The American Citizens for Justice record group details the administrative functions as well as the activities and goals of the organization. Records consist of meeting minutes, financial reports, correspondence, publications and grants, Vincent Chin related information, legal case files, health project files, as well as topical files.
Researchers should be aware that there is significant overlap between the Roland Hwang Files and the other series in this collection, and so should consult all appropriate groupings as needed.
The American Citizens for Justice (or the Asian American Center for Justice), a Detroit-based Asian American civil rights group was founded in reaction to the fatal beating of Vincent Chin, a Chinese-American man. On June 19, 1982, while at a club in Detroit for his bachelor party, Chin encountered Ronald Ebens, a Detroit autoworker. According to reports, Ebens verbally harassed Chin, blaming his race for recent U.S. automotive unemployment (mistakenly believing Chin to be Japanese). A fight between the two men broke out, Chin striking Ebens before the men were separated. Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, later deliberately tracked down Chin and attacked him with a baseball bat in front of a fast-food restaurant. Injuries from the attack led to Chin's death four days later.
Outraged by a judge's lenient sentence for these two men, a $3000 fine and 3 years probation, a group of Asian Pacific Americans (including Helen Zia and Roland Hwang) formed the American Citizens for Justice on March 30, 1983, with the immediate goal of fighting for a retrial. Consisting of individuals of wide-ranging Asian descent including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino, this group represented for the "first time, according to APA advocates and academics, that people who trace their ancestry to different countries in Asia and the Pacific Islands crossed ethnic and socioeconomic lines to fight as a united group of Asian Pacific Americans" (http://www.asianweek.com/061397/feature.html, para. 9; as of October 10, the link no longer works). Working with other Asian Pacific American groups, the ACJ gathered support, "staged rallies, organized demonstrations, and launched a massive letter-writing campaign" (para. 23), all in hopes of bringing Chin's killers to justice. In 1984, the two men were brought to trial and Ebens was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, this ruling was later overturned due to a legal technicality. In a 1987 retrial, Ebens and Nitz were found not guilty on all charges.
The goals of the American Citizens for Justice have extended since Chin's murder, moving beyond the trial to broader aims of educating the public about Asian-American discrimination and helping other victims of racial harassment and injustice. The ACJ has advocated for Asian-Pacific Americans in several areas, including law enforcement, legislation, networking, education, and health (ACJ brochure). In addition to offering free legal consultation to victims of racial harassment and discrimination, the ACJ also collaborates with other attorneys and legal groups to monitor and provide advice for anti-Asian incidents throughout the country. Through petitions and letter-writing, the ACJ "works to influence public policy and public institutions for just treatment of APAs" (ACJ brochure). Additionally, the ACJ has been fully involved in public education, sponsoring several workshops and conferences, educating students and others on Asian-American discrimination and culture. Throughout its existence, the ACJ has also been involved in many different projects. In 1989, with a grant from the Michigan Department of Public Health, the ACJ conducted a health needs assessment survey of the Southeast Asian communities of Detroit. The ACJ is still in existence today and continues to advocate for Asian Americans.
One of the ACJ's many leaders over the years is Roland Hwang. Born in Detroit in 1949 to Chinese parents who immigrated to the United States, Hwang attended the University of Michigan and earned a B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering (1971) and an M.B.A. (1976). After working as an engineer for several years, he matriculated to Wayne State University Law School and earned a J.D. (1980) and L.L.M. (1984). Hwang has held many roles over the years, including as a staff attorney for the Ford Motor Company's Office of General Counsel, the State of Michigan's assistant attorney general, and as a lecturer in the Department of American Culture in the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Notably, Hwang has been deeply involved in the ACJ. He has served on its Executive Board and in various official positions, including as its president (including from 1992-1994). He has received several awards over the course of his career, including the ACJ's Justice Award in 1989.
