The Model Minority Myth | Asian Americans

Contributed By
PBS Learning Media
The Model Minority Myth | Asian Americans
Explore how the “model minority” myth created a limited perspective of the Asian American community. During the post-World War II era and after nearly a hundred years of anti-Asian sentiment and legislation, many Asian Americans hoped to be seen as more American and accepted by American society - a “model citizen.” They didn’t want to be viewed as a threat to national security as Japanese Americans were when they were imprisoned during WWII. Yet the stereotypes that developed around the “model minority” created a perspecitive that they were a monolithic group and continue to persist in the modern era.