NYC / National Townhall on Hate Crimes and Screening of "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" June 19, 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 New York City is on June 19 from 6:30 p.m. at - and co-sponsored by - the Museum of Chinese in the Americas, 70 Mulberry Street, 2nd Floor. Panelists include John Liu (New York City Councilman), Liz Ouyang (Executive Vice President, OCA), Darwin Davis (President and CEO, New York Urban League).

For information on 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