It is to no surprise when people hear of Asians being successful, but why is that? Asians tend to be looked at at a higher standard, something society constructed and is eventually formed into a norm. Asians are seen to have close proximity to whiteness. With their successes in the economy and society, Asians are seen to have a privilege that minorities do not usually have.

A common argument is tailored in this concept: If “white privilege” is oppressive then why does research show that Asian Americans tend to have higher income and status than most populations. Bill O’Reilly, a conservative commentator, stated in an editorial that Asian household incomes were 20% higher than white household incomes. The question as to why this is his answer was that Asians tend to have a more collectivist culture and education is held at utmost importance. This claim has been used since at least in the 1960s when faced with the challenges the civil rights movements sparked. Newspapers printed portraits of Asian Americans to cast skepticism on the population that was marching for social and economic justice. The Asians were seen as independent, not needing help as other minorities did, they were progressing on their own. 

This also ties back in with the model minority myth, which is deeply misunderstood. Yes, Asians are successful but this was not the case when the first immigration happened. The Asian community did not start at the top. Asian Americans were known as laborers with the lowest wages. Over the decades, overcoming poverty, discrimination, and racial violence, Asians climbed and earned their way up the socioeconomic ladder. The success of Asians does not simply show their achievements but also points out that being a minority meant working harder in order to achieve something that a White person could achieve with greater ease and less effort. 

Although being well educated and having education as a top priority as a value was made as a point as to how Asians managed to climb their way to success, research suggests that society simply became less racist towards the Asian community. While looking at the progress from 1940 to 1980, even with varying educational accomplishments, the steady closing of the wage gap by Asians was seen, supporting the claim of education not really playing a role in the socioeconomic success of Asians. Racist prejudice was softening after WWII. Asians were being accepted to more institutions and even earning a raise in their wage. Journalists and public opinion shifted as Asians are now being branded and publicized as being hard workers, educationally competent, easy-going, and rarely complains. Opportunities were opened up to them.  
However, even looking at the unemployment rates over the past 10 years, we can see the effects of systemic racism and implicit bias. While generally, Asians have a lower unemployment rate compared to other minorities and sometimes even compared to whites, during the coronavirus, those results drastically changed. Whites remained the last impacted by the racism and financial turmoil of COVID-19 while the rates in Asian unemployment shot up. While these rising rates are not fully attributed to the virus, the government’s narrative in blaming a particular race definitely contributed to it. 
Nonetheless, Asians were quick to realize in order to survive and achieve the “American Dream” or whatever goal they have, they must be quick to adapt and assimilate. They are quick to pick up certain concepts and change their mindsets, setting them closer to the Whites. Their values and thoughts are now plagued with racist ideas and concepts, remember everyone must be held accountable. Some choose to set their lifestyles in a more similar fashion to the Whites in order to make them feel safe and accumulated to their community. Yes, Asians are discriminated against but this does not mean they have their own outlook on certain individuals as well. They just learned that this is how society works and have integrated it into their own morale. Systemic racism, racism is catered depending on the situation. 

Sources:
GuoBioBio, Jeff Guo closeJeff. “The Real Secret to Asian American Success Was Not Education.” Washington Post, November 19, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/19/the-real-secret-to-asian-american-success-was-not-education/.
Jr, Dae Shik Kim. “Why Be a ‘Model Minority’ When You Could Dismantle White Supremacy?” www.thenation.com, June 30, 2020. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/asian-americans-antiblackness-antiracism/.

Starting off with examples, Asian-American students being complemented to having really good English when it is their first language, defensiveness of people when seeing black men, women being cut off conversations by men. These examples may be simple and common but these are actually microaggressions. Although many perceive taking offense by these actions as being overly sensitive, these open up discussions on how much societal ideas truly are integrated into everyday life. Microaggressions happen when people use biases of groups on a person leaving them offended or uncomfortable. These are the common everyday instances of racism, sexism, and more. It can be an insult, a comment, or a gesture. They are subtle, intentional, but oftentimes unintentional ways to communicate to someone with some sort of bias. 

Microaggressions are something more than simple jokes and remarks. Microaggression actions come from concepts made in relation to a person’s membership to a marginalized group. Microaggressions were coined because of the insults that were thrown at Black individuals. It then started to be used on other minorities as well. 

Although these are called “micro” aggressions, the consequences aren’t small. The frequent occurrence of these can be related to people not realizing that they are taking part in microaggressive rhetoric. Many simply act because of internalized bias. A theme that most have trouble with is color blindness, this is when people refuse to acknowledge race. Although many can see this as a good thing, it really is not that great. This is especially seen with adopted Asian kids with non-Asian parents. “There is only one race, the human race.” “When I look at you, I don’t see color.” Being denied one’s race can also mean being denied one’s culture. When race is disregarded, an identity is not let to be identified. Also, a consequence of this is that when this mindset is set in a family with an adopted kid, not from the same race, then this singles them out. Mostly, this mindset of having no race is just applied to family, once faced with others, race is suddenly a real concrete concept that they base their schemas on. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Captain, the one that stated the Atlanta shooter to only be having a “bad day” and has been found sharing racist things on his Facebook, has an adopted Vietnamese brother. 

Since this is mostly an unconscious action, one cannot be truly blamed for practicing this. Although this cannot be dismissed. If something says or does something racist and makes you feel uncomfortable then it is what it is, a bad act is a bad act. A step of action is being aware of your personal bias and impact. You can also commit to working on how to minimize the concept of microaggressions. Another way is to establish relationships with others to learn more about their personal stories and cultures. The more we know about different stereotypes, the more your preconceived wall ideas are shattered, and the less you stereotype others. Microaggressions can take a toll on the mental health of the recipients of these microaggressive actions. It can make the school or work environment of the people more hostile as stereotypes integrated more in everyday conversations. The constant stream of insults, even if they are subtle, can add up and greatly affect an individual and lead to unjustified treatment. 

Microaggressions encompass many concepts, insults can be based on race, gender, ethnicity, and religion. Microaggressions are made by everyone and are directed to everyone. Let’s take initiative to take responsibility for our actions and rethink the way we think about others, especially with microaggressions. 

​Sources:
Chung, Nicole. “What Would My White Family Think about Anti-Asian Racism?” Time, March 22, 2021. https://time.com/5948949/anti-asian-racism-white-adoptive-family/.
DeAngelis, Tori. “Unmasking ‘Racial Micro Aggressions.’” Https://Www.apa.org, 2009. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/02/microaggression.
Jenée Desmond-Harris. “What Exactly Is a Microaggression?” Vox. Vox, February 16, 2015. https://www.vox.com/2015/2/16/8031073/what-are-microaggressions.
Limbong, Andrew. “Microaggressions Are a Big Deal: How to Talk Them out and When to Walk Away : Life Kit.” NPR.org, June 9, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/08/872371063/microaggressions-are-a-big-deal-how-to-talk-them-out-and-when-to-walk-away.
Sue, Derald, Christina Capodilupo, Gina Torino, Jennifer Bucceri, Aisha Holder, Kevin Nadal, and Marta Esquilin. “APA PsycNet.” psycnet.apa.org, 2007. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-07130-001.

In light of the pandemic, Asian hate crimes have increased. As COVID-19 was regarded as the “China Virus'' or the “Wuhan Virus,” many took their frustrations out on the Asian community. Although it cannot be wholly attributed to the government’s representation of the Corona Virus, mostly during the first occurence, it did catalyze the hate the AAPI community have received. The surge of the hate crimes happened in March and April of 2020, when COVID-19 started to get worse in America. This has left the Asian community in a constant state of wariness as attacks have been more frequent across the nation. 

Everyone in the AAPI community is vulnerable, hate was shown to all ages and gender, elderly were attacked, kids bullied, many generalized Asian people and came to a conclusion that they were the cause of the spread of COVID-19. Although it did originate in China, the surge of cases everywhere cannot be blamed on Asian people. The spread came with the shortcomings of the government and everyone, not many took it seriously until it disrupted their own lives. 

In a year’s span, 2019-2020, hate crimes have decreased overall by 7% BUT hate crimes towards Asians have increased by nearly 150%. Nearly 3,800 incidents of Asian hate were reported in 2020, significantly higher from 2019’s 2,600 reports. This data includes reports from March 19, 2020 to February 2021, almost 503 of the reported incidents took place in 2021 alone. 68.1% were verbal harassment, 20.5% were shunning, and the 3rd most common category being 11.1% was physical assault. These incidents included threats, discrimination, and harassment. Research saw a pattern, many targeted the women, the elderly, and the youth, this was concluded as they were the “weak” ones, the vulnerable, an easy target. Another conclusion with having many elderly attacks is because the elderly are now receiving their vaccines and are more often out and about, making them more vulnerable to encounters. Even with the high number of reports many believe that this isn’t all of it, many incidents still go unreported as they are dismissed. 

In February 2021 a Chinese man walking home near the neighborhood in Manhattan’s Chinatown was stabbed, the perpetrator was charged with attempted murder but was not considered a hate crime as prosecutors determined that evidence was lacking in order to prove a racist motive. March 17 2021 , An elderly Asian woman in San Francisco was punched in the face. The attacker also attacked another elderly Asian man shortly before this incident. Week of March 7th 2021, an elderly Asian man was killed in Oakland by an ex-convict with a history of “victimizing elderly Asian people”, he was charged with murder. An elderly Asian man was killed in January in San Francison, the perpetrator pleaded not guilty after being charged with murder. March 16 2021 in Atlanta, 8 women were shot, 6 of them being of Asian descent, the attack was not condemened to be racially motivated, the attacker was said to be “having a bad day” and his actions were blamed on “sex addiction.” It was said that the women he killed were “a temptation that he wanted to eliminate,” he was charged with murder but this was also not charged as a hate crime. 

In light of recent events, violence against the Asian community has been brought to the frontlines. Anti-Asian discrimination congressional hearing, a rare occurrence, is now held, many are advocating for the stop of hate towards the AAPI community. The recent events led to the voices of Asians being heard and amplified. Many are empowering and encouraging the AAPI community. Racism towards Asians are usually disregarded as it is such a common occurrence, making it a “normal” thing. This can be attributed to the model minority myth and Asians proximity to whiteness (Check out our post about the model minority myth for a deeper take!). Asians are viewed as successful and easygoing individuals, they have everything going for them. “Jokes” on Asians are usually dismissed, as this is not viewed as a racist act, when in reality these ideas are devaluing and limiting Asians. Although being part of the POC community, Asians are seen to be in close proximity with the Whites as society views them to have the same characteristics. Many are successful, economically and socially, with this, Asians are not seen as a vulnerable group, making the dismissal of hate actions towards them all that much easier. 

It is time to stop with the generalization. It is time to acknowledge hate targeted to the Asian community. It is time to start with change. Time to speak up. Time to stand up. Stop AAPI hate. 

Sources:
Hayes, Elinor Aspegren, Ryan W. Miller and Christal. “Georgia Spa Shootings: Suspect Officially Charged after 8 People Killed at 3 Businesses; Most Victims Were Asian.” USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/17/georgia-massage-parlor-shootings-what-we-know-suspect-motive/4728084001/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2021.
Hong, Nicole, and Jonah E. Bromwich. “Asian-Americans Are Being Attacked. Why Are Hate Crime Charges so Rare?” The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/nyregion/asian-hate-crimes.html.
Rio, Giulia McDonnell Nieto del, et al. “Atlanta Shootings Live Updates: Suspect Had Visited Targeted Spas Before, Police Say.” The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/18/us/atlanta-shootings-massage-spa#congress-hearing-asian-american-discrimination. Accessed 19 Mar. 2021.
Wilkinson, Joseph. “San Francisco Man Attacks Elderly Asian Woman, Ends up Bloodied and Handcuffed to Stretcher after She Fights Back: Witnesses.” Nydailynews.com, 17 Mar. 2021, www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-san-francisco-elderly-asian-woman-attacked-assailant-stretcher-20210318-evcupsl6pnb5jhab4xvghus2ui-story.html. Accessed 19 Mar. 2021.
Yam, Kimmy. “Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Increased by Nearly 150% in 2020, Mostly in N.Y. And L.A., New Report Says.” NBC News, 9 Mar. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-asian-hate-crimes-increased-nearly-150-2020-mostly-n-n1260264.
Yam, Kimmy. “There Were 3,800 Anti-Asian Racist Incidents, Mostly against Women, in Past Year.” NBC News, 16 Mar. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/there-were-3-800-anti-asian-racist-incidents-mostly-against-n1261257.

Check out our presentation on Lunar New Year stories narrated and directed by Emme Lee and created by Alex Tao, Aimee Nguyen, Rebekah Joe, and Jiya Sishodia. 

Because of the lack of representation of Asians in the media people tend to use stereotypes instead. Being a teen is all about exploring and learning about yourself. Having clubs in high school that are associated with representing and explaining Asian cultures could be a big help to Asian American students. This gives them a community of people of the same age that may share common interests. This would help them build a relationship not only with the people but also the culture. This is where they could freely explore their identity and share the experience with others. Clubs like these are also a great way to learn about different cultures as one can be exposed to not only one but many cultures. This could include learning through traditions, foods, or even through people. 

Being a part of various cultural clubs can help shape our identity. I see this as an outlet for teens. I think having a community outside of school is really good as we can learn from someone older or be someone who can teach the young. At the same time having a community of people of the same age is a good balance of that interaction. We can relate to each other and we can learn from one another. This could be a place where we could be less formal and really freely express ourselves and discover. 

Having clubs like these also help promote the Asian community. We hold festivals, meetings, or watch parties that are associated with the Asian culture. We also share our culture through food and other activities. This could help bring recognition in school and in our community. This could help teens be more confident in sharing themselves. This also brings many opportunities to us to help spread our cultures with others and build new perspectives about Asians. This is something that could help us break the stereotypes that has been established. This helps us prove that we are more than what people believe in. That the stereotypes they use do not define us and should not be what people would use when they first see us. Asian clubs are also fun learning environments. We get to discover new things through various activities, not just by reading and listening to someone. We get to learn through games, movies, or other social activities. 

For me, being in an Asian club both in school and out of school has been a fun way to discover a new community. This allowed me to interact with many teens that I can relate with. This is a super fun way to learn about other cultures because I get to share the experience with my new found friends. Being in an Asian club also helped me express myself more, it helped me realize what I stand for. It also gives me a sense of accomplishment whenever I get to volunteer at activities that lead to the spread of culture. I feel very happy sharing my culture and others’ culture to as many people as we can. I also feel like this is a way for me to contribute in educating and spreading awareness of the Asian community.

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Written by Khaled Itani
(Originally published by Asia Trend)​

​In recent weeks associate psychology professor at the University of Central Florida, Charles Negy has come under fire by different groups for his track record of racist and problematic tweets and comments. Of these tweets was one downplaying the systemic injustice towards African Americans by pointing to the success of Asian Americans as a model minority.

UCF has announced an internal investigation into Professor Negy’s conduct, though many students, staff and alumni remain frustrated over a lack of transparency. On Friday June 5 several UCF executives including President Cartwright, Provost Johnson and Interim Chief Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Officer Dr. Kent Butler held a panel to answer questions from the community regarding the response of UCF in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police and the untimely distasteful tweets of Professor Negy.

The event, held over zoom, was impassioned with powerful emotions, and exposed several rifts between the university’s administration and the student body especially regarding minority representation. This situation is the first major challenge of UCF’s new President Dr. Alexander Cartwright , hopefully having this powerful wakeup call at the start of his term will encourage his presidency to take active steps in mending the deep wounds of racism and gaps in minority representation entrenched into the university system. The question will forever loom however, how did such behavior go unchecked for this long? 

A common trope used throughout American history is the idea that the general success of Asian Americans as a minority can be used as an excuse to defend the status quo despite all its issues. We have seen it time and time again used by political pundits and even several of us in our own communities who take this as a compliment and uphold it with pride.
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It is irresponsible, and overly simplistic to paint all Asian Americans with one brush. We are one of the most diverse groups on the face of the planet and are always eager to remind people of that. So why do we only use it for our own bragging rights instead of also using it to shed light on socioeconomic disparities within our demographic? What about the Hmong American community with unemployment rates over double that of Asian Americans as a general category?  What of US born Laotians being below the poverty line compared to not only Asian Americans but to Americans as a whole? Are they model minority too? Is this subject too uncomfortable to talk about? A chilling reality that never makes its way into mainstream talking points.

In an article for Medium, author and activist Deepa Iyer eloquently put coined the term racial bribe that describes this trend perfectly. In the current power dynamic Asian Americans strive for the inherent whiteness of the status quo and in doing so we often disregard association to the African American community. Why do we take the racial bribe? Why do we need to uphold a system where we are second best rather than fight for a system that puts everyone first? Is it because many of us seek to avoid seeming controversial? Is it because we have internalized the vicious attacks on immigrant communities that we “are lucky to be here, so don’t complain”?

There is a dog-eat-dog framework in place, and it pits Black and Asian communities against one another. To whose benefit is such a framework? Ours? We cannot deny the conflicts and tensions of the past but in doing so we cannot deny that the Civil Rights movement was largely led by the Black community and Asian Americans benefited greatly from it as well. We cannot deny that in a pluralistic society, we cannot be at peace if we do not have justice. We cannot be keen to celebrate diversity without also engaging in difficult topics addressing inequality and the grievances of African Americans since the founding of this country on the backs of slaves.

Yes, obviously “we face racism too,” the wounds of racism in East and Southeast Asian communities following COVID19 are still fresh, but why does this need to invalidate the African American struggle in the eyes of our communities? Why does everything have to be a contest? Nobody responds to “Breast Cancer Awareness” with “But All Cancers matter”, why are we doing it now? 

​We as Asian Americans need to reject anti-blackness and the Model Minority myth in our own communities and not take the racial bribe. We are not a trophy, we are a complex group full of nuance, disparity, and widely differing experiences. We are not a pawn on the chessboard of white supremacy. Our story is not one that has to put down that of our Black neighbors, rather it should be one of justice, not as fellow minorities, but more meaningfully as fellow humans.  

For the longest time, there’s been a lack of racial representation in Hollywood and traditional media. However, with the rise of social media such as YouTube and Instagram, many Asian influencers have taken advantage of these platforms to establish their presence within this rising community. YouTubers such as Michelle Phan, Nigahiga, and Wong Fu Productions are just some of the few that have actively established their place online. Not only have Asians established their place on social media, but they’ve also made efforts to have more presence in the film industry. The 2018 film, Crazy Rich Asians was a hit and grossed 238.5 million in the box office. It did well to open everyone’s eyes to new roles for Asians in movies and featured an all Asian cast. Although it wasn’t a perfect representation of all Asians, it still did well to establish visibility for the Asian community in Hollywood.
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What many don’t understand is the importance of Asian representation in the media. Lack of proper representation results in unfair stereotyping that damages people’s perception of Asians in society. Stereotypes of Asians, such as being the model minority or nerds, are harmful because they box Asians into a specific role and these perceptions can easily bleed into reality. No single race is simply one “character” that the media portrays. In some films, the races of characters who were originally Asian were changed, and in the cases they do keep an Asian role, they don’t represent the background of the character properly. 

There’s plenty of room for improvement but there have been many feats for the Asian community in media. There are plenty of Asian influencers that are making strides within the beauty industry by using media to expand their outreach. Fashion and beauty YouTuber Jenn Im has used her following on social media to launch her own fashion line Eggie and the business has seen successful results. In movies and shows, there has been a gradual emergence of more Asian actors in popular films. Lana Condor is a Vietnamese-born actor and featured in the hit Netflix series, To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Awkwafina, known for her role in Crazy Rich Asians, found many more acting opportunities in big movies such as Jumanji and Ocean's Eight.

​Nowadays, social media makes it immensely easier to build representation for Asians within the community and it’s important for both teens and older adults to use social media wisely so that everyone can have a more racially diverse and equal platform.

Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month is celebrated in the month of May. This is where we celebrate our different cultures, traditions, and the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. This is the time where we recognize the contributions of Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Asian Americans in the United States. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants as well as to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in which the majority of the workers were Chinese immigrants.

Since the month of Ramadan has come to an end, we would like to share what Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr are. Ramadan is celebrated during the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, which is tied to moon phases. Ramadan starts with a crescent moon. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. This is a time for them to have spiritual-reflections, self-improvement, and devotion. Ramadan teaches self-control, self-discipline, sacrifice, and to have empathy for the less fortunate. This also teaches Muslims to perform generous acts such as donating to charities. Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year for Muslims as this is when Allah (God) gave the first chapter of the Quran to Prophet Mohammed. Eid Al-Fitr, also known as the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” is celebrated at the end of Ramadan. This is traditionally celebrated for three days. Muslims would get together at the mosque for a prayer before spending the rest of the festivities with their family and friends. “Eid Mubarak” means “have a blessed Eid.” This is also a way for them to thank Allah (God) for helping them through the month of fasting. Muslims show their gratitude to Allah (God) by donating to charities. This is also a time for Muslims to forgive those that have wronged them.
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Although I am not Muslim, I have friends who are, and being a part of ASA (Asian Student Association) and REACH helped me see and appreciate the diversity in the Asian community. I think learning about different traditions, even if it does not directly apply to me, is important because this helps me understand that the people that make up Asia have their own unique culture and traditions. This helps me appreciate it more and learn how to share it with others as well.