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Death of Vietnamese Youth Bang Mai Recalls History of Boston Racial Attacks
7/25/04
On July 11, Bang Mai, a 16 year old Vietnamese youth from Medford, Mass.
died in front of the Mary Ellen McCormack housing development in South
Boston of as a result of “ a one-on-one fistfight [which] quickly
degenerated into a bloody free-for-all" , according to the Boston
Globe’s recounting of witness accounts. He was stabbed as he was
walking away from another 16 year old, who had brought a knife to the
fight. Initial official reports say Mai died from trauma and a stab wound.
The Boston newspapers reported the death as stemming from tensions between
white and Asian teenagers in South Boston that had been building for two weeks
prior to Mai’s death. The Boston Herald reported that witnesses said
that two weeks prior to Mai’s murder, “a white teenage girl called
several Asians visting Veterans Park to play basketball ‘chinks’ ” which
led to an Asian boy hitting the girl, sparking a series of confrontations.
Facts about the incident, especially concerning the racial tensions between the two groups of teens, have been slow in coming. While no one wants to fan racial prejudice or conflicts, ignoring race will not make these issues go away. Initial media reports of the murder did not even mention that the victim was Vietnamese, and both city officials and the mainstream media have downplayed the racial implications of Mai's murder and the circumstances surrounding it. Initial mainstream news reports have also included subtle racist stereotypes, such as the Globe’s initial account, which quotes a youth worker as saying “the Asian teenagers, who he said were probably primarily from Dorchester, are not part of an organized gang”. The article did not entertain the possibility that the white youths were part of a gang. Despite the obvious racial element to the conflict, police have been reluctant to call the attack a hate crime.
