MONTEREY PARK – An event commemorating the life of Vincent Chin, a Chinese-American draftsman who was killed in a racially motivated attack 42 years ago, will be Sunday, June 23, in front of Monterey Park City Hall.

Vincent Chin was a Chinese-American draftsman who was killed in Detroit in June 1982. He was beaten to death by Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, both who were White men. At that time, Detroit was experiencing an economic downturn, leading to a wave of layoffs and unemployment in the auto industry. Before Chin’s death, witnesses said the two called him a derogatory, anti-Asian name, and blamed him for the downturn and loss of jobs in the auto industry.

The Chinese American Museum, in downtown Los Angeles, organized the event on Sunday in memory of Chin.

According to the museum, Chin’s murder was a “pivotal point” in the Asian American Civil Rights Movement.

“This annual commemoration allows for the reflection of racial inequality and discrimination that continues to persist in today’s highly polarized social climate, just as it did decades before,” according to the museum.

The event will include special remarks from Brandon Tsay, the hero who at his family’s Alhambra dance studio disarmed the gunman of the Monterey Park mass shooting in 2023, preventing another massacre.

Special remarks will also be given by Monterey Park Mayor Thomas Wong; Ron Wakabayashi, the former Regional Director of the U.S. Justice Department’s Community Relations Service; and Dr. Gay Yuen, the board chair of the Friends of the Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles.

A candlelight vigil in remembrance of Vincent Chin will conclude the event.

The event is from 7 to 8 p.m. at Monterey Park City Hall is at 320 W. Newmark Ave.

For more information, visit https://camla.org/upcoming-events/.