June 19, 2018 marked the 36th anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin. Shining a light back on this terrible event is important — especially as many do not know the story.
On June 19, 1982, a Chinese American man was beaten to death in the Detroit suburb of Highland Park, Michigan. The two men who killed him (Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz) both faced a charge of second-degree murder. But instead they were convicted in county court for manslaughter, sentenced to three years of probation and fined less than $4,000.00. They never spent a day in jail.
This StoryCorps testimony by a friend tells the story firsthand:
“Remembering Vincent Chin, who was murdered because of his race”
And this link shows reactions of some Asian Americans today:
“Voices: Who is Vincent Chin? NBC Asian America.”