Activism
Chauvin Sentence? Did You Hear What Vincent Chin’s Killer Got?
The man who killed Vincent Chin, Ronald Ebens, a white auto worker, spent no jail time for the crime and was allowed to plea bargain to second-degree murder.

Another moment to consider Black and Asian solidarity on social justice issues arrived last week when ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for murdering George Floyd. Should have been the max—30 years—some said. Some TV commentators said there were drug dealers who got more time than Chauvin.
I was just coming off my self-styled news “retreat” on the murder of Vincent Chin, where I went over the stories I’ve done the last 39 years on the most infamous Asian American hate crime ever that took place in Detroit in 1982.
You want to hear about miscarriage of justice?
The man who killed Vincent Chin, Ronald Ebens, a white auto worker, spent no jail time for the crime and was allowed to plea bargain to second-degree murder. His sentence? Three years’ probation, a fine of $3,000, and $780 in court costs. That’s it—for murder in the second degree.
Outrage ensued and there was a federal civil rights case where Ebens was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison. But Ebens won an appeal for a new trial and got a change of venue from Detroit to Cincinnati. On May 2, 1987, Ebens was found not guilty on the federal charges.
Only the civil case remained, and Ebens was ordered to pay the Chin estate $1.5 million. But Ebens has used the bankruptcy laws in his new home state of Nevada to avoid paying the estate a dime.
All those facts were fresh in my head when I heard about Derek Chauvin’s sentence of 22.5 years.
At first, I was surprised, but frankly, there’s nothing light about more than two decades in prison. With the potential of other cases Chauvin is facing adding more time, the fact that a cop is being imprisoned still gives one a sense that justice, though imperfect, was served.
In the Chin case, the aggrieved are still waiting for any sense of justice.
Asian Americans the Model Minority? Not in the Chin case.
One-time Oakland resident, Helen Zia, Asian American writer and the executor of the Chin estate, told me Chin’s fight for justice was all uphill.
“We had civil rights people who said, ‘We’ll support you because Vincent was Chinese and thought to be Japanese, but if he were Japanese, we won’t support because he would’ve deserved it,’ ” Zia said. “I said ‘What? You’re kidding?’ The implication was the Michigan ACLU and the Michigan National Lawyers Guild were also touched by the xenophobia Asians set off in the home of the auto industry. “They strongly opposed a civil rights investigation because they said Asian Americans are not protected by federal civil rights law. That was something we had to argue.”
Fortunately, the national offices of those legal groups had more inclusive ideas.
“Here were some of the most liberal activist attorneys saying Asian Americans shouldn’t be included under the civil rights law. Vincent was an immigrant. We had to establish he was a citizen, with the implication there might not have been a civil rights investigation if he had not been naturalized. All of this stuff…these were hurdles we had to overcome with major impacts today,” Zia told me.
“Can you imagine if the Reagan White House had followed the National Lawyers Guild’s Michigan chapter and the ACLU of Michigan and said, ‘Why should we look expansively at civil rights? We shouldn’t include immigrants and Asian Americans.’ And at that time, that would include Latinos too, because at that time if you were not Black or white, what do you have to do with race? Those were the things people would say to us.”
Hard to imagine Asian Americans weren’t even heavy enough to get on the scales of justice not too long ago in the 1980s. But that was the case.
All the more reason for a greater understanding of Black/Asian solidarity.
We’ve all been othered, dissed, and denied from day one, with a lot more in common than you think.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025

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Activism
OP-ED: Like Physicians, U.S. Health Institutions Must ‘First, Do No Harm’
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same. It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.

By Albert L. Brooks MD
Special to The Post
Presidential administrations significantly impact the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities.
Through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the agencies within it, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health, this new administration will decide how financial resources are allocated, dictate the focus of federal research, and determine how our public health care insurance systems are managed, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Vaccines for Children program, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The decisions made over the next four years will impact all Americans but will be felt more acutely by those most underserved and vulnerable.
As physicians, we are greatly concerned by the nominations announced by President Trump to critical healthcare related positions. Many of their previous statements and positions are rooted in misinformation.
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same.
It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.
Vaccines, in particular, have been a target of disinformation by some HHS nominees. In fact, research continues to confirm that vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines go through multiple rounds of clinical trials prior to being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for administration to the public.
Vaccines protect against life-threateningdiseasessuch as measles, polio, tetanus, and meningococcal disease and, when used effectively, have beenshowntoeliminateorsubstantiallyreducediseaseprevalenceand/orseverity.
Because of vaccine mis- and disinformation, there has been a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, endangering those who are too young or unable to be vaccinated.
Several nominees have spread disinformation alleging that fluoride in public drinking water is harmful. In fact, fluoride in drinking water at the recommended level of 0.7 parts per million, like we have in our EBMUD water, is safe and keeps teeth strong. Because of public health interventions dating back to the 1960s that have resulted in 72.3% of the U.S. population now having access to fluoridated water, there has been a reduction in cavities by about 25% in both children and adults.
We also encourage the next administration to invest in our public health infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of public health agencies in preventing and responding to health crises in our communities.
Health departments at the state and local levels rely on federal funding support and technical assistance to develop public health response plans, implement public health strategies, and work with on the ground organizations to serve hard to reach communities. Public health agencies are critical for protecting everyone in our communities, regardless of income-level, insurance status, or housing status.
Health officials should also work to protect the significant improvements in insurance coverage that have occurred since the passage of theACAin 2010.According to HHS, the numberofuninsuredAmericansfellfrom48millionin2010to25.6millionin2023.
California has led the way by investing in Medi-Cal and expanding eligibility for enrollment. In fact, it reached its lowest uninsured rate ever in 2022 at 6.2%. Voters affirmed this commitment to expanding and protecting access to care in November by passing Proposition 35, which significantly expanded funding for California’s Medi-Cal program. The administration should advance policies that strengthen the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare and improve access to affordable health care.
Regardless of the president in power, physicians will always put the best interests of our patients and communities at the forefront. We will continue to be a resource to our patients, providing evidence-based and scientifically proven information and striving to better their lives and our community’s health. We urge the new Trump administration to do the same.
Albert L. Brooks MD is the immediate past president of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, which represents 6,000 East Bay physicians.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025

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