Second Edition Of Unraveling The Model Minority Stereotypes

What is the “model minority” stereotype? It is a common portrayal amongst Asian American students that suggests they are more academically and economically successful than other races. It is believed they are more successful than other minority groups because their cultures value hard work. Throughout the Second Edition of Unraveling the “Model Minority” Stereotype, Stacey Lee investigates this stereotype by examining the population of “Asian American” students at Academic High School.

Soon after her arrival, Lee discovers the students divided themselves into distinctive groups: Koreans, Asians, Asian Americans, or New Wavers. The Korean-identified students thought of themselves as superior and distanced themselves from all other Asians. They

33). They did everything in their power to become closer to white students by mimicking the way they dress, the music they listen to, and the activities they participated in. The Asian-identified students included the majority of the Asian Americans attending Academic High. They were diverse in ethnicity and came from an assortment of social classes. They associated solely with other students of Asian descent because they “shared cultures” (Lee, 2009, p. 39). They believed it was important for all Asians to work hard, get good grades and keep themselves out of trouble. They also held a deep desire to earn respect from white Americans and “did not challenge discrimination or speak directly about inequality” (Lee, 2009, p. 40). By doing so the Asian-identified students kept to themselves and accepted the discrimination in hopes of getting ahead. The Asian American identified students were compiled of a range of ethnic groups and social classes. They were strong academically and believed they had the most in common with other Asian-American students, although they saw themselves as American. Unlike the Asian students, the Asian Americans

According to Tatum, prejudice is “preconceived judgment or opinion, usually based on limited information” (Tatum 67). While racism is the belief that one’s race is superior to another. Prejudice is derived from limited information and is formed based on beliefs or misconceptions of others. Racism stems from information already possessed about a certain race. Once racism is present within a person it seems that the hatred stems so deep that it is hard to change it. Throughout Tatums piece she does speak of other minorities but, the basis of her arguments surrounds African Americans. Contradicting Tatum’s article, Lee states that “racial subordination of blacks have lead most Americans to equate blackness with minority status”(Lee, 2009, p. 4). She also argues that “people speak of ‘American’ as if it means ‘white’ and ‘minority’ as if it means ‘black’" (Lee, 2009, p. 6). Because of this “black-white racial paradigm” other minorities like Asian Americans are left out of discussions of race. (Lee, 2009, p. 4). Tatum continues to states that, “people of color are not racist because they do not systematically benefit from racism” but, Stacey Lee’s work at Academic High reveals differently (Tatum, 246). The different groups of Asian American students had their own racist views of other minorities as well as other Asian American students. The Korean-identified students “held