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When Asian Americans Hear Hate Crime, We Think of Vincent Chin – Diverse Issues June 23, 2015

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June 21, 2015 | :

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by Emil Guillermo

Let the hate crime investigations begin in South Carolina, though some say it’s not needed; they’ll push for the death penalty regardless.

But I say, if hate is present, we should acknowledge it, if we care about the truth. The hate crime route is worth it. It’s just not an easy journey.

Asian Americans know all too well about the politics of pressing for justice in a hate crime case.

We’re still mourning Vincent Chin, who died 33 years ago June 23, four days after being brutally beaten with a baseball bat.

The incident started June 19, 1982. Ronald Ebens, then a 42-year-old White Chrysler autoworker, alongside his stepson accomplice Michael Nitz, 23, took a baseball bat and bludgeoned Chin, a 27-year-old Chinese American, to death on Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, a suburb of Detroit.

Initially, all three were in a strip bar, the Fancy Pants.

Chin was at his bachelor party, soon to be married.

Ebens and Nitz were having drinks after work.

There was an argument in the club between Chin and Ebens that was taken outside to the street. It should have ended there. All parties left, but then Ebens and Nitz pursed Chin and tracked him by car at a nearby McDonald’s.

The killing happened in the fast-food parking lot.

Some witnesses say Nitz held down Chin. Some say he didn’t. Everyone says he was there and did nothing to stop Ebens, who ferociously struck and beat Chin repeatedly with a baseball bat. Two savage blows to the head left Chin unconscious. He died later in an area hospital.

For their admitted role in Chin’s death, here’s the amount of time Ebens and Nitz served for the crime they committed: zero.

Ebens and Nitz were allowed to plea bargain in a Michigan court to escape mandatory jail time for second degree murder. Ebens pleaded guilty; Nitz pleaded nolo contendere. Both men got this sentence: three years’ probation, a $3,000 fine, and $780 in court costs.

It never fails to make any crowd gasp in disbelief.

The light sentence set off such a response that a second trial, on civil rights charges in federal district court, was inevitable. But it was an angry, strident affair with a conclusion to match. Nitz was acquitted, but Ebens was convicted to 25 years in prison.

Hooray? Not quite.

Ebens always called the federal trial a “frame-up” and appealed for a new trial to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court saw the failure to change venues and the coaching of witnesses by a community activist as reason enough for a new trial.

At that point, the new case was put in Cincinnati, Ohio, far removed from Detroit, the Michigan media, the auto industry, and five years after the night of the attack.

It was advantage Ebens, who on May 2, 1987 was found not guilty on the federal civil rights charges.

Ebens told me in a conversation three years ago that the whole matter wasn’t about race. It wasn’t that the autoworker thought Chin, a Chinese American, was Japanese and therefore a symbol of the Asian auto industry.

Ebens said that wasn’t it at all. He said he was sucker-punched by Chin.

Maybe. But to me the crime was clear. If Chin were not Asian or a person of color, I think Ebens wouldn’t have felt the rage he did nor would he have extended the fight beyond the Fancy Pants into the street and then later to the McDonald’s. Ebens beating another White guy? He would have seen himself. Not some “other.” He would have stopped short of homicide. But he didn’t.

There was enough hate present in my legal system to give him the hate crime enhancement to ensure time was served.

But we’re past that now. Whether Ebens says it was or wasn’t about race is kind of irrelevant anyway. The facts are the same: Ebens killed an Asian American man. And got away with it. To this day, he continues to claim poverty to avoid the huge wrongful death judgment against him.

The system still works for Ebens a lot better than it does for any of us.

Let’s hope it works better in Charleston.

Emil Guillermo is an award-winning journalist and commentator who writes for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Contact him at www.amok.com;  www.twitter.com/emilamok , www.fb.com/emilguillermomedi

 

End of an Era

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End of an Era

The 2014-2015 academic year was fraught with many challenges. We lost an icon with the passing of Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh C.S.C.  He was the guiding force that opened the doors for African Americans and women to attend Notre Dame. Under his tutelage, Notre Dame was thrust into the Civil Rights Movement. The photograph of Fr. Hesburgh and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. can be found throughout the campus as a symbol of what the institution aspires to become.  Not only will we walk hand-in-hand on this journey; we will have civil discourse and understand that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

Notre Dame students struggled with the passing of three of their classmates this year. The community was in shock with sudden death of Professor Cathy Pieronek, who was a strong advocate for women in engineering.  As a community, faculty, administrators and students came in solidarity to support the respective families and friends during these emotionally-driven times. It was heartening to observe how each person was acknowledged throughout the Commencement Weekend.

MSPS acknowledged one hundred and sixty-seven participants in our annual recognition ceremonies. MSPS, also, recognized the numerous seniors, who received Latin Honors this year. The graduates and their families were graced with words of wisdom and challenges from Dr. Brian Collier, ACE faculty and Director Native American Initiatives (Native American), Dr. Luis Fraga, Professor of Political Science (Latino), Dr. Cecelia Lucero, First Year of Studies (Asian and Pacific Islander), and  Mr. Rod West, Board of Trustee member (Africana).  As the graduates go forth to travel the world, pursue advance degrees or begin their careers, they have a solid foundation to make a difference within the communities they reside. MSPS wishes them the best in their future endeavors.

As we anticipate the return of our students, who have been abroad, they will experience the cliché “ The more things stay the same, the more they change.” In some aspects the ND will be the same; but in others they will notice the changes. This is beyond the physical augmenting of the stadium. The dialogue regarding social issues has permeated the campus thanks to the leadership of the NAACP and faculty.  Ferguson and Die-In have thrust ND students into a different state of consciousness. Some realized the privilege and access they have and began critically analyzing how to deconstruct the inequities that exist.  Thank you to the late Professor Robert Sedlack, Jr. for continuing to bring these issues into his classroom and guiding his students to consider how they could live out Matamha Gandhi’s quote “To be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Students, current and incoming first years, think of what your role will be when you come home to the Dome.

Enjoy your summer.

Ms. Iris

Director

Multicultural Student Programs and Services

Honoring Cultural Traditions of Native Graduates – Diverse Issues

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by Robert Cook

One of the proudest moments in my life was graduating with my master’s in education administration from Oglala Lakota College and receiving an eagle feather for achieving a lifelong dream. That was until 2012, when our oldest son graduated from high school, and my wife and I had the honor of tying his eagle feather on him. And we are looking forward to proudly supporting our youngest son when he graduates from high school in 2017.

Eagles are known by many tribes to be a messenger to the Creator, symbolizing bravery, respect, personal achievement and honor. Eagles are protected under two federal laws: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. These prohibit the possession, use and sale of eagle feathers and parts, with an explicit exception for American Indians who are enrolled members of federally recognized tribes. American Indian tribal members may wear feathers legally in their possession or utilized to create religious or ceremonial items for personal or tribal use.

This month, thousands of American Indian students across the country are graduating from high school and college, fulfilling a dream for themselves and an honor for their families. And with only 49 percent of Native students graduating from high school nationwide, this is a moment to be celebrated and cherished. Honoring our graduating Native students who attend the 187 tribal schools across 23 states has been a longstanding cultural tradition. Native graduates receive their eagle feathers and plumes and proudly wear them on their graduation caps or tied in their hair. This is a part of who we are and continues to affirm our identity and connection to our ancestry and culture.

Unfortunately, this cultural adornment isn’t always permitted for American Indian students who attend public schools off the reservation, as was the case for two students in Oklahoma and Washington. Some Native students graduating from schools off the reservation face opposition and resistance from school districts and administration. Many schools state that they have “no adornment” dress codes or policies that prohibit Native students from donning their feather. Some districts claim that “if we allow one group or student to ‘break tradition,’ then we have to let all students behave in the same manner,” and others have even instructed Native graduates to hide their feathers or risk not taking part in the graduation commencement ceremonies.

It is disheartening to see schools and districts prohibit our children from celebrating their academic success through sacred cultural traditions. American Indian tribes and members are indigenous inhabitants of this country. These traditions date back hundreds of years, prior to European settlement and American colonization and governance. Treaties were established, many unwillingly, between our sovereign nations and the federal government, and in return for the taking and seizing of land and resources, tribes were made promises of education for their children, access to health care and infrastructure within tribal lands. Tribal sovereignty is still honored and respected today under the U.S. Constitution and executive and congressional actions and Native students’ unique cultural identity and access to quality programs within public education is protected under the ESEA’s Title VII Indian Education Act.

I am not suggesting that students undermine school policy and risk not graduating or not walking with their peers to receive their diploma. Rather I urge communities nationwide to come together, such as the citizens of Grand Forks, North Dakota, who supported student rights and encouraged the Grand Forks school district to change its graduation dress code.

It is my hope that as students from diverse backgrounds and experiences turn their tassels to attain a career or pursue higher education, school and districts will practice cultural sensitivity and embrace customs and sacred traditions from communities and cultures represented amongst their student populations.

We can help support all students and families in navigating this important step and honor in their lives through petition by writing, calling or attending meetings with schools, district leaders and board members to ensure graduation policies are inclusive of diverse cultures and traditions. Together we can make sure that our students’ cultural identities are protected and honored.

Robert Cook (Oglala Lakota) is the director of Teach For America’s Native Alliance Initiative, where he works in partnership with tribal communities in Hawaii, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington and South Dakota to improve outcomes for Native students. He resides in Summerset, South Dakota, and is a former K-12 administrator, an award-winning teacher and a board member of the National Indian Education Association.