From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement

by Paula Yoo

Overview

Winner of the 2021 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Nonfiction

Longlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

Finalist for the 2022 YALSA Award for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction

An NPR Best Book of 2021

A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2021

A Time Young Adult Best Book of 2021

A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2021

A Publishers Weekly Best Young Adult Book of 2021

A School Library Journal Best Book of 2021

A Horn Book Best Book of 2021

A compelling account of the killing of Vincent Chin, the verdicts that took the Asian American community to the streets in protest, and the groundbreaking civil rights trial that followed.

America in 1982: Japanese car companies are on the rise and believed to be putting U.S. autoworkers out of their jobs. Anti–Asian American sentiment simmers, especially in Detroit. A bar fight turns fatal, leaving a Chinese American man, Vincent Chin, beaten to death at the hands of two white men, autoworker Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz.

Paula Yoo has crafted a searing examination of the killing and the trial and verdicts that followed. When Ebens and Nitz pled guilty to manslaughter and received only a $3,000 fine and three years’ probation, the lenient sentence sparked outrage. The protests that followed led to a federal civil rights trial—the first involving a crime against an Asian American—and galvanized what came to be known as the Asian American movement.

Extensively researched from court transcripts, contemporary news accounts, and in-person interviews with key participants, From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry is a suspenseful, nuanced, and authoritative portrait of a pivotal moment in civil rights history, and a man who became a symbol against hatred and racism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781324002871
Publisher:	Norton Young Readers
Publication date:	04/20/2021
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	40,515
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

A graduate of Yale and Columbia Universities, Paula Yoo is a former journalist who has worked for the Detroit News, Seattle Times, and People magazine; a screenwriter whose credits include Supergirl, Mozart in the Jungle, and The West Wing; and a professional violinist who has played with both classical orchestras and contemporary rock bands. Her many books for children and young adults include the novel Good Enough, an Asian/Pacific American Award Honor book, and From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry, which won the 2021 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Nonfiction and was longlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Table of Contents

"You Don't Know About Vincent Chin?" 1

Part I "The Last Time"

Chapter 1 "One Last Night Out with the Guys" 7

Chapter 2 Murder City 15

Chapter 3 "Mama Is Here" 21

Chapter 4 Father's Day 27

Chapter 5 "As Long as We Have Each Other" 34

Chapter 6 "The Little Yellow People" 42

"They Keep Their History Very Quiet" 51

Part II "It's Not Fair"

Chapter 7 "You Make the Punishment Fit the Criminal" 57

Chapter 8 An Asian American Dream Deferred 63

Chapter 9 "This Is How Far We've Come in Two Hundred Years?" 69

Chapter 10 "We Must Let the World Know That We Think This is Wrong" 80

"Are You Gonna Let Him Call You That?"

Part III Justice for Vincent Chin

Chapter 11 The Warrior 89

Chapter 12 American Citizens for Justice 93

Chapter 13 "They Will Never Be the Same" 97

Chapter 14 "We Dropped the Ball" 103

Chapter 15 A Man of the Law 112

Chapter 16 "Time to Talk About Race" 124

Chapter 17 "We Want justice" 129

Chapter 18 Mrs. Chin Goes to Washington 140

"In the Spotlight" 153

Part IV United States V. Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz

Chapter 19 The Defenders: Miriam Siefer and Frank Eaman 159

Chapter 20 The Trailblazer: The Honorable Anna Diggs Taylor 166

Chapter 21 The Jury: "You Must Keep an Open Mind" 171

Chapter 22 The Opening Statements: "The Burden of Proof" 177

Chapter 23 The Bachelor Party: "We Are Just Here to Have a Good Time" 180

Chapter 24 The Employees: "It's Because of You" 196

Chapter 25 The Cops: "He Shouldn't Have Done It" 201

Chapter 26 The Eyewitnesses: "Government Exhibit No. 14" 206

Chapter 27 The Mother: "My Name Is Lily Chin" 214

Chapter 28 The Stepson: "It Happened So Quickly" 217

Chapter 29 The Father: "Something Just Snapped" 227

Chapter 30 The Closing Arguments: "Your Hardest Part Is Still Ahead" 237

Chapter 31 The Verdict: "I Can't Bring Him Back" 246

"In the Shadows"

Part V Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Chapter 32 "This Case Is Not Over" 261

Chapter 33 "We All Remember Our Lines, Okay?" 266

Chapter 34 "A Very, Very Tough Decision" 273

"I Really Don't Want to Talk About It"

Part VI "Remember Me Always"

Chapter 35 America Breaks Its Promise to Lily Chin 283

Chapter 36 "You Never Get Over It" 290

Chapter 37 "Vincent's Soul Will Never Rest" 293

"We Need to Talk About This" 303

Afterword 307

Timeline 315

Acknowledgments 319

Notes 323

Sources 361

Picture Credits 363

Index 365

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/26/2021

In 1982 Detroit, anti–Asian American sentiment is on the rise as Japanese car companies are purported to threaten the livelihoods of U.S. autoworkers. After autoworker Ronald Ebens and his stepson Michael Nitz, both white, kill Chinese American Vincent Chin, they plead guilty to his manslaughter but are let off with a lenient sentence. Serving “as a wake-up call for Asian America,” the incident spurs outrage—and action—in the Asian American community. Through in-person interviews, court transcripts, and present-day accounts, Yoo’s YA nonfiction debut exhaustively details Chin’s murder and carefully considers its resulting impact. Eyewitness accounts provide clarity, and detailed chronicling of the trials elicits justified frustration on the final verdict. In six well-structured parts, suspenseful narration illuminates Chin’s personal life, his gruesome death, the trials’ obstacles, and Chin’s legacy; well-integrated news clippings and emotive photographs imbue events with a hard-hitting real-time feel. This resonant, painstakingly recreated historical account features a timely afterword spotlighting the rise in anti-AAPI violence amid the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing parallels between this haunting account of a 40-year-old crime to present-day atrocities. Back matter includes a timeline, notes, list of sources, and suggestions for further reading. Ages 14–up. Agent: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Yoo skillfully retells the life story of Vincent Chin [and] reminds readers of Chin’s legacy 'to fight back against hate.'"

Horn Book Magazine (starred review)

"[An] extensive examination.... From a Whisper is arguably the most comprehensive overview of the gruesome events and the aftermath of trials, protests, convictions, reversals and civil suits.... Yoo is determined: "not knowing" is no longer an option."

Shelf Awareness

"A vivid, heartbreaking account of one of the most important moments in Asian American history. I couldn’t put it down."

Gene Luen Yang

"A tremendous feat of both research and writing—and a major contribution to our inspiring and infuriating American story."

Steve Sheinkin

"Admirably objective.... Yoo discusses the resurgence of anti-Asian attitudes and rhetoric in connection to COVID-19, reinforcing the book’s through line that Chin mustn’t be forgotten."

Booklist (starred review)

"A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2021"

"A Publishers Weekly Best Young Adult Book of 2021"

"A School Library Journal Best Book of 2021"

"A New York Public Library Best Book of 2021"

"A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2021"

"An NPR Best Book of 2021"

"A Horn Book Best Book of 2021"

From the Publisher

★ 05/01/2021

Gr 8 Up—This narrative nonfiction title chronicles the brutal 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, which led to the first federal civil rights case involving an Asian American. While celebrating his bachelor party at a Detroit nightclub, Chin, who was Chinese American, became involved in a fight with two white autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and his stepson Michael Nitz. The two men later cornered Chin at a McDonald's and beat him to death with a baseball bat. Ebens and Nitz received a reduced charge of manslaughter and were sentenced to a mere three years probation and a $3,000 fine. The Asian American community was outraged at this unjust punishment, perceived to be a manifestation of anti-Asian racism fueled by anger directed at the Japanese car industry. Readers will be riveted by the first-person accounts from multiple points of view, including Chin's family and friends, lawyers, defendants, and eyewitnesses. In fact, the book reads almost like a TV crime drama, utilizing flashbacks and culminating in a series of chapters depicting each key witness's testimony. The book includes black-and-white primary photos and newspaper articles as well as a time line, extensive endnotes, and a list of archive sources. As the author reflects in her afterward, Chin's story is an important parallel to today's societal strife mirrored in the rise in racism and violence against Asian Americans who have been unfairly blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers interested in social justice nonfiction such as Chris Crowe's Getting Away with Murder and Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy.—Maile Steimer, Jones M.S., Buford, GA

School Library Journal

★ 2021-03-03
An account of the 1982 killing of Vincent Chin and its subsequent impact on Asian Americans’ civil rights struggles.

Ronald Ebens, the Detroit auto worker who beat Chin to death with a baseball bat, brought a devastating end to Chin’s short but promising life. Adopted from a Guangdong orphanage by Chinese immigrant parents at age 6, 27-year-old Chin was mourning his father’s recent death but eagerly anticipating his upcoming wedding. Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, were two White men living in a city reeling economically due to competition from Japanese car imports. The question of whether this was merely a drunken fight that got out of hand or a racially motivated hate crime was hotly debated after the two men were sentenced only to probation and a small fine for manslaughter. Despite two federal grand jury trials, neither served any time, but the case marked a turning point for Asian American unity and identity and was critical to progress around documentation of hate crimes and manslaughter sentencing reform in Michigan. This clear and lucid account, based on in-depth research, superlatively conveys the context and significance of the events. The conflicting accounts and explanations are presented evenhandedly, offering readers the opportunity to weigh the evidence and draw their own conclusions. A timely afterword discusses anti-Asian racist rhetoric and violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

An accessible and compelling account of a tragedy that resonates through the decades. (timeline, notes, sources, picture credits, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews