I'm taking a break from the Midwest for a needed change in scenery but my heart and mind are in Minneapolis today and will be, I imagine, for the coming weeks. My heart is heavy. But I also realize today that my friends and colleagues of Asian descent are struggling too - I started this post almost a week ago and didn't finish it. As much as I am immersed in the racial-equity of George Floyd's murder, the countless others before and since, I remind myself that the Asian-American community, many members of which I know and care deeply for, need our support right now as well.
Because of my experiences in education and my deep passion for re-routing the school-to-prison pipeline, which has most dramatically impacted the black community more than any other, my anti-racism work has mostly focused on racial equity for Black Americans. But, tonight I am shifting gears in support of the Asian American community, a community in acute pain right now a community that has suffered in this country for generations, often in silence. Tonight I want to talk about the "Myth of the Model minority."
There needs to be no if, ands, or buts about it - our Asian American community is being targeted in an alarming way - from the mass shooting in Atlanta, incidents of Asian businesses being targeted, individuals being beaten, and even killed. There is also no doubt about it that language used by our former president such as "China virus," " Wuhan virus," and "kung flu" may not have lit the fire of hatred, but certainly poured on fuel and accelerated it. If you are still in doubt of that try to imagine the reaction to an approach such as this "while the virus may have originated in China, the Chinese people, Chinese Americans, and all people of Asian heritage are not responsible for this disease." Imagine the difference in this approach, its impact on fellow Americans who have lost businesses, been beaten, harassed because of this hatred and vitriol. Language matters. Leadership matters. And the leadership this country, from the onset of the pandemic, placed blame on a country and its people...this has translated into a certain subset of our population lumping anyone of Asian descent into one bucket, into a people of blame, into the hatred we see today.
But again, we are ignoring what Asian Americans have had to endure for generations, not least of which is the myth of the "Model Minority." I don't think any of us can deny that we have heard of this myth, that Asians are intelligent and good at math, that they are hard working and successful, more successful than other minorities, and that they don't experience racism. As author, Ijeoma Olul, stated in her book "So You Want To Talk About Race:" "The model minority myth fetishizes Asian Americans - reducing a broad swath of the worlds population to a simple stereotype." There are 48 countries in Asia. There are countless histories, cultures, religions, and ways of life. In America, we melt them all into one group as "Asian," denying them their culture and their identity. This stereotype on the surface may sound harmless because after all, who doesn't want to be thought of as intelligent, hardworking, and successful? But, this like all stereotypes, is dangerous and damaging to the individuals within it.
I have long said that America is not a melting pot as was once touted, but a salad bowl where we all maintain our unique colors, cultures, and identities to make a beautiful and diverse display - for Asian Americans we melt them into one, mistaking Chinese for Japanese, Hmong for Vietnamese, and on and on. We ask Asian Americans, even if they have been here for generations, where they are from assuming that all Asian Americans are immigrants. We shape in our mind who an Asian American is, who we expect them to be, and do not see them as individuals. We hold them up as the perfect minority yet scape goat them, all Asian Americans, when things happen in Asian countries (whether individuals are actually from those countries or not). We say they don't experience racism because their race has been successful but they are not all successful, financially secure, or free from the American evil of racism. I stand with them tonight even as my heart flies to Minneapolis. I see you. I see your pain. I will stand up for you. That is my responsibility as a white ally. It's not my fault but it's my responsibility and I will never take that lightly.
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