Who Killed Vincent Chin?
Who Killed Vincent Chin? chronicles the events leading up to the murder of the young industrial worker as well as the aftermath of the crime for those involved and for the community as a whole. The documentary highlights the horrific events incited by prejudice and stereotypes.
The film describes the social climate in Detroit that permitted the occurrence of such a violent crime, including the distress caused by a sudden rise in unemployment and the widespread animosity towards Asians as a result. The success of Japanese vehicles reduced the U.S. automobile industry, which was the source of income for a great number of Detroit residents, including Ronald Ebens. Blaming the Japanese—and by extension, Asian Americans— for the unemployment rate and the struggling economy became a common issue in Detroit. Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, murdered Chin for reasons that many believe were racially motivated.
The accounts of …show more content…
Ebens confessed to murdering a man, but was only sentenced with three years of probation and a fine, likely due to the fact that that man he killed was an Asian American. The decision was attributed to the lack of a criminal record on the part of either of the assailants, though the Asian American community joined to protest the racially-based legal decision. Ebens was tried for a hate crime, but the courts found the case to lack evidence of the crime as racially-motivated. As Ancheta discusses in her article, “Neither Black Nor White,” nativist racism is not taken into account in the law, and Ebens’s belief that Chin was a foreigner could not serve as grounds for conviction of a hate crime. Bias against Chin’s national origin—which would allow for such a conviction— could not be proven to a satisfactory extent, and Ebens ultimately escaped imprisonment (Ancheta
Who Killed Vincent Chin? chronicles the events leading up to the murder of the young industrial worker as well as the aftermath of the crime for those involved and for the community as a whole. The documentary highlights the horrific events incited by prejudice and stereotypes.
The film describes the social climate in Detroit that permitted the occurrence of such a violent crime, including the distress caused by a sudden rise in unemployment and the widespread animosity towards Asians as a result. The success of Japanese vehicles reduced the U.S. automobile industry, which was the source of income for a great number of Detroit residents, including Ronald Ebens. Blaming the Japanese—and by extension, Asian Americans— for the unemployment rate and the struggling economy became a common issue in Detroit. Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, murdered Chin for reasons that many believe were racially motivated.
The accounts of …show more content…
Ebens confessed to murdering a man, but was only sentenced with three years of probation and a fine, likely due to the fact that that man he killed was an Asian American. The decision was attributed to the lack of a criminal record on the part of either of the assailants, though the Asian American community joined to protest the racially-based legal decision. Ebens was tried for a hate crime, but the courts found the case to lack evidence of the crime as racially-motivated. As Ancheta discusses in her article, “Neither Black Nor White,” nativist racism is not taken into account in the law, and Ebens’s belief that Chin was a foreigner could not serve as grounds for conviction of a hate crime. Bias against Chin’s national origin—which would allow for such a conviction— could not be proven to a satisfactory extent, and Ebens ultimately escaped imprisonment (Ancheta