2 Page Reflection Paper on Asian Americans: Model Minorities?
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Healey8e_PPT_09.pptx
Chapter 9
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Asian Americans: Model Minorities?
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Asian American and pacific Islander groups are often viewed as model minorities:
Successful, affluent, highly educated people who do not suffer from the problems usually associated with minority group status
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Model Minority?
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Instructor’s Note: Ask students to define model minority
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Asian Americans are a small fraction of the total U.S. population
Grown dramatically in recent decades
By 2050, 10 out of every 100 Americans will be Asian
Diversity in group experiences
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Model Minority?
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Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Where Most Legal Immigrants Were Born Aside From Mexico
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Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders speak many different languages and practice a diversity of religions
Asian cultures predate the founding of the United States by centuries or even millennia
Although no two of these cultures are the same, some general similarities can be identified
Asian cultures tend to stress group over individual
Stress sensitivity to the opinions and judgments of others
Traditional Asian cultures were male dominated
Experiences in the United States have modified these patriarchal values and traditional traits
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Origins and Cultures
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Chinese Americans
Ethnocentrism based on racial, cultural, and language differences present from the beginning
At first, competition muted by an abundance of jobs
Economic changes increased Anglo migration and transformed Chinese labor into a threat to the dominant group
Chinese lacked power resources as they were a small group and not permitted to become citizens
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Consistent split labor market theory
Native-born workers and White owners of small businesses felt threatened by the Chinese and supported the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
Conflicts such as the anti-Chinese campaign are intense
They confound racial/ethnic antagonisms with social class conflict
Ban on Chinese immigration in effect until WWII
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Population trends and the “delayed” second generation
Chinese Exclusion Act reduced number of Chinese
End of the 19th century sex ratio 25:1 favoring males
Not until 1920s when second generation developed
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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The ethnic enclave
Increasingly urbanized with increased racism
Merchants and skilled artisans experienced in commerce established businesses and retail stores
Chinatowns became the economic, cultural, and social centers of the community
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Social structure based on different types of organizations--families, clans, and huiguans
Numerous disputes over control of resources--Tong Wars
Despite conflicts, Chinatowns were organized, self-contained communities with their own leadership structures
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Survival and development
Chinatowns appeared in many major cities
Found economic opportunity in areas where competition was weak (such as restaurants), which reinforced invisibility
Relatively hidden from general view, Chinatown became the world in which the second generation grew to adulthood
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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An American success story?
Highly educated, earn less on average, and less favorable occupational profile than educated Whites
Many in Chinatowns rely on low-wage jobs in the garment industry, the service sector, and the small businesses of the enclave
“Bipolar” in their occupational structure
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Japanese Americans
Large scale after Chinese Exclusion Act
By 1910, outnumbered Chinese and remained larger group until large-scale immigration resumed in 1960s
The contact situation for Japanese Americans resembled that of the Chinese
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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The anti-Japanese campaign
Immigration curtailed with 1907 “gentlemen’s agreement,” but loophole allowed females to immigrate until the 1920s
Second generation developed quickly
Attempted to dislodge Japanese from agriculture
Although small presence, their relative success stimulated discriminatory legislation in the Alien Land Act (1913)
Dodged in the discriminatory legislation by putting titles of land in the names of their American-born children who were citizens by law
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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The second generation (Nisei)
Organizations reflected Americanization--Japanese American Citizens League
High educational achievement did not translate into better jobs because of intense discrimination and racism
Their demoralization and anger eventually swamped by the larger events of WWII
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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The relocation camps
After Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066 led to the relocation of Japanese Americans
By mid-1942, more than 110,000 transported to relocation camps
Many were American citizens denied their right to refute the implicit charge of disloyalty
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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In 1948, legislation authorized compensation but claims settled for less than one-tenth the actual economic loss
In 1988, reparations of about $20,000 to each of the 60,000 remaining survivors of the camps
The law acknowledged the grave injustice to Japanese Americans
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Japanese Americans after WWII
Nisei unwilling to rebuild community like before
Prejudice declined in the 1950s and job market opened
By 1960, occupational profile similar to Whites
Overrepresented among professionals
Tendency for “safe” careers not requiring extensive contact with the public or supervision of Whites
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Also contributing to “model minority” perception is the small level of Japanese immigration
Recent immigrants tend to be highly educated professionals
The Sansei and Yonsei are highly integrated into the occupational structure of the larger society
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Unlike African Americans and Mexican Americans, the dominant group had no desire to control the labor of these groups
Unlike American Indians, Chinese and Japanese presented no military danger so there was little concern once economic threat eliminated
Chinese Americans and Japanese Americans had the ingredients and experiences necessary to form enclaves
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contact Situation and the Development of the Chinese American and Japanese American Communities
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Immigration from Asia has increased since 1960s and currently accounts for about 30–35% of all immigrants
It is a bipolar stream, with immigrants representing both the higher and lower ends of the educational and occupational spectrum
A large source of these modern Asian immigrants is Southeast Asia
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contemporary Immigration From Asia
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The Hmong, made up of immigrants from Laos and other Southeast Asia, are a newer group that have immigrated as a result of the Vietnam War
They have a very traditional culture, and often find themselves in opposition to the modernized culture of the United States
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contemporary Immigration From Asia
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Prejudice and discrimination
Although prejudice has weakened, the continuing force of anti-Asian prejudice is marked most dramatically by hate crimes against the group
Asian Americans have also been the victims of “positive” stereotypes--“model minority”
This label has been applied to these groups by others who have a variety of hidden moral and political agendas
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contemporary Relations
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Assimilation and pluralism
Acculturation
The extent of acculturation of Asian Americans is highly variable from group to group
Japanese most acculturated
Chinese highly variable in acculturation
Secondary structural assimilation
Highly urbanized with all groups discussed--more than 90% urbanized
Residential segregation about the same as Hispanics
Also moving to metropolitan suburbs
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contemporary Relations
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Secondary structural assimilation
Lower levels of school segregation
Compare favorably with, and sometimes exceed, societal standards for educational achievement
Political power limited by same kinds of factors and racist practices limiting other groups
Contrary to “quiet” minority perception, long history of political action (including a civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s)
Prominent in Hawaiian politics for decades, but increasingly involved in West Coast politics
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contemporary Relations
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Primary structural assimilation
High rates of interracial friendships and marriage
Rates appear to be decreasing in California
Japanese most likely to marry outside of group
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Contemporary Relations
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Cultural explanation attributes success to the “good values” of traditional Asian cultures
Highly compatible with U.S. middle-class Protestant value systems
Presumably helped Asian Americans gain acceptance and opportunities
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Comparing Minority Groups: Explaining Asian American Success
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Structural explanation emphasizes contact situations, modes of incorporation, enclave economies, group cohesion, position in the labor market, and institutionalized discrimination
Stresses the facts of Asian American poverty and the continuing patterns of racism and exclusion
This is not to suggest that the cultural approach is wrong or irrelevant
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Comparing Minority Groups: Explaining Asian American Success
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Asian Americans and White ethnics
Chinese and Japanese arrived at the same time as southern and eastern Europeans, yet the barriers to upward mobility for Europeans fell away more rapidly than for Asians
Impact of cultural and racial markers more extreme for Asians
More favorable structural mobility for southern and eastern Europeans in the industrializing East Coast economy
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Comparing Minority Groups: Explaining Asian American Success
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Asian Americans and colonized racial minority groups
Many advances made by Chinese and Japanese Americans due to the high levels of education achieved by the second generations
Restricted immigration proved beneficial as no investment in new arrivals
During this time, colonized groups were still victimized by Jim Crow laws and legalized segregation
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Comparing Minority Groups: Explaining Asian American Success
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Asian Americans and colonized racial minority groups
The structural explanation is not consistent with traditional views of the assimilation process
Asians responded to massive discrimination by withdrawing and developing enclaves
Employed their traditional cultures and patterns of social life to create and build subcommunities from which they launched the next generation
Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 8e. © SAGE Publishing, 2018.
Comparing Minority Groups: Explaining Asian American Success
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