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Model Minority Myth

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On May 15, 2015, a coalition of 64 Asian American organizations filed a complaint against Harvard University for discriminatory admission practices that set a higher bar for admissions for Asian American students than for any other race group (WSJ). Discrimination in college admissions is just one of the many ways that racism still affects Asian Americans today. This contradicts the belief shared by most White Americans that the civil rights movement eradicated racism in America and created equality between Whites and people of color (Sue 2007). Asian Americans are especially believed to experience little to no racism. This is due to the popular belief in the model minority myth: the belief that Asian Americans have succeeded in American society, …show more content…
This has caused a lack of resources and assistance directed towards Asian American groups and populations that continue to experience inequities, poverty, racism, and violence, but have no means of resolving the issues themselves (sue book). If anything, the myth has contributed to the racism that Asian Americans experience, as denying the racial experiences of people of color is also a form of microaggression. The model minority myth has also built up resentment against Asian Americans from other people of color, who believe Asian Americans have exceeded their minority status and have “become white,” making them immune to racism and earning them hostility from various non-Asian Americans (Sue, Book; Washington Post). This is especially true for African Americans, who White Americans have oppressed for so many generations that they are hostile to Asian Americans, who they perceive to be allies of White Americans because of their exaggerated success as the model minority …show more content…
Because most immigrants cannot communicate proficiently in English, they are reluctant to confront racist behavior or report race-related hate crimes, leading to racist hate crimes being underreported. Even when they report racialized hate crimes, police tend to be unresponsive to people of color, especially when the perpetrators are White. The same goes for students of color who, whenever they try to report racialized teasing and bullying, are labeled as oversensitive and paranoiac by White teachers who are often ill-equipped to handle and understand covert forms of racism (Chou). The recurring lack of response and reluctance to help has discouraged Asian Americans from reporting the variety of racism and discrimination that they face on a daily

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