| Racial Justice Rally at the Wis. Capitol Is justice being served? |
By Jonathan Gramling
Editor's Note: On January 6, Cha Vang, a Hmong hunter from Green Bay was shot and stabbed to death by James Nichols, a
Euro-American, in the Peshtigo Harbor Wildlife Area. While members of the Hmong community felt Nichols should have been
charged with a hate crime, he was eventually convicted on October 6 of second-degree murder, felon possession of a
firearm and the hiding of a corpse. The maximum sentence Nichols faced was 80 years in prison. On November 28, Nichols
was sentenced to a total of 69 years in prison.
Approximately 60 people marched up State St. and gathered at the S. Hamilton St. entrance to the State Capitol on
November 26 to express their concern that James Nichols would not be adequately punished for the killing of Cha Vang and
their disappointment that Nichols had not been charged with a hate crime. While the marchers were primarily Hmong, there
were also representatives from the African American, Latino, Native American and Euro-American communities on hand to
lend their support.
Peng Her, one of the organizers of the rally, talked about the impact of hate crimes on an entire community.
"We want to encourage the Attorney General's office to take hate crimes seriously," Her said. "All Americans have a stake
in an effective response to violent bigotry. Hate crimes demand a priority because of the special emotional and
psychological impact on victims and the victim's community. The damage done by hate crimes cannot be measured solely
in terms of physical injury or dollars and cents. Crimes motivated by hate crimes toward particular groups not only harm
individuals, but send a powerful message of intolerance and discrimination to all members of the community which the
victim belongs to. Hate crimes can and do intimidate and disrupt entire communities."
Sal Carranza, chair of LUChA, a Latino advocacy group, noted the overall anti-immigrant environment that has been
spreading across the United States. He attributed the killing of Vang to being a part of that anti-immigrant movement. He
also emphasized the need for solidarity between recent immigrant groups to combat the effects of the anti-immigrant
movement in the U.S.
Nou Vang, executive director of the Hmong National Development based in Washington, D.C., likened the Vang murder to
the murder of Vincent Chen in Detroit. "In 1982, during his bachelor's party in Detroit, Vincent Chen, who was Chinese
American, was beaten to death by White unemployed factory workers," Vang said. "During that time, Detroit automakers
were increasingly loosing jobs and anti-Japanese rhetoric was rampant in local media. And regardless of the fact that
Vincent Chen wasn't even Japanese American or Japanese, it didn't matter. To them, Vincent Chen was a species of Asia
and that's all that mattered. So we need to be out there educating people about this racial tension and this historic incident
and countless other historic incidents of anti-Asian American discrimination and racism."
Earnestine Moss, chair of Communities United, emphasized the need for interracial unity in combating racism. "We are
in support of the Hmong community and its efforts," Moss said. "It is unfortunate that Mr. Nichols was not charged with a hate
crime. We know that we have to fight discrimination wherever we find it. No one knows that better than us. We have the
highest disproportion of prisoners in Wisconsin when it comes to race and ethnicity, in terms of African Americans and
Latinos. We know that we have a long, long hard fight here in Wisconsin to really get rid of discrimination. We have to fight
together every day. Wherever we find discrimination, we must fight, whether it's our brothers and sisters who look just like us
or our brothers and sisters who are allies to us."
Kabzuag Vaj, director of Freedom, Inc., also emphasized the need for unity. "We cannot be silent," Vaj said. "We have
to speak up. They thought we were not listening, but we are here. We're not going anywhere. We cannot stand silent and let
them do this. Look at us. We are united. We are young; we are old; we can't speak English; we can speak English; we're all
here for the same reason."
In spite of a cold, biting wind, those who assembled demanded that justice be done.
Editor's Note: On January 6, Cha Vang, a Hmong hunter from Green Bay was shot and stabbed to death by James Nichols, a
Euro-American, in the Peshtigo Harbor Wildlife Area. While members of the Hmong community felt Nichols should have been
charged with a hate crime, he was eventually convicted on October 6 of second-degree murder, felon possession of a
firearm and the hiding of a corpse. The maximum sentence Nichols faced was 80 years in prison. On November 28, Nichols
was sentenced to a total of 69 years in prison.
Approximately 60 people marched up State St. and gathered at the S. Hamilton St. entrance to the State Capitol on
November 26 to express their concern that James Nichols would not be adequately punished for the killing of Cha Vang and
their disappointment that Nichols had not been charged with a hate crime. While the marchers were primarily Hmong, there
were also representatives from the African American, Latino, Native American and Euro-American communities on hand to
lend their support.
Peng Her, one of the organizers of the rally, talked about the impact of hate crimes on an entire community.
"We want to encourage the Attorney General's office to take hate crimes seriously," Her said. "All Americans have a stake
in an effective response to violent bigotry. Hate crimes demand a priority because of the special emotional and
psychological impact on victims and the victim's community. The damage done by hate crimes cannot be measured solely
in terms of physical injury or dollars and cents. Crimes motivated by hate crimes toward particular groups not only harm
individuals, but send a powerful message of intolerance and discrimination to all members of the community which the
victim belongs to. Hate crimes can and do intimidate and disrupt entire communities."
Sal Carranza, chair of LUChA, a Latino advocacy group, noted the overall anti-immigrant environment that has been
spreading across the United States. He attributed the killing of Vang to being a part of that anti-immigrant movement. He
also emphasized the need for solidarity between recent immigrant groups to combat the effects of the anti-immigrant
movement in the U.S.
Nou Vang, executive director of the Hmong National Development based in Washington, D.C., likened the Vang murder to
the murder of Vincent Chen in Detroit. "In 1982, during his bachelor's party in Detroit, Vincent Chen, who was Chinese
American, was beaten to death by White unemployed factory workers," Vang said. "During that time, Detroit automakers
were increasingly loosing jobs and anti-Japanese rhetoric was rampant in local media. And regardless of the fact that
Vincent Chen wasn't even Japanese American or Japanese, it didn't matter. To them, Vincent Chen was a species of Asia
and that's all that mattered. So we need to be out there educating people about this racial tension and this historic incident
and countless other historic incidents of anti-Asian American discrimination and racism."
Earnestine Moss, chair of Communities United, emphasized the need for interracial unity in combating racism. "We are
in support of the Hmong community and its efforts," Moss said. "It is unfortunate that Mr. Nichols was not charged with a hate
crime. We know that we have to fight discrimination wherever we find it. No one knows that better than us. We have the
highest disproportion of prisoners in Wisconsin when it comes to race and ethnicity, in terms of African Americans and
Latinos. We know that we have a long, long hard fight here in Wisconsin to really get rid of discrimination. We have to fight
together every day. Wherever we find discrimination, we must fight, whether it's our brothers and sisters who look just like us
or our brothers and sisters who are allies to us."
Kabzuag Vaj, director of Freedom, Inc., also emphasized the need for unity. "We cannot be silent," Vaj said. "We have
to speak up. They thought we were not listening, but we are here. We're not going anywhere. We cannot stand silent and let
them do this. Look at us. We are united. We are young; we are old; we can't speak English; we can speak English; we're all
here for the same reason."
In spite of a cold, biting wind, those who assembled demanded that justice be done.
