Vincent Who

Documentary Film Screening: Vincent Who? and Q&A with Producer Curtis Chin
Organized by: Asian/Pacific/American Institute and CMEP
Friday November 21, 2008
6-8pm
NYU 19 University Place
Room 102

The screening began with a few words from Richard Chavolla, the director of CMEP at NYU. He talked about the fact that hate crimes because of race or ethnicity are still something that exists today. He mentioned the killing of MarceloLucero, an Ecuadorean immigrant who died as a result of a group of high schoolers taunting him with racial slurs and ended up stabbing him. This event is eerily similar to the one that occured to Vincent Chin.

Vincent Chin was killed in 1982 at a bar while he was celebrating his upcoming wedding. He was taunted because of his race and was accused of "stealing" jobs from Americans. Vincent was beaten to death with a baseball bat and the two men responsible never served any time in jail for the crime.

The Documentary begins with a series of snapshots of students on college campuses who were asked if they knew who Vincent Chin was. The majority had no idea considering the crime had occured a few years before any of them were even born. The film quickly went into the cultural implications that Vincent's death had on the Asian American community. Solidarity was exhibited from all Asian Americans and was described as Pan-Asian Unity.
There is one particular section in which the film discussed the fact that the court had to consider whether or not Vincent was a citizen before even considering handling his case in the court of law. This brings up so many questions concerning the civil rights debate and the fact that someone from another racial and ethnic background was looked as someone who didn't deserve the same rights as another human being.
Vincent was taunted for taking jobs from Americans and so was Marcelo (the man who was recently stabbed in Long Island). As a teacher this brings to the light the importance of teaching social justice to students one may have in the classroom. Issues concerning immigration, civil rights, and racial and ethnic identity are important to the education of individuals who will have an impact on the society as they grow older. Hate crimes are almost seen as a past time considering the frequency in which they occur. It is important to understand the racism that is still very present in today's society and outline ways that students can overcome it rather than fall victim to it.
The film showed the tremendous unity that arose from the fact that Vincent died because of who he was and who he represented. The united front is not only one that shows humanity but also one that shows the pride one has in being who they are and representing where they are from and their cultures.