Asian American Studies 197A
Winter Quarter 2002

Reflection Journal 1

Confronting the Myth of the Model Minority
By Sean Na

Have you ever heard of the "Model Minority Myth"? It is a racial stereotype that has been around since the 1960's, portraying Asian Pacific Americans as "superminorities". According to the myth, Asian Americans are a racial minority that has succeeded through education and hard work, and whose income and wealth match or exceed that of White Americans. Sounds good, doesn't it? Not too shabby for a society whose parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents have undergone racism in the past and struggled for generations. In recent affirmative action debates, however, politicians have suggested that Asian Americans are top students who are singled out for mistreatment by affirmative action and that Asian American success shows that affirmative action is unnecessary.

I myself come from a low-income family. My father owns a failing used car business, and my mother is a restaurant waitress in Koreatown. Both have earned a college degree in Seoul, Korea but the degrees are almost useless here in America. There were many times when my parents considered retreating this foreign land and returning to Korea where things were more familiar and comfortable. However, knowing that America would offer me much more opportunity, they sacrificed for their children and took the gamble of staying. I am very grateful for the opportunities that are available to me here in the States; thus, I cannot help but to believe that Asian Americans are living in a period of great opportunities. Although the dangers of racism are not totally abolished, I feel it is so slight that it can only affect those who allow themselves to be vulnerable to them. If one works hard enough, they have the choice of getting an education from an elite institute. If you can't afford an education, the government will fund it. What more can an individual ask for? I would have to disagree with those who say that we are living in a time of danger. Coming from the background that I come from and working in Koreatown, it is not surprising that my viewpoint is similar to those of low-income immigrant workers.

As a student taking an Asian American Studies class, I think that the dynamics of the class has shaped my consciousness so that I am now aware of the current issues — both political and social- that the Asian community faces. This presents new responsibilities and possibilities in that my awareness will allow me to be more proactive in helping my community in whatever ways I can contribute. It will also give me a new appreciation for everything I work for if I know what kind of struggles others have gone through and are going through.

This is the first Asian American Studies class that I have ever taken, and I have not yet had the opportunity to ask more experienced people in the field what I can do. But from the limited knowledge that I have thus far, I can use the resources available to me here at the University and online and make information available to immigrant workers that otherwise would not have access to.