Washington, D.C. — OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates joined with other local and national partners in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday to remember the life of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American man who was brutally beaten by two white auto workers on June 19, 1982.

In honor of Chin, whose death sparked calls for stronger federal hate crime protections for Asian American communities, American Citizens for Justice (ACJ) and the Estate of Vincent and Lily Chin joined together to host a series of events on June 16-19, including a motorcade and gravesite remembrance ceremony on the 40th anniversary of the murder.

“Anti-Asian sentiment is not new, and we are now seeing a wave of attacks during the pandemic that is an order of magnitude more serious,” said Roland Hwang, OCA’s Vice President of Public Affairs and a member of the Vincent Chin 40th Remembrance & Rededication Planning Committee who co-founded ACJ with Helen Zia in 1983. “While these events are about remembrance of a hate crime that defined our civil rights movement, they also serve as a reminder that our fight against racially-motivated violence is far from over.”

“While four decades have passed, the legacy of Vincent Chin and the work of his mother Lily continue to inspire us to seek justice, mobilize against intolerance, and build solidarity with other communities of color,” said Linda Ng, National President of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates.

“Justice is the principle that people receive that which they deserve,” said Elinor Ho, OCA-Detroit Chapter, known as Association of Chinese Americans (ACA), President. “Vincent Chin’s tragedy transpired 40 years ago, awakened the community about injustice, and inspired us, especially the Asians, to strive for equality and fairness.”
 

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OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national social justice organization of community advocates dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Learn more about our work at ocanational.org/about.