Chin, Vincent (1955–1982)

Meghan A. Burke

Vincent Chin was a Chinese American who was beaten to death in 1982, on the night of his bachelor party, by two White autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, in Detroit, Michigan. Witnesses to the crime claim that his killers mistakenly identified him as being Japanese, a group they felt was responsible for the loss of their jobs. Despite the fact that Ebens and Nitz confessed to the crime, they were able to negotiate a plea bargain, which resulted in 3 years' probation and a $3,000 fine each. Widely regarded as a hate crime, the murder of Vincent Chin came to symbolize the continuing racism against Asians in the United States and served as a platform under which pan-Asian organizations forged coalitions to fight racism in their communities. This entry describes the crime and its impact. Vincent Chin, the adopted son and only child of Chinese immigrants, was raised in ...

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