By: Joyce Cheng
Since Asian immigrants first arrived in the United States in the 1850s, they have been both valorized and ostracized in American society. Asian immigrants did not fit into the white and Black racial dichotomy that the US was founded on, so white people viewed them as “foreign” — and still do to this day. Asian immigrants were originally used for cheap labor in southern plantations after slavery was abolished, as well as on the west coast for building the Transcontinental Railroad; they were supposed to be a temporary solution to help rebuild the US economy after the Civil War. The division between Black and Asian communities was created by white people in order for those in power to maintain superiority over both minority groups while profiting off of their labor. White people valorized Asian immigrants by claiming that they were more “disciplined” and “intelligent” than Black people, making Asian immigrants desirable sources of labor. However, white people also made clear that Asian immigrants were “non-assimilative” and Asian immigrants were denied the right to citizenship, preventing them from obtaining any political power. Both Black and Asian communities were denied equal civil rights in American society.
While the practice of valorizing Asian Americans in order to enforce anti-Blackness while simultaneously ostracizing Asian Americans in order to prevent them from obtaining political power is centuries old, the modern notion of the “model minority” was not popularized in the mainstream media until 1996, when journalist William Petersen wrote a magazine article about the success of second generation Japanese Americans, despite facing internment during World War II. Since the Civil Rights Movement, white conservatives have reframed the struggle for political power from “white vs non-white” to “model minority vs underclass minority.” The division between minority groups, resulting in anti-Blackness in many non-Black minority communities, has served to preserve white superiority in the US. The model minority myth, which was originally applied to Jewish Americans in the early 20th century but has since shifted its target to Asian Americans since the 1950s, claims that a minority group can be successful through hard-work and discipline despite facing past oppression. In the case of Asian Americans, they are supposedly successful because of their traditional cultural values, such as respecting authority and emphasizing education. The model minority myth does not state that Asian Americans are more “white” than other minorities; in fact, the myth suggests that Asian Americans are successful because of their distinctiveness.
The model minority myth has always served as a tool to demonize the Black community, particularly since the Civil Rights Movement. White conservatives used Asian Americans as a “model” that other minority groups should follow if they also want to succeed in American society; this warns Asian communities against joining political movements while delegitimizing Black communities for demanding equal rights and government support instead of simply just “working hard.” In fact, during the height of the Cold War, Asian Americans perpetuated the image of themselves as model citizens in order to protect themselves, but the concept of being a “model minority” was quickly co-opted by white conservatives and weaponized against the Black community. Although Asian Americans did not intend to hurt other minority groups, our community must take responsibility for how we have benefitted from the oppression of Black people. Drawing comparisons between Black and Asian communities manufactures a false equivalency; while Asian Americans have faced discrimnation in the US since Asian immigrants first arrived, Black Americans are the only minority group who have suffered systemic dehumanization under slavery, Jim Crow laws, and mass incarceration. Political movements are necessary for dismantling white supremacy; as seen in the case of Asian Americans, no matter how much economic success a minority group obtains, white people will still deny us full equality.
In fact, white people have taken advantage of the model minority myth to manufacture conflicts between Black and Asian communities. For example, affirmative action in college admissions, which benefits all minority groups, has been reframed as an issue of “reverse racism” by conservatives. Rather than facing the truth that there are quotas placed on the number of Asian students admitted to universities because educational institutions want their student body to remain as white as possible, Asian communities have fallen victim to the idea, as promoted by white conservatives, that because Black and Latinx students have their own allotted quotas, affirmative action is therefore a form of discrimination against Asian and white students. When white conservatives side with Asian students, they are portrayed as anti-racist champions, when in reality, they are enforcing white supremacy and anti-Blackmess by using the Asian community. Asian Americans need to stop pandering to whiteness and realize that solidarity among minority groups is the only way to achieve equity. We must advocate for issues the Asian community faces — including the recent dramatic increase in hate crimes — without being anti-Black. Racism against any community is rooted in white supremacy, so all communities should work to dismantle the system that oppressed all of us.
Sources:
- Kim, Claire Jean. “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans.” Politics & Society, vol. 27, no. 1, 1999, pp. 105–138. doi:10.1177/0032329299027001005.
- Guo, Jeff. “The Real Reasons the U.S. Became Less Racist toward Asian Americans.” The Washington Post. April 29, 2019. www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/29/the-real-reason-americans-stopped-spitting-on-asian-americans-and-started-praising-them/