Opinion | How best to fight anti-Asian hate and bust the ‘model minority’ myth: detailed data

Name: New Yorkers escort elderly and form street patrols to combat anti-Asian attacks
Uploaded: 2021-05-11T22:45:04.000Z
Duration: 3 min 59 s
Description: New Yorkers escort elderly and form street patrols to combat anti-Asian attacks

There are at least 19 Asian origin groups in the US, but they are all lumped together and inaccurately seen as the ‘model minority’, despite huge disparities

Two new initiatives share a common mission: collect data on anti-Asian hate, and let the numbers do the talking. Data is knowledge, and knowledge is power

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People rally against anti-Asian hate and violence, in Columbus Park in Chinatown, Manhattan, on March 25. Photo: AP

Christopher Tang

Published: 6:45am, 12 May 2021Updated: 7:17am, 12 May 2021

The public is increasingly aware of rising violence against Asians in the United States, but few may know how the “model minority” myth surrounding Asians has done more harm than good.

In education, the myth that all Asians are well educated blinds policymakers to the fact that Asians need equal access to higher education as much as other racial minorities. The high school dropout rate among Hmong, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Pacific Islanders is as high as that among blacks and Latinos. Yet, in New York, the mayor wants various high-performing high schools to abolish an entrance exam to boost diversity.

Meanwhile, the University of California suspended SAT and ACT tests as an admission requirement last year, a measure that could have the effect of increasing diversity and reducing the Asian student population.

In the corporate world, Asians are facing a bamboo ceiling that is opaque and difficult to shatter. Asians represent 12 per cent of the professional workforce in the US, but less than 1 per cent of S&P 500 CEOs are of East Asian descent. Worse, according to Harvard Business Review, Asians are the “least likely group” in the US to be promoted to management – “less likely than any other race, including blacks and Hispanics”.

To achieve equality and social equity in the US, Asians must take proactive steps to unite as a group of 23 million people. Also, Asians should encourage information transparency and granular data.

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New Yorkers escort elderly and form street patrols to combat anti-Asian attacks

Despite the diverse backgrounds of at least 19 Asian origin groups, ranging from the Chinese to the Burmese, from Indians to Cambodians, Asian-Americans share similar experiences as “perpetual foreigners” in the US. Asian solidarity can turn empathy into compassion that leads to united actions.