Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Our Weekend with Helen Zia

Our evening (actually it was an entire weekend) with Helen Zia was a great success. So cool to be running around with Jim Shimoura, Roland Hwang, Ron Aramaki, and Helen Zia--to MSU, Ann Arbor, MSU again, Madison Heights--hearing all the behind-the-scenes stories of how they did what they did back then. It felt like being with cowboys taming the old west. The Asian Pacific American movement really did start here!

I also had the honor of meeting many of the community members who worked on the Vincent Chin case 27 years ago, including the Chinese-Filipino American nurse who was on duty when they brought Vincent Chin into the emergency room, and the elderly couple who folded and hand delivered all the press releases (remember, no faxes or email back then).

Now I better understand the power of what happened. People really pulled together, put their personal lives on hold, created a community where previously there had been none, and did what needed to be done...for Vincent Chin and for all of us.

From us slightly younger APAs, thank you all.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Helen Zia speaking this weekend

One of ACJ's founding board members and past president, Helen Zia, will be speaking three times in Michigan this weekend. Not to be missed!

Thursday, April 16, 7-8pm
Helen Zia will be speaking about Journalism to Joe Grimm's journalism class:
Room 147, Communication Arts and Sciences, MSU, E. Lansing, MI
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=East+Lansing&state=MI&address=[1-599]+Communication+Arts+And+Sci&zipcode=48824&country=US&latitude=42.72315&longitude=-84.481&geocode=STREET

Saturday, April 18, 12-1:30pm
Helen Zia will be the keynote speaker at MSU's APA Conference
MSU's third annual APA Studies Conference, "Global-is-Asian: Asian diaspora identities in the context of globalization" is an academic emploration of the diversity, commplexity and possibilities of Asian Pacific America in the 21st century.
https://www.msu.edu/~apaspec/conf09/

Saturday, April 18, 6:30-8:30pm
Helen Zia will be the keynote speaker at ACJ's fundraising event at
Association of Chinese Americans Chinese Community Center, 32585 Concord Drive, Madison Heights, MI 48071(located one block east of the I-75/14 Mile Road interchange - 1/2 block south of 14 Mile)
The event is co-sponsored by the Association of Chinese Americans, Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan, FILAMCCO, Japanese American Citizens League-Detroit, the Governor's Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs, APIA Vote-Michigan, Council of Asian Pacific Americans, American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, Michigan chapter, and MSU's APA Program.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Executive Director Wang on WDET Radio

American Citizens for Justice Executive Director Frances Kai-Hwa Wang was interviewed today live on WDET Radio's Detroit Today about US-Canada Border Security, as well as the resurgence of anti-Asian hate crimes in the current recession.

We are in favor of secure borders, of course, but the question is how that is carried out. We are very concerned about racial profiling of Americans at the US-Canadian border. We are working hard to make sure that all Americans are treated fairly and equally and are not profiled based on stereotypes about their ethnicity or race or national origin or name.

We are also very concerned about anti-Asian hate crimes during the current recession. We are educating Asian Pacific Americans how to identify and respond to hate crimes, networking and building multiracial coalitions with other civil rights groups, and educating the mainstream that Asian Pacific Americans are Americans, too.

http://www.wdetfm.org/detroittoday/entry.php?entry=661

Monday, April 13, 2009

ACJ at MSU APA Conference

A new ACJ Panel has just been added to the MSU APA Conference this Saturday, April 18, 2-3pm:

Title: The Vincent Chin Case: Look Back and Moving Forward

Presenters:
Roland Hwang, ACJ VP of Board of Directors
Jim Shimoura, ACJ Board of Directors
Frances Wang, Executive Director of ACJ
Ron Aramaki, Former ACJ Board of Directors

Organization: American Citizens for Justice.

Psst: Not confirmed yet, but Helen Zia, the keynote speaker, MAY also be joining us on the panel.

MSU's third annual APA Studies Conference, "Global-is-Asian: Asian diaspora identities in the context of globalization" is an academic exploration of the diversity, complexity, and possibilities of Asian Pacific America in the 21st century. https://www.msu.edu/~apaspec/conf09/

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Helen Zia Talk and ACJ Fundraiser 4/18/09

American Citizens for Justice/ Asian American Center for Justice Fundraiser and Evening with Helen Zia Saturday, April 18, 6:30 pm


American Citizens for Justice, Inc., a 501(c)(3) Asian Pacific American civil rights organization is pleased to announce its fundraising reception, An Evening with Helen Zia.

Helen Zia is a past president of ACJ, a renowned author of "Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People", and co-author of "My Country Versus Me", with Wen Ho Lee.

The event is co-sponsored by the Association of Chinese Americans, Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan, FILAMCCO, Japanese American Citizens League-Detroit, the Governor's Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs, APIA Vote-Michigan, Council of Asian Pacific Americans, and American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee Michigan chapter, MSU Program in Asian Pacific American Studies.

When: Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Where: Association of Chinese Americans - Chinese Community Center
32585 Concord Drive, Madison Heights, MI 48071
(located one block east of the I-75/14 Mile Road interchange - 1/2 block south of 14 Mile)

Contact for more information, and to RSVP:
Roland Hwang 248-347-1663
L G Almeda 734-302-6019
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang fkwang.acj@gmail.com

Tickets are $25 per person, $100 corporate/organizational (including 5 tickets); Gold Sponsors $500; Students $15. Checks and donations go to:
American Citizens for Justice, Inc., PO Box 851163, Westland, MI 48185.

Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

American Citizens for Justice/ Asian American Center for Justice, the 501c3 nonprofit Asian Pacific American civil rights advocacy group founded after the baseball beating death of Vincent Chin in Detroit.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Vincent Who Documentary Screenings

American Citizens for Justice/ Asian American Center for Justice, the 501c3 nonprofit Asian American civil rights advocacy group founded after the baseball beating death of Vincent Chin in Detroit is coordinating several local showings of the new documentary film, Vincent Who? with guest appearances by the filmmakers, Curtis Chin and Michael Lee. There will be four showings of this film this weekend in Madison Heights, Ann Arbor, and Dearborn.

In 1982, Chinese American Vincent Chin was murdered in Highland Park, Michigan, by two out-of-work autoworkers at the height of anti-Japanese sentiments. His killers were sentenced to a $3000 fine and 3 years of probation. They never served one day in jail. For the first time, Asian Americans around the country galvanized to form a real pan-Asian community and movement. The documentary film, Vincent Who? was inspired by a series of town hall meetings organized by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP) on the 25th anniversary of the case, features interviews with the key players at the time, as well as a whole new generation of activists. Vincent Who? asks how far Asian Americans have come since then and how far we have yet to go. Featured interviews include: Helen Zia (lead activist during the Chin trial), Renee Tajima Pena (director, Who Killed Vincent Chin?), Stewart Kwoh (Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center), Lisa Ling (journalist), Sumi Pendakur (Univ. of Southern California), Dale Minami (civil rights attorney), Roland Hwang and Jim Shimoura (American Citizens for Justice/ Asian American Center for Justice), Doua Thor (Executive Director, Southeast Asian Resource Action Center), and a group of five diverse young Asian Pacific American (APA) activists whose lives were impacted by Vincent Chin.

Friday April 3, 1 pm
Conversation on Race Series
University of Michigan Dearborn
Kochoff Hall Ballroom Room B
4901 Evergreen
Dearborn, MI 48126
Panel Discussion: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, American Citizens for Justice Executive Director; Curtis Chin and Michael P. Lee, Vincent Who producers and Asian Pacific Americans for Progress.
http://sao.umd.umich.edu/sao_cor/

Friday April 3, 6:30-8:00 pm
Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU) Conference
University of Michigan
Biomed Science Research Building
109 Zina Pitcher Place
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Panel Discussion: Ann Malayang Daley, past president American Citizens for Justice; Curtis Chin and Michael P. Lee, Vincent Who producers and Asian Pacific Americans for Progress.
http://www.umich.edu/~maasusc/2009/index.html

Saturday April 4, 1:00-3:00 pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Multipurpose Room
343 S. Fifth St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Panel Discussion: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, American Citizens for Justice Executive Director; Curtis Chin and Michael P. Lee, Vincent Who producers and Asian Pacific Americans for Progress.
http://www.aadl.org/events/list/downtown

Saturday April 4 at 7 pm
Association of Chinese Americans - Chinese Community Center
32585 Concord Drive (1 block east of the I-75/14 Mile Rd. interchange, then 1/2-block south of 14 Mile Rd.)
Madison Heights, MI 48071
Panel Discussion: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, American Citizens for Justice Executive Director; LG Almeda, Roland Hwang and Jim Shimora, American Citizens for Justice; Curtis Chin and Michael P. Lee, Vincent Who producers and Asian Pacific Americans for Progress.
Sponsored by American Citizens for Justice, Association of Chinese Americans, New Detroit, Inc., and Asian Pacific Americans for Progress
Suggested donation: $10, proceeds to American Citizens for Justice
http://web.memberclicks.com/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId=216007&orgId=acad

For more information, contact Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, American Citizens for Justice/ Asian American Center for Justice Executive Director at fkwang.acj@gmail.com or the contact for each particular showing.