Asian American Ethnic Studies Essay

America has come a long way since the Reagan era, because “twenty-five years ago, the greatest strength of the Asian American movement was the ability of activist to organize the unorganized and bring new political players in community politics” (Omatsu). During a current era there are problems with lack of knowledge of what happened to Asian Americans, because those who were not around to see the struggles with racism. “However, by stimulating the discussion over how Asian American define community problems, the neoconservatives bring a vibrancy to community issues by contributing a different viewpoint” (Omatsu). Young political activists voices are the solution to end the struggle against racism for as long as there is activism that thrives our voices will be heard in

To be young and Asian in America is a special brand of torture. There is an unspoken dictum of silence that grips Asian youth, a denial of our place in popular culture. Asian youth walk in America not quite sure where we fit in-black children have a particular brotherhood, Hispanic children have a particular brotherhood, white children own everything else. We cannot lay claim to jazz or salsa or swing; we cannot say our ancestors fought for equality against an oppressive government or roamed the great hallways of power across the globe. We do not have a music, a common hero, a lexicon of slang. Asian youth experience personal diasporas every day.

Although Asian Americans comprise only about 5% of the U.S. population, this group is the fastest growing segment of American society. Despite such rapid expansion, Asian Americans are widely underrepresented throughout media, whether in television, cinema, or literature. Moreover, there are different stereotypes associated with Asian Americans. One of the most pervasive stereotypes details how Asian Americans are a “model minority”. In essence, this myth describes how anyone who is Asian American will become a successful individual able to achieve the “American dream”.

From ethnic studies’ early inception at SF State in 1969, by 1993, less than a quarter of a century later, more than 700 ethnic studies programs were created across the United States, most successfully at UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, University of Washington, and University of Colorado - Boulder (Diaz). This serves as an excellent exhibit of the TWLF’s significance as without them the extent of ethnic studies would not be so great, should it have existed at all. “The significance of these strikes was twofold: first, minority students were able to unite in solidarity against institutional Racism, and second, the strikes won concessions in the formation of Ethnic Studies programs that have remained in the forefront of academic change” (“Third World Student Strikes”). The implementation of ethnic studies in school curriculums has had profound impacts on society as a whole, only improving the way with which minorities view and approach the world around them, as it significantly improved minorities’ academic situations.

Modern Day example would include the “English Only Movement” and the “reverse quotas for Asians in college admissions” (Ngai, p. 67). The limitations of Asian access to postsecondary education is troubling because they are amongst some of the brightest American citizens, especially when using measures of college readiness benchmarks used for college admissions. For example, Asian Americans taking the ACTs during high school scored higher on math and science portions than any other recorded racial group. In an economy where science, technology, engineering and mathematics

Asian Americans are commonly known as the “model minorities,” and they are often thought to be not as diverse as other minority groups, but that is not true. Asian Americans are very diverse, in terms of the groups that make up the group. Asian and Pacific Island groups come from the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, and India, and many other societies. These groups are diverse in occupation, education, and degree of acculturation. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have brought a wealth of traditions to the United States.

Asian Americans face constant subjection to what has become referred to as the “model minority” myth. This myth enforces both a false narrative and broad generalization upon all Asian Americans as the ethnic embodiment of an idealistic work ethic and outstanding academic and socioeconomic success. The deconstruction of this “single story” requires the introduction of new perspectives and proper representation of the intersectional spectrum of Asian Americans, who oftentimes do not fit this typecast. Perpetuating this single story, is the lack of understanding of how Asian Americans can stem from 51 different Asian countries, struggle from the effects of poverty, and also remain unrepresented in popular media.

Throughout the semester we have learned that Asian Americans have gone through many hurdles and roadblocks in order to establish an identity for themselves. Although these social stereotypes have been established by other people, Asians didn’t allow this to define who they were as people. Either its projected by films, events or social media, we are able to see Asian Americans taking a stand with one another. Through popular Asian American Culture such as Beauty Pageants and films like Saving Face, we are able to see Asian Americans asserting their power by embracing their social identities. Through Beauty Pageants we are able to see Asian women truly embracing their ethnicity and Gender.

I was born into a mixed family much like Tiger's. My mother's father was Chinese-American, orphaned by his birth-family and raised in the South. My mother's mother was African-American and, following the family legacy, she received a degree from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. My relatives were instrumental in the foundation of the Avery Normal Institute in Charleston, SC, an educational institute for African-Americans founded in 1865 (now associated with the College of Charleston). My mother grew up in a segregated society where choices were rarely available. She received her Master's degree in Library Science from HBC University. My father's family is of German/Scottish/Irish/Danish decent. When faced with racial classification forms,

The reality is Asian American is still struggling in racism nowadays. In “Unraveling the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth”, Stacey Lee revisited the four identity groups in academic high school and discussed how the “model minority” stereotype influence relationship between race and how different races view racial

One of the most prevalent issue in today’s world is racism. The prejudice and racism against Asian Americans seems to never end. Either it’s a nasty side remark about one’s looks or a judgment about one’s personality and abilities. In high school, one of my best friends was Vietnamese and I remember her going through quite a bit of problems. She was most definitely stereotyped and was supposed to be good at math and science, when in truth, she was horrible at both subjects. Instead, she loved history, cooking, and art. Offensive and wrong situations, similar to these, have been seen throughout history and are still seen today. My only wish is that by understanding Asian American culture and history, we can prevent the creation of stereotypes about people, as well as end the discrimination and make sure these events are never repeated.

Displacing and Disrupting: A Dialogue on Hmong Studies and Asian American Studies [on line]. In: Hmong Studies Journal. Volume 16(2), 2015, 24 pp. Available at: (Accessed November 25, 2016).

During the late 1800s, waves of Asian immigrants from other countries arrived at the United States of America. These countries include China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and India. They believed that coming to the United States would enable them to achieve the “America Dream”, but various laws and discrimination prevented them from achieving the dream. In response to these laws and discrimination, Asian immigrant groups asserted a sense of agency to protect themselves from oncoming discrimination and prejudice. Agency is defined as Asian Immigrants/Americans resistance to the discrimination, unfair laws, prejudice, and low wages. Some agency was successful and others were not, but the main idea was that Asian immigrants were

The African, Mexican, and Native persons have all interacted with the Dominant American culture in some magnitude; consequently altering each different group’s racial and ethnic Identity. Throughout the semester, I have discovered that in much literature writers had an ideal perspective on their own identity as well as the identity that the dominant culture influenced them to have. While doing some research I wanted to see what would be a transitional time frame for a person to be un-conditioned of many negative symbolic meanings in regard to minorities and immigrants. My research has shown that there was a hierarchical scheme where an individual can monitor his/her identity progression from one level to the next. This

Our country forgot about Asian Americans in their policy during the recent political debates. In the recent election, there were few mentions of Asian-American issues in the United States. Does that mean that Asian American lives are great and having a luxurious and leisure life? The answer is no, Asian Americans today are overshadowed by other issues such as illegal immigration issues, growing the economy, or global issues. Asian Americans don’t have a clear way to the political areas because many people view Asian Americans as a foreigner and because we are new immigrants to the country.