The author of the new book The Model Minority Stereotype: Demystifying Success outlines three reasons why the stereotype hurts all people of color in a blog written for Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
Dr. Nicholas Hartlep contends the model minority stereotype or MMS intentionally divides Asian Americans from other people of color. Its an attempt to demonize African Americans and Latinos and blame them for economic and educational inequities. Dr Hartlep says the stereotype “elevates” Asian Americans” above other people of color, but below that of whites. Yet Asian Americans are not fully accepted and run up into the glass ceiling.
Dr. Hartlep says MMS promotes meritocratic logic which he calls a misguided assumption. He quotes Joyce Tang, a professor at City University in New York and author of The Model Minority Thesis Revisited. “Although Asian Americans are well-represented in high-paying professions, they lag significantly behind their Caucasian peers in getting ahead in major scientific and engineering fields and organizations.” Where’s the merit in that, Dr. Hartlep wonders.
The bottom line is that the MMS ignores historical facts only because it serves a political purpose for those who don’t have the best interests of Asian Americans at heart.
You can read more about Dr. Hartlep’s breakdown of the model minority stereotype in Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
