What is the "model minority"?
According to author Giselle Chow in her article "The Model Minority Myth", the model minority narrative is one in which a racial group is held above others for being successful regardless of the conditions placed upon them, implying that racial groups that have not done the same are in some way at fault for their own position in society. On another level it is the belief that Asian-Americans are smart (naturally good in the STEM field), hard-working/self-reliant, obedient/uncomplaining, and never in need of assistance.
What is wrong about the model minority, if any?
The first implication to this model minority stereotype is that it generalizes the diverse Asian community that exists. The Asian community in itself is comprised of many different and distinct ethnic groups along with various socioeconomic statuses, levels of degree-attainment and competency in speaking, reading, and writing English. However, when people think of the kinds of Asians that comprise the Asian-American population, they tend to mostly think Chinese, Indian, Korean, and Japanese, but in reality there are also Hmong, Cambodian, and Laotian among others. The table on the asian-nation.org site,which shows the socioeconomic characteristics by racial/ethnic and Asian ethnic groups, supports that the first cluster of nationalities tends to have a greater consistency of higher levels of degree attainment and socioeconomic status while the latter is the group that tends to be on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum and has lower levels of degree attainment. For instance, 52.7% of the Cambodian, Hmong, and Laotian group had less than a high school degree.
The second implication is that the model minority fosters an internalized racism within Asian American communities against other communities of color. As Chow defined the stereotype, it implies that racial groups that are not as high-achieving in the aggregate are somehow at fault. These other minorities (e.g. Black or Hispanic) are at times often seen as the "bad" or "problem" minorities. It teaches Asian Americans to compare their accomplishments to those of African Americans and situates them in racial binaries - pitting the minorities together in a racial hierarchy that does a lot more harm than good.
The third implication is that Asian Americans are denied racial justice with this model minority status. Policymakers fail to recognize the existing inequities among the group and to create access for them. 2.3 million Asian Americans are still uninsured. In addition, many Asian-Americans also suffer from physical and mental health disorders due to culturally incompetent care.
So what can we do about it?
Let's spread awareness about this stereotype. This has already begun with hashtags such as #modelminoritymutiny, which acknowledges the marginalization Asian Americans especially those who are most vulnerable to state violence face (this hashtag was inspired by the #blacklivesmatter); which leads to: let us not forget the shared histories of oppression and solidarity amongst the minority groups. For instance, The Civil Rights movement helped to end racist immigration laws against South Asians and in the late 1960's, Asian Americans were part of the Third World Liberation Strikers in Berkley that launched the Black Power Movement and inspired the Yellow Power Movement. This cross-racial solidarity allows the possibility to be connected and holistic in the approach towards racial justice for all.
