Week 1 Blog
ASA 002 A03
Fall 2015
In the article, Thinking Dialectically by Grace Lee Boggs, one important takeaway was the necessity of a community-based and socially responsible community. This reminded me of the Vincent Chin incident in 1982. Chin's wrongful death stirred up public unrest within the community of Detroit, which soon spread across the nation. The lawsuit involving white defendants, Michael Nitz and Ronald Ebens, the racial slurs and accusations used, the already tense anti-immigration and anti-foreign labor atmosphere, and the verdict only increased public pressure and discontent. The need for pan-ethnic collaboration was extremely important during this time. In the article Asian Pacific American's Social Movements and Interest Groups, the pan-ethnic identity was already being reconstructed by society to fit the time period's interests. The verdict of the case went from a second degree murder charge, to no jail time, 3 years probation, and a fine. The Asian-American community, which included not only Chinese-Americans, but Koreans, Japanese, and Filipinos, along with other minorities, came together to fight the injustice that had been committed. The killing catalyzed the support in the community which was already in motion following the Black Panthers power movement. Some questions I have include: How depressing is it that it takes a death of someone in the Asian-American community to set ethnic solidarity in motion? I'm upset by how Chin's death is something that not a lot of people are aware of. How has Asian American consciousness changed and in ways evolved to fit the time?
Above is an image of different Asian ethnic groups coming together in protest of the Vincent Chin case verdict.
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