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53 Guild Prac. 35 (1996)
Beyond the Model Minority Myth: Why Asian Americans Support Affirmative Action

handle is hein.journals/guild53 and id is 46 raw text is: THEODORE HSIEN WANG AND FRANK WU BEYOND THE MODEL MINORITY MYTH: WHY ASIAN AMERICANS SUPPORT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION One of the increasingly prominent fallacies in the attacks on affirmative action is that Asian Americans somehow are the example that defeats the rationale for race-conscious remedial programs.' House Speaker Newt Gingrich and California Governor Pete Wilson are two of the many political leaders who point to Asian Americans and their supposed success to assert that affirmative action is not needed.2 Their views present the latest reincarnation of the model minority myth. No matter how frequently and thoroughly the model minority image is debunked, it returns as a troublesome stereotype in race relations. According to this popular portrayal of an entire race, Asian Americans have achieved economic success through a combination of talent, hard work, and conservative values, and not through government entitlements, racial preferences, or complaints of discrimination. Through the image, which can be seen everywhere from magazine articles to popular movies, Asian Americans are depicted as champion entrepreneurs and collegiate whiz kids, the immigrant parents working as urban green grocers as their American children win graduate awards such as the annual Westinghouse science talent search. Contrary to the popular perception, Asian Americans remain underrepresented in many areas and also continue to experience discrimination. Most often, Asian Americans are treated as if they were all foreigners getting ahead by unfair competition. They face a glass ceiling that allows them to progress only up to a point. Furthermore, opponents of affirmative action -- including some Asian Americans -- forget that Asian Americans have benefitted greatly from the Civil Rights Movement. Theodore Hsien Wang is a staff attorney with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco, California. Frank Wu is an Assistant Professor of Law at Howard University.

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