Frank Wu, dean of the Wayne State University Law School, spoke Monday at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on "Race Beyond Black and White: Asian Immigrants and the Criminal Justice System." The lectures came on the eve of today's sentencing of Chai Soua Vang, the Hmong-American hunter convicted of killing six white deer hunters in Sawyer County last year. Wu, who has taught at Howard, Columbia and Stanford universities, and whose articles have appeared in the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune, spoke with Alice L. Chang of the Journal Sentinel staff last week.

Q. Why is the Chai Soua Vang case important?

A. The Vang case has exposed long-simmering tensions that all of us should care about. We have ideals in this nation about belonging, equality and justice. This is a case in which the actions of a single person have been interpreted as the actions of an entire community, in which tragedy has led to further backlash. There's a threat that it will upset a delicate balance we try to strike between welcoming newcomers, especially refugees who've served our nation, and ensuring that we have a core common culture that guides conduct. Vang's case is about the acceptance of the Hmong community and the place of Asian-Americans. One question was, "Did Vang belong on the land where tragedy unfolded?" The broader question is, "Do Asian immigrants belong in the U.S., in the Midwest, or as hunters, as people who can participate in a quintessentially American activity?"

Q. Some have criticized the fact that the jury was all white. But the jury foreman has said that race was not a factor in deliberations. What do you think?

A. (The) jury was not a jury of his peers. If you don't have the experience of being called chink, jap, gook, being looked at as if you don't belong, if you don't have the experience of dislocation, having to assimilate, the experience of constantly being made to feel uncomfortable, it's hard to understand how people will react to tense situations. . . . It was an impossible case, even if he were telling the truth.

Q. If Vang were of a different racial or ethnic background, what would've happened?

A. If the case involved a Jew or an African-American, the response would've been very different. There would've been rallies and support. What did most Asian-Americans do? They distanced themselves, saying, "He's not one of us. Mentally, he's got problems. Let's wait and see. Wait for the trial to be done." African-Americans would say, "Let's make sure the trial is fair to begin with." There is no NAACP for Asian-Americans. Asian-Americans often don't stand up and speak out. The other factor is internal. Many Asians are raised in a culture that values harmony, tradition, deference to elders, in which the norm is not to participate in public culture. They're focused on family and their ethnic community.

Asian-Americans don't have a Jesse Jackson, an Al Sharpton. Asian-Americans need to have agitators and activists.

Q. How does this case compare to the O.J. Simpson trial?

A. It's very different. O.J. was acquitted, Vang was convicted. The images are very different. The images of Asian-Americans, including the Hmong, are not images generally of violence, but of nerd, geek, passive. As refugees, it's an image of people who are suffering. The Vang case, in a single moment, changed the image of Asian-Americans, at least in the heartland. Now, suddenly, it's an image of crazy, irrational, gun-toting, dangerous people.

Q. What does America need to know about Asian-Americans?

A. We're part of this country. We're here to stay. We're equals. The Hmong fought heroically for this nation's interests; that's how they got here.