The Vietnamese Fishermen v. The Ku Klux Klan
The Vietnamese Fishermen v. The Ku Klux Klan
Thank you to Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP for sharing the video of AABANY’s APA Heritage Month event, a trial reenactment on May 11, 2016 of Vietnamese Fishermen v. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan!
Special thanks to Kathy Hirata Chin of Cadwalader who led the trial reenactment with her husband Judge Denny Chin and provided this video of the event.
The Cadwalader Asian Pacific American Attorney Resource Group and the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) presented a historical reenactment of the Vietnamese Fisherman v. the Ku Klux Klan. Members of AABANY, Cadwalader attorneys and the Honorable Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit told the story of the Vietnamese Fisherman fighting to stop the Klan’s campaign of violence & intimidation, through reenactment of court proceedings, narration and historic photographs.
Justice Denied: Wards Cove Packing v. Atonio
On June 23rd, the Filipino American National Historical Society hosted their 16th Biennial Conference, A Pinoy State of Mind: Building Our Roots at John Jay College. We were proud to join the National Filipino American Lawyers Association, the Filipino American Lawyers Association of New York and the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Oregon in presenting Justice Denied: Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio. In the 1970s, led by Filipino activists, workers in Alaskan canneries organized and filed class actions against unfair and discriminatory working conditions that had prevailed for decades against Asian American cannery workers. Although the Filipino workers lost their case before the United States Supreme Court, their efforts led Congress to pass an amendment to the Civil Rights Act in 1991 to achieve equal treatment and justice for workers of color. The reenactment cast wonderfully brought this tragic history back to life.
At the end of the re-enactment, several former Alaskan cannery workers attending this event stood up and shared their personal experiences with audience. The audience gave them a round applause. The story telling compelled many audience members to reflect on how much that generation had suffered and how much history has progressed.
Thank you to Connie Montoya and FALA New York for organizing this important session during the FANHS Conference. Thank you once again to Hon. Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin for once again leading a successful reenactment. For those wanting to learn more about this historical reenactment, please visit: http://reenactments.aabany.org/justice-denied-wards-cove-packing-v-atonio/
Write-up by AABANY Intern Claudia Shi.
//photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf
On Saturday, Nov. 7, the AABANY Trial Re-enactment Team, led by Hon. Denny Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin, took to the stage at the NAPABA National Convention to perform “Vietnamese Fishermen v. KKK.” Set in the aftermath of the Fall of the Saigon, when Vietnamese immigrants arrived in the Gulf Coast and became fishermen, the case recounts their experience as targets of terrorizing tactics from the Ku Klux Klan designed to drive them out. The Vietnamese fishermen fought back with a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction against these actions.
The AABANY Trial Re-enactment Team played to a capacity crowd that was fully engaged from start to finish. The cast included no less than seven Past Presidents of AABANY: Hon. Denny Chin, Andy Hahn, Vincent Chang, Yang Chen, Robert Leung, Jean Lee and Clara Ohr.
During the post-performance discussion, one of the audience members stated that he was a young boy in New Orleans during the time of the events being re-enacted, and he appreciated learning about the case. He also shared that over the past three decades, progress has been made to improve relations between Asian Americans in the local fishing industry with the general community of fishermen in the Gulf Coast.
The Vietnamese Fishermen re-enactment is the ninth case presented by the AABANY Trial Re-enactment Team. Thanks to Judge Chin and Kathy Chin for leading us in yet another successful and impactful trial re-enactment. Stayed tuned for information about the New York premiere.
In the meantime, save the date for the re-enactment of last year’s “Justice Denied: Wards Cove v. Atonio” at the New York City Bar Association on Dec. 7. Free for AABANY members. To register go to http://bit.ly/wardscove120715.
Full cast:
- Janicelynn J. Asamoto
- Vincent T. Chang
- Yang Chen
- Theodore K. Cheng
- Francis H. Chin
- Andrew T. Hahn, Sr.
- Kathy Hirata Chin
- Jean Lee
- Lauren U.Y. Lee
- Robert Leung
- Hon. Kiyo A. Matsumoto
- Concepcion A. Montoya
- Clara J. Ohr
- Vinoo Varghese
- Jessica C. Wong
- Michael Yap
The slideshow presentation featuring historical photographs is courtesy of David Weinberg of Jury Group. Thank you!
(Thanks to AABANY Program Associate Simone Nguyen for photos from the rehearsal and performance.)
(Source: http://bit.ly/)
The People Vs. Moses – The Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center | New York City
The People Vs. Moses – The Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center | New York City
The Metropolitan Black Bar Association Law and Religion Committee presents “A Trial of Biblical Proportions: The People vs. Moses”
Date: Sunday, November 15, 2015
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm
Location: Temple Emanu-El, One East 65th Street, New York
Join the Metropolitan Black Bar Association Law and Religion Committee for a unique event that brings together biblical scholarship and courtroom drama as we explore Moses’ guilt or innocence on the charge of murder.
We all know the story of Moses leading the Israelites from slavery to freedom, but long before becoming God’s messenger, Moses killed an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Hebrew slave. The trial begins with a text study. You will then enter the “courtroom” where Dan Abrams and Alan Dershowitz will serve, respectively, as prosecutor and defense attorney. The trial will be presided over by The Honorable Judge Alison J. Nathan.
This program is sponsored and organized by the Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center with a special 50% discount for Metropolitan Black Bar Association members.
Advance Registration required at: www.emanuelskirballnyc.org/events/the-people-vs-moses/
General admission: $35.00
New-York Historical Society | The Heart Mountain Draft Resisters: A Trial Reenactment
New-York Historical Society | The Heart Mountain Draft Resisters: A Trial Reenactment
As part of the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Distinguished Guest Speaker Series, the New York Historical Society Presents The Heart Mountain Draft Resisters: A Trial Reenactment, featuring Judge Denny Chin and the Asian American Bar Association of New York on May 16, 2015.
EVENT DETAILS
9–9:30 am: Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:30–11 am: Program
The internment of Japanese-American citizens during the Second World War will forever remain a painful chapter our nation’s history. When the U.S. government began drafting interned citizens for military service in 1944, a group of men confined at Wyoming’s Heart Mountain Relocation Center protested their loss of freedom through a mass draft evasion. Experts lead a trial reenactment of the legal proceedings that followed and share the draft resisters’ story through narration, discussion, and historic photographs.
Trial Reenactment Cast includes:
Denny Chin is a United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the former President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York. The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a nonprofit corporation that represents the interests of New York Asian-American legal professionals and law students. They seek to improve the study and practice of law, and the fair administration of justice for all by ensuring the meaningful participation of Asian-Americans in the legal profession.
LOCATION
The Robert H. Smith Auditorium at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
PURCHASING TICKETS
By phone: Please contact New-York Historical’s in-house call center at (212) 485-9268. Call center is open 9 am–5 pm daily.
Online: Click on the orange “Buy Tickets” button at the top of this page.
In person: Advance tickets may be purchased on site at New-York Historical’s Admissions desk during museum hours.
