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Yoo, Paula

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial That Galvanized the Asian American Movement

384 pp. | Norton | April, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-324-00287-1 $19.95 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-324-00288-8 $17.48
(1) YA Who was Vincent Chin? The brutal 1982 killing of the young Chinese American in Detroit by two white men occurred during the U.S.-Japan auto trade wars, a time when anti-Asian hate ran high. Outrage over the killers' sentencing--a $3,000 fine and probation--mobilized Asian Americans into protesting. The subsequent 1984 federal civil rights trial sparked reforms in victims' rights and hate-crime reporting. In this extensively researched account--based on news articles (many reproduced here), court records, documentary films, and her own interviews--Yoo skillfully retells the life story of Vincent Chin, an engineering draftsman who was about to get married; his mother, Lily Chin; and everyone else involved, including the killers, witnesses, police, attorneys, judges, family friends, and community members. Yoo reconstructs the night of June 19th when Chin and his friends went to a strip club for his bachelor party and got into a fight with autoworker Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, ending with Chin's fatal beating outside a McDonald's restaurant. The narrative follows the aftermath, from the federal trial up to the present day, with updates on the lives of Ebens and others. An afterword observes how anti-Asian discrimination and violence in America continue today with COVID-19–related attacks and racial profiling, but Yoo reminds readers of Chin's legacy "to fight back against hate." Back matter includes a detailed timeline, meticulous source notes, and an index (unseen).
Reviewer: Michelle Lee | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

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