In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, PBS Books is pleased to share an important conversation with award-winning author Paula Yoo, who published “From A Whisper To A Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement”. The book is a groundbreaking portrait of Vincent Chin and the case that took America’s Asian American community to the streets in protest of injustice.
While Paula Yoo’s book was written for a YA audience after significant research, it has captivated audiences of all ages. She has crafted a suspenseful, nuanced, and authoritative portrait of a pivotal moment in Civil Rights history, and a man who became a symbol against hatred and racism. In this current climate of civil unrest and a country confronting a history of deeply rooted systemic racism, the story of Vincent Chin is as important now as ever. Asian American history is often overlooked and undertaught in schools, and Vincent Chin’s name remains relatively unknown despite making national and international headlines at the time. Now, almost 40 years later, it’s time to remember Vincent Chin and the significant role his case played in American history.
Paula Yoo will be interviewed by Zosette Guir, Manager of Detroit Public TV’s One Detroit initiative.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paula Yoo
Paula Yoo is an award-winning author of children’s books, a former journalist, and current screenwriter who has merged her talents to create a thoroughly researched and reported nonfiction book, but with the intensity of a suspense movie thriller, and the intimate emotional character journey of a novel. As a Korean American who’s specialized in multicultural Asian-American themed children’s books and having lived in Detroit working as a journalist for The Detroit News, Yoo is able to examine the controversial racial issues behind the Vincent Chin story with sensitivity, authority and grace. “From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry” is her debut YA nonfiction book. She lives in Los Angeles.