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.

Published

3 years ago

July 1, 2021

Christy Price

Bill Oxford/Unsplash

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.

Christy Price

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

7 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Activism

Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.