Why gay Chinese-American writer Curtis Chin is telling his story of growing up in Detroit’s Chinatown

Long-time champion of the Asian-American community Curtis Chin’s memoir is a candid reflection on growing up in Detroit’s Chinatown in the 1970s and 80s

He recalls life lessons learned in his parents’ Chinese restaurant, and touches on gay rights and Vincent Chin’s killing, but says book is not a ‘misery memoir’

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Curtis Chin in Los Angeles in October 2023. In his memoir “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant”, the gay Asian-American writer reflects on growing up in Detroit’s Chinatown, deliving into racism, gay rights and more. Photo: AP/Chris Pizzello

Published: 7:45am, 25 Oct 2023

Many parents tell their children never talk to strangers. But Curtis Chin’s parents urged their six kids to ask customers at their Chinese restaurant about their background.

It was their way of showing the children a world outside the Detroit restaurant’s four walls.

“That is something my parents taught me – not to be afraid of people, not to be afraid to ask questions, not to be afraid of asking for help even,” Chin says. “I would have to say that the Chinese restaurant and my parents are probably my greatest teachers in life.”

From co-founding the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, a non-profit organisation that supports Asian-American writers and literature, to producing documentaries such as Vincent Who?, about the 1982 killing of Vincent Chin, Curtis Chin has been championing other Asian-Americans for more than 30 years. Now it’s his turn in the spotlight.

As well as being a writer, Chin is also the co-founder of Asian American Writers’ Workshop, in New York, and a documentary producer. Photo: AP/Chris Pizzello

His memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, is a candid, sometimes funny reflection on growing up Chinese-American and gay in Detroit in the 1970s and 80s.