From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement

On June 19, 1982, 27-year-old Chinese American Vincent Chin was bludgeoned with a baseball bat by Ronald Ebens and stepson Michael Nitz. The two white men, like too many others, were driven by anti-Asian resentment over Detroit's declining auto industry due to Japanese competition. "It's not fair," Chin said before losing consciousness. His final words inspired Paula Yoo's impressively thorough From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement.

Chin died four days after the vicious assault, just five days before his wedding. Ebens and Nitz pleaded guilty to manslaughter and each received a $3,000 fine and three years' probation without imprisonment. That egregious lack of justice emboldened a pivotal moment in Asian Pacific American activism and civil rights history. Yoo opens her extensive examination with an unexpected new voice: Jarod Lew, who, 30 years after Vincent's murder, learns his mother was Vincent's fiancée, Vikki Wong. Jarod's personal discovery is Yoo's framing narrative for the book; his journey becomes an ingenious reminder to all readers--just as Jarod must understand his history so, too, does each new generation.

As a former Detroit News reporter and TV writer/producer, Yoo initially considered making a film about Vincent Chin. But the spikes in anti-Asian violence after Trump became president convinced her to transform her celluloid intentions onto the page. From a Whisper is arguably the most comprehensive overview of the gruesome events and the aftermath of trials, protests, convictions, reversals and civil suits, and is enhanced with photos, newspaper clippings and significant backmatter, including a timeline, endnotes and sources. Yoo is determined: "not knowing" is no longer an option. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon

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