Vincent Chin

Yesterday, I reported on the anniversary of the Civil War, 150 years old on April 12. Today, I alert you to a program that signals the long, hard slog this country has trod on its path toward racial justice.

The State Bar of Arizona’s annual Minority Bar Convention will be held this Thursday and Friday. That is when a variety of great programs are featured. Those panels touch on many topics, and members who attend—whatever their ethnicity, age or gender—typically report back that the continuing education on offer was great.

You can see the complete list of topics and speakers here. But today, I point you to a special program that will be featured Thursday afternoon.

I hope that you have not forgotten the Vincent Chin murder case. The crime occurred in Detroit in 1982. The awful act was followed by the failure of the court system to render justice. As the materials describe it:

“Equating the sentiment in Arizona today, where the meaning of the 14th Amendment is yet again being called into question, this re-enactment of the Detroit 1982 Vincent Chin Murder Trial will be an eye opening look at prejudice, political activism and civil rights in the modern age.”

At the convention, lawyers and law students will use the trial transcripts to convey the tenor of the trial and the times, when a young Chinese American man was beaten to death solely due to his race.

More information about the events, and the presentation, are here.