Modeling a Minority

By: Kyle Chen

The term “model minority” refers to a group of marginalized people who have achieved a higher socioeconomic status than the population average. In 1966, sociologist William Peter first coined the phrase to describe Japanese Americans and their success in the United States. When drawing comparisons, Wiliam Peter made a contrast between “model minorities” like Japanese or Chinese Americans and “problem minorities” like African Americans or Hispanic Americans. This term went on to encompass Vietnamese Americans, then Indian Americans, then encompassing AANHPI Americans all around, specifically to describe those groups to be more successful and intelligent.

Ever since, the reference of model minorities has been used as a reasoning of racism against Hispanic and African Americans. It’s the notion of “If they can make it, why can’t you?” Still, for both groups, this stereotype causes harm.

Violent racism and poverty are still very prevalent in AANHPI-dense areas. However, the stereotype of the model minority has a major impact on government policy. AANHPI American communities still face the same challenges that other marginalized groups face, but legislators and policymakers are significantly less likely to acknowledge those issues in communities which hold “model minorities.” Additionally, public research institutes are less likely to rigorously sample AANPHI communities and properly count them in censuses. This all stems from an assumption that all AANPHI families are wealthy, when this is clearly not true—the AANPHI poverty rate is higher than the national average. New York is a major offender of this problem—in 2014, Asian-Americans represented 17.9% of New Yorkers below the poverty line. However, that year they only received 1.4% of the total value from the city’s social service contracts and 1.5% of contract dollars from the Department of social services. AANPHI Americans have been put on a pedestal, only as an excuse to ignore both “model minorities” and “problem minorities.” But, it wasn't always that way.

America has historically shown a clear racism toward Chinese and Japanese Americans. Nicknaming them: the “Yellow Peril.” This racism sharply grew in WWII with the prevalent anti-Japanese propaganda. However, likely in response to the beginnings of the civil rights movement, the United States passed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which made immigration the United States significantly easier for well-educated and skilled AANHPI immigrants. The policy set a precedent for our government to ignore the problems of “model minorities,” while also serving as an excuse to omit black and hispanic people from policy conversations. The model minority is a term that has done nothing but harm marginalized communities. Even if it has been widely accepted by certain populations, its dire impacts are clearer than ever. 

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