New, Sustainable Take on Filipino Food at Detroit Pop-Up - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America

"Filipino food has such a strong home-cooked culture so we're not trying to do homestyle food," Hernandez told NBC News. "For us, our vision is using local, seasonal ingredients, and putting our own spin on Filipino food. When you're trying to do something new to something so beloved, the reaction will be mixed, but for the most part, people are excited to try our reinterpretation of traditional dishes."

Sarap: A New, Sustainable Take on Filipino Food at Detroit Pop-Up - NBC News

Wayne State Law School APA History and the Law

I am pleased to be a part of Wayne State University School of Law's first offering of "Asian Pacific American History and the Law: Perspectives on APA Civil Rights" this fall semester with Roland Hwang and Ann Malayang Daley, Thursdays 6-8 pm, LEX 8015 (3 credits).

Tell all the law students you know at Wayne State to sign up while there are still seats.

I also just updated my "Upcoming" page--lots of writing classes and APIA speaking engagements coming up this year, but there's still some room for more. Invite me! (Discounts for California locations!) http://www.franceskaihwawang.com/p/upcoming.html

Detroit Power Diva | Networking Divas

Apparently I'm a Detroit Power Diva, lol, I didn't know.

There's a video, too: Networking Divas Magazine

Dominic Pangborn Finds Artistic Evolution through Revolution - NBC News.com

My article in NBC News Asian America about hapa Korean American adult adoptee Detroit-based artist Dominic Pangborn:

"Then I discovered that art didn't require English, and Heaven’s gate opened."

Dominic Pangborn Finds Artistic Evolution through Revolution - NBC News.com

Detroit Asian Youth Project Celebrates 10 years of Mentorship - NBC News.com

Congratulations DAY (Detroit Asian Youth) Project on your 10 Year Anniversary Celebration today! 

“The program was started in response to questions being raised at the 20-year anniversary of the Vincent Chin incident,” said Detroit Asian Youth (DAY) Project co-founder and coordinator Soh Suzuki, referring to the beating death of a Chinese American man in a Detroit suburb in 1982. “Where has the Asian American community in Detroit gone? What does it mean to organize Asian Americans in Detroit today?”

Detroit Asian Youth Project Celebrates 10 years of Mentorship - NBC News.com

Stephanie Chang Is Poised to Make Political History in Michigan - NBC News.com

Congratulations Stephanie Chang on winning the primary! My article on NBCNews

“Our campaign was really focused on connecting with residents individually," said Chang. "I personally knocked on all the primary voters' doors twice! One resident joked with me that I had been over to his house more than his family members and another even jokingly referenced during her sermon at church that I had been by her house too many times!”

Stephanie Chang Is Poised to Make Political History in Michigan - NBC News.com

Netroots Nation 2014 NN14 Screening of "Vincent Who?" - and Discussion of Race in Detroit- Eventbrite

from Curtis Chin: VINCENT WHO? screening and panel on race in Detroit (aka Race and the City) Friday, July 18, 2014, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Cobo Hall, Room #142 C. Attendance is free, but if you're not attending the Netroots Nation 2014 conference, you must REGISTER HERE.
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/nn14-screening-of-vincent-who-and-discussion-of-race-in-detroit-tickets-12013820661

NN14 Screening of "Vincent Who?" - and Discussion of Race in Detroit- Eventbrite

18MillionRising | | In Search of Justice: Another Way to Remember Vincent Chin

beautiful reflection from 18 Million Rising New Media Director Cayden Mak on the legacy of Vincent Chin--and how it could change how we define "justice." http://bit.ly/1lpw1Zt

18MillionRising | | In Search of Justice: Another Way to Remember Vincent Chin

from Roland Hwang at Vincent Chin's gravesite at dusk

from Roland Hwang, one of the founding members of  American Citizens for Justice / Asian American Center for Justice, today at #vincentchin's gravesite at dusk.

Also read 18MillionRising's moving visit: 18MILLIONRISING (I went to Vincent Chin’s grave today, cleaned it,...)

Vincent Chin is buried next to his parents, Lily and CW Hing Chin, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 11851 Van Dyke Ave., Detroit, MI 48234-4137, section 42. (313) 921-6960.
http://forestlawndetroit.com/about-us/location/

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang on Role of the Media in Vincent Chin Case State Bar of Michigan Legal Milestone - YouTube

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Executive Director American Citizens for Justice, "Role of the Media in the Vincent Chin Case and the Birth of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement" at The State Bar of Michigan's 34th Michigan Legal Milestone commemoration of the Vincent Chin Case "From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry," Friday, June 19, 2009. (Finally got this video cut and uploaded!)



Frances Kai-Hwa Wang on Role of the Media in Vincent Chin Case State Bar of Michigan Legal Milestone - YouTube

3 videos for Remembering Vincent Chin

Thanks to Ankur Dholakia, then at Detroit News, for this clip of the Vincent Chin memorial plaque installation in Ferndale, Michigan, in 2010, which includes a short summary of the case and its significance at the beginning by former American Citizens for Justice Executive Director Frances Kai-Hwa Wang (me).

Here's another video clip of the installation ceremony from WXYZ News:
Video: Dec 2010 WXYZ News: Plaque honoring murdered Asian man, Vincent Chin, unveiled in Ferndale  wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/oakland_county/plaque-honoring-murdered-man-unveiled-in-ferndale

And wow, look what I found!  Charlie Chin - "Ballad of Vincent Chin" - live NYC, 2009

We Are Vincent Chin #IAmVincentChin

Check out the new site iamvincentchin.tumblr.com and see what folks are saying this weekend on the 32nd anniversary of the baseball bat beating death of Vincent Chin, #IAmVincentChin on Twitter and Tumblr, curated by

Jenn Fang Reappropriate Remember 32 years of Vincent Chin with #IAmVincentChin! Help trend it! | Reappropriate,

Vanessa Teck Project Ava #IAmVincentChin: Never Forget - Project Ava,

Juliet Shen Fascinasians

on Twitter #IAmVincentChin

and at Tumblr IAmVincentChin.tumblr.com or We Are Vincent Chin.

Updated: with more names and links.

Remember 32 years of Vincent Chin with #IAmVincentChin! Help trend it! | Reappropriate

From Jenn Fang at Reappropriate:

Yet, there are still those who have forgotten about Vincent Chin.Earlier this year, a columnist for the Detroit News published an op-ed that defended Nitz and Ebens, and blamed Chin for his own death by racial hate crime. Although the Asian American community generated a powerful series of writing refuting the Detroit writer’s revisionist history of the Chin case (including this piece by Frank Wu), the fact that a writer would write such a fallacious article thinking it would not impact an entire community of Asian Americans is proof that we cannot let Vincent Chin’s death be forgotten.

We must remind the world that Vincent Chin was us, and we are him.

Check out Jenn's call to action at: Remember 32 years of Vincent Chin with #IAmVincentChin! Help trend it! | Reappropriate

Twitter / reappropriate: Want more resources on the ...

Thanks for the tweet, Jenn Fang at Reappropriate, "Want more resources on the Vincent Chin tragedy? @fkwang curates the definitive blog. http://www.rememberingvincentchin.com/  #IAMVincentChin"

Twitter / reappropriate: Want more resources on the ...

Vincent Chin’s hate crime attack was 27 years ago today | NIKKEI VIEW: The Asian American Blog - GIL ASAKAWA'S JAPANESE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE ON POP CULTURE, MEDIA & POLITICS

from Gil Asakawa 2009 Vincent Chin’s hate crime attack was 27 years ago today | NIKKEI VIEW: The Asian American Blog - GIL ASAKAWA'S JAPANESE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE ON POP CULTURE, MEDIA & POLITICS

Why Vincent Chin Matters - NYTimes.com

from Frank Wu 2012 Why Vincent Chin Matters - NYTimes.com

My initial response to Neal Rubin's terrible article in Detroit News re Vincent Chin case

I hesitate to give this terrible article by Neal Rubin in Detroit News any additional clicks, but here is my initial respose. He basically tries to rewrite the Vincent Chin case based on no new evidence and much mistaken and false information. Go to my other blog, RememberingVincentChin.com for more up to date information.

Hey Neal Rubin, According to the juror interviewed in the Academy Award winning documentary, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" the jurors in Detroit federal trial found Ms. Racine Colwell to be THE most credible witness in the whole trial. You also forgot about the part where Ebens and Nitz paid Jimmy Perry $20 to help them hunt down "the Chinaman," before finally finding him at the McDonald's. Yes, Ronald Ebens was employed at Chrysler at the time (and Nitz had recently been laid off)--that was one of the reasons cited by Judge Kaufmann for the lenient sentence, that having a job gives one license to kill--but that does not mean that this case still was not all about race. Rather than relying on random third-hand information for a convoluted argument, you should do some research before launching your revisionist history and irresponsible journalism. The Michigan State Bar has deemed this case a Michigan Legal Milestone. You should talk to them.
--Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Here is Neal Rubin's terrible article in The Detroit News (Note: the content has been changed several times since first publication April 29, 2014, 1:03 am ish without any editor's notes regarding the updates):
What we all assume we know about the Vincent Chin case probably isn't so | The Detroit News

And here is the almost as terrible article by Charlie LeDuff in the New York Times that started it all with a careless offhand comment re the Vincent Chin case:
A Beating in Detroit - NYTimes.com

'American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs' | Freep Film Festival

Watch "American Revolutionary" this Saturday, March 22, 2014, 2 pm, at the DIA for the Detroit Free Press film festival with filmmaker Grace Lee and the great Grace Lee Boggs

'American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs' | Freep Film Festival

More info about the film: http://americanrevolutionaryfilm.com/ or watch the trailer here:

Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People: Helen Zia

Re-reading Helen Zia's "Asian American Dreams" for the first time in a long time and realizing that I now know almost everyone mentioned in the Vincent Chin chapter. #Chills.

Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People: Helen Zia: 9780374527365: Amazon.com: Books