Vincent Chin’s legacy lives on. The brutal attack that took his life occurred late at night with few people around, but its reverberations spread across the country and have lasted for decades. Asian Americans came together to demand justice and found a common voice and purpose. Yet questions remain and justice goes undelivered.
In honor of Chin and thanks to the generosity of Joe Grimm, a former newsroom recruiter and staff development editor for the Detroit Free-Press, the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) has established a college scholarship. This scholarship rewards an accomplished, community-minded student journalist for an insightful, articulate essay related to Chin and his legacy.
Lily Chin buries her son on her 62nd birthday.
ELIGIBILTY
1) Applicants must be committed to AAJA’s mission.
2) Applicants must demonstrate journalistic excellence, a strong interest in pursuing journalism as a career, and a commitment to community involvement.
3) Applicants must be a graduating high school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student enrolled full time with at least 12 credit units each semester for the fall of 2013 and spring of 2014 school year. Applicants must be currently taking or planning to take journalism courses and/or pursuing journalism as a career.
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
The Vincent Chin Memorial Scholarship will award one college student $500.
HOW TO APPLY ONLINE
- Log in or create a new account on AAJA online. The accounts are free and you do not have to be an AAJA member to create one.
- Go to “Awards and Competitions” on your personal account page
- Click “View Open Competitions,” then click “2013 Vincent Chin Memorial Scholarship.”
PRIVACY POLICY
Application information will only be used internally by AAJA to promote student opportunities and for program evaluation and planning. In the application form, please indicate whether or not you would like to be notified of further student opportunities from AAJA. AAJA does not share applicant information with third parties.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
1) Completed Vincent Chin Scholarship Online Application form, available in your AAJA account.
2) A 500-word essay addressing one of the discussion questions above. It should be typed, double-spaced, 12pt font. Entries exceeding the word limit will be disqualified.
Complete and submit your completed application requirements by midnight PDST on June 28, 2013.
Essay Topic Question Options for AAJA’s Vincent Chin Memorial Scholarship
Option 1
Could it happen again? The attack on Vincent Chin occurred during a time in which Asians, specifically Japanese, were blamed for U.S. unemployment. People literally bashed Japanese cars with sledgehammers. Video and photos of such acts were shown in the news media. Few people connected them to potential attacks on real people. Does symbolic violence make it more acceptable to attack people? Does this climate exist against other people today? What can be done?
Option 2
How are Asian Americans one people? Asian Americans overcame many differences in rallying together to seek justice after Vincent Chin’s killing. They came from different cultures and language backgrounds. They brought histories of being foes as often as being allies. In the Detroit area, though, they decided that an attack on a Chinese American man, mistaken for being Japanese, was a danger and an injustice to all. They united in protest. Some call this the start of a pan-Asian consciousness in the United States. How does life in the United States make people from so many nationalities one group?
Option 3
Protest or conform? Some Asian Americans were reluctant to join the Vincent Chin cause. They had been pursuing success by getting along in the mainstream. Some had been acculturated to not make trouble or call attention to themselves. Yet a group of people began writing letters, visiting the media and protesting in the streets. This question about whether to protest or conform comes to every one of us. Although the stakes are not as high as justice over the death of a young man, we are all confronted at work or in other groups to decide: When and how do you make a stand?
Option 4
Who was Lily Chin? The Vincent Chin trials paint the portrait of a mother in anguish. We frequently ask who was Vincent Chin or who killed him. The emergence of his mother as a strong voice is a compelling story too. Describe her life and her legacy.
“I love America. I think this is a good country. But now, after these men killed my son , I don’t like to live here. This is not fair. What kind of law is this? What kind of justice?”
- Lily Chin, Chin’s mother
QUESTIONS FOR US ALL
Even for those not vying for the scholarship, these questions can provoke productive discussion and reflection on what happened, the aftermath and its relevance today. AAJA hopes that Vincent Chin’s ultimate legacy will be to prevent others from suffering hate and injustice.
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