LA / National Townhall on Hate Crimes and Screening of "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" June 24, 2007

Events throughout the country marking the 25th anniversary of the brutal murder of Vincent Chin will include screenings of "Who Killed Vincent Chin?", panels on hate crimes and receptions.

On June 19, 1982, former autoworkers Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz mortally beat Chin, then a 27-year-old Chinese American, out of hatred for the Japanese – who were blamed for the recession in the American auto industry. Ebens and Nitz, who thought Chin was of Japanese ancestry, both pleaded guilty for killing Chin and were sentenced to three years probation and a fine of $3,780.

Ebens and Nitz never served a jail sentence for killing a man who was nine days away from his wedding.

The race-based murder against Vincent Chin sparked the modern Asian American activist movement

Organized by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (apaforprogress.org), events are scheduled from June 19-30 in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, Portland, Grand Rapids and other cities. Receptions in NYC, SF and LA are sponsored by Imaginasian TV. Asianweek is a media sponsor.

The event in Los Angeles is on Sunday, June 24, from 2 p.m. at the National Center for the Preservation Of Democracy, 111 Center Street, across from JANM. The event is co-sponsored by National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (NCPD), Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, South Asian Network, Muslim Public Affairs Council -- featuring panelists including Hamid Khan (Executive Director, South Asian Network), Stewart Kwoh (Executive Director, APALC), Robin Toma (Executive Director, LA County Human Relations Commission), Renee Tajima (Director, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?").

For more information about Vincent Chin, visit http://www.vincentchin.net.

NOTE: This information is subject to change. Please visit http://www.apaforprogress.org for the most recent event details.

Official Website: http://www.apaforprogress.org