Detroit names street for Vincent Chin on 43rd anniversary of his death

Detroit officials unveiled a street sign honoring Vincent Chin on Monday, commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the Chinese American draftsman’s murder.

The naming ceremony, which drew a crowd of about 50 people, took place at the corner of Cass and Peterboro streets. City officials revealed the blue-and-white “Vincent Chin St.” sign positioned above the existing Peterboro Street sign, part of five secondary street signs Detroit City Council approved in October to recognize notable individuals for five-year periods.

The event required City Council to approve changes to its symbolic street name ordinance, which prevented non-residents from having their names above street signs, since Chin lived in Highland Park before his death. Speakers at the event included Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, State Sen. Stephanie Chang and longtime activist Roland Hwang, who helped establish American Citizens for Justice following Chin’s killing.

Vincent Chin was a 27-year-old Chinese American draftsman celebrating his approaching wedding with friends at the Fancy Pants club in Highland Park on June 19, 1982, when two white autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, confronted him after incorrectly identifying him as Japanese. At the time, there was intense economic rivalry between U.S. and Japanese auto companies.

Following an altercation inside the bar, the pair pursued Chin and attacked him with a baseball bat, with Ebens declaring, “Because of you (expletive) we’re out of work.” Chin succumbed to his injuries four days later, saying “It’s not fair” before he died. Both attackers received only manslaughter convictions with sentences of three years probation and $3,000 fines, with Judge Charles Kaufman later stating, “These aren’t the kind of men you send to jail.”

A separate memorial was held at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles. Among the speakers there was East Los Angeles College professor Aki Maehara, who recounted being deliberately struck by a vehicle while cycling in late April — with its driver shouting racial epithets.