Vincent Chin (27)
May 18, 1955 – June 23, 1982
Vincent was born on May 18, 1955, in Mainland China and was adopted by C.W. Hing and Lily Chin. His mother, Lily suffered a miscarriage and was unable to have children Vincent grew up in Highland Park, Michigan. After graduating from Oak Park High School in 1973, Vincent was going to study at Control Data Institute. He was employed as an industrial draftsman at Efficient Engineering, an automotive supplier, and worked weekends as a waiter at the former Golden Star restaurant. He was engaged, and the wedding date set for June 28, 1982. 5 days before the wedding, Vincent was beaten to death with a bat in a racially motivated attack by two white men, Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz. They assumed Vincent as Japanese descent, and allegedly used racial slurs as they attacked him. They blamed him for the success of Japan's auto industry, despite the fact that Vincent was of Chinese descent. The men were fined $3000 for the murder. The lenient sentence led to a vocal outcry from Asian Americans. As a result, the case has been viewed as a critical turning point for Asian American civil rights engagement and a rallying cry for stronger federal hate crime legislation. “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” is a 1987 American documentary film directed by Christine Choy and produced by Renee Tajima-Peña that recounts the murder of Vincent Chin. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.