Cinema of Conflict and Transformation Series: Who Killed Vincent Chin?

This virtual film discussion series centers around films about conflict and transformation and is hosted by ACC Center for Peace and Conflict Studies and ACC Radio-TV-Film Associate Professor, Dr. Mark Cunningham. Dr. Mark Cunningham discusses “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” who was released in 1987 directed by Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña with Dr. Shirin Khosropour, ACC Center for Peace & Conflict Studies Director, and Janie Wang, ACC Clinical Counselor. This was nominated for Best Documentary in the 61st Annual Academy Awards. Vincent Chin, a successful engineer living out his dream of designing automobiles in Detroit, meets an unexpected and violent end when he is assaulted and killed by two men using a baseball bat, in the summer of 1982, following an altercation at a bar. Despite their bloody crime, the assailants initially receive lenient sentences due to a plea bargain. The troubling outcome of the case outrages civil rights advocates, who fight for justice and struggle to prove that Chin’s attackers had racist motivations. It’s available to stream. Visit austincc.edu/peace for future discussions and events hosted by ACC Center for Peace and Conflict Studies.