A LIVING LEGACY

In 1982, the horrific baseball bat slaying of Vincent Chin just days before his wedding gave a name to the systemic racism of anti-Asian hate. The miscarriage of justice that followed, allowing the two white killers to go free without spending a day in jail, ignited a new civil rights movement. Asian Americans rose up together with a multiracial, multicultural coalition united for equal justice and human dignity and still stands as a landmark of American history. In 2022, 40 years later, the lessons of building solidarity and unity to obtain justice for Vincent Chin can inspire people to again rise to the challenge to come together to counter division and hate, to unite older and younger generations from all walks of life to link arms and work for the common cause of positive change. This Legacy Guide is meant to be a discussion and teaching tool. It is also a tribute to the individuals and communities who came together for justice for Vincent Chin and who are standing up today so that all communities may live without fear of violence, in safety and harmony. Today’s pandemic of anti-Asian hate has unsettling parallels to the anti-Asian hate of the 1980s. When Detroit’s Asian American community organized American Citizens for Justice (ACJ) to fight the injustice of Vincent Chin’s case, we were establishing a movement with founding principles based on a clear commitment to seek justice for all and to stand against racism and discrimination of any kind. This is a core part of Vincent’s legacy. As Vincent’s mother Lily said on national television, “Our skin color may be different, but our blood is the same.” Between March 20, 2020 through December 31, 2021, StopAAPIhate.org received nearly 11,000 reports of hate incidents to their single, community based website. California State University Santa Barbara’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism reported a 339 percent increase in anti-Asian violence between 2020 and 2021. The Vincent and Lily Chin Estate, along with ACJ and the Planning Committee of the Vincent Chin 40th Remembrance and Rededication, all firmly believe that Vincent Chin’s legacy continues to advance the ideals of equal justice and solidarity against the racism and hate that Lily Chin courageously addressed.

—HELEN ZIA AND THE VINCENT AND LILY CHIN ESTATE

Photo caption, page 64