"'Anyone who looked Japanese in the early 1980s or any Asian-American, we all felt like moving targets. People who drove cars of Japanese models were shot at on the freeway. . . . That's the climate I remember 35 years ago.'" - Helen Zia, activist and journalist (Tajima)
"The Detroit area was struggling. I think that the auto companies here were losing sales to foreign automakers. At the time, the imports from Japan were seen as a threat to jobs in America." - Gary Koivu, Vincent Chin's friend (Koivu)
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"In Detroit in the 80s the white flight out of the city into the suburbs was in full swing. De facto segregation in schools and neighborhoods was increasing. Economic uncertainty and pessimism was also pronounced, both for the city and in the heavy industries. The Detroit monopoly on car manufacture was crumbling and Japanese imports were gaining steadily. Unemployment and inflation were high. All of this led to an intolerant and suspicious racial atmosphere." -Ross Parker, former chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Michigan's Eastern District (Parker, Interview)
Katelyn Khounsourath
Individual Website Junior Division |
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