AEJMC Resolution Three 2022
The 40th Anniversary of the Death of Vincent Chin and Anti-AAPI Violence
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Deb Aikat, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, AEJMC president
Resolution Three:
Whereas, as part of its mission, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) promotes the implementation of a multi-cultural society in the classroom and curriculum; and
Whereas, as part of its “Professional Freedom and Responsibility” mission works to address issues of marginalization, systemic racism and unequal treatment of underrepresented groups; and
Whereas, the association held its 2022 Annual Conference in Detroit, Michigan, the same city where 40 years ago on June 19, 1982, 27-year-old Vincent Chin, a Chinese American, was brutally attacked with a baseball bat by two White men seeking to incite racist hatred of anyone who appeared Japanese, because of the rise of Japanese car companies that they believed put U.S. autoworkers out of jobs; and
Whereas, after four days in a coma, Chin, the only child of Chinese immigrants Lily and Bing Hing “David” Chin, died; and
Whereas, Chin’s killers, Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, pleaded guilty to state charges of manslaughter and only received a $3,000 fine each and three years’ probation; and
Whereas, the brutal murder and the lenient sentence, and Lily Chin’s courageous pursuit for justice and visibility in their aftermath, galvanized the Asian American civil rights movement, which continues today with an added degree of importance because of the recent rise in Anti-Asian violence; and
Whereas, between March and August 2020, more than 2,500 Asian Americans reported being attacked by people blaming them for the COVID-19 pandemic because of its origination in Wuhan, China; and
Whereas, more Americans should be aware of Vincent Chin’s death and its role in the Asian American movement;
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that AEJMC as an organization take an active role in standing with organizations such as the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF), and the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) in working to cover stories about and combat the rise of Asian Americans being singled out in incidents of violence and ongoing systemic racism facing those in the larger Asian American Pacific Islander community. And;
Be it further resolved that AEJMC commends 2022 media efforts to address the underrepresentation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, such as the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment’s (CAPE) My Life: Growing Up Asian in America; Jeff Yang, Phil Yu and Philip Wang’s RISE: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now; and ABC News’s “Soul of a Nation” Together As One: Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage. And:
Be it further resolved that AEJMC, through its divisions and interest groups, offer programming and resources at both regional and national conferences that empower journalism and mass communication faculty to include Vincent Chin and the stories of other Asian Americans overlooked and under-addressed in their teaching and curricula.
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