Anaise Baez DB8

In the readings and video it is shown that the term “model minority” was created in the 1960s and refers to the Asian American. This was the stereotype that stated Asian Americans were more “smarter and more successful” than other minorities. By other minorities I am referring to African American and Hispanics. This was because the United States allowed immigrants who excelled in the STEM fields or had amazing academic status to become technical workers. This was due to the United States wanting to improve their own status. However because of this stereotype it grouped Asian Americans into a stereotype of needing to be smart and successful. With other stereotypes such as the African American community and the Hispanic community were considered the exact opposite and often granted the stereotype of “thugs” and “criminals”. This also undermined the achievements of people from these communities because it basically caused society to question how they reached their achievements. This happened because the American society used the “model minority” stereotype of Asian Americans and unfairly pinned members of the Hispanics and African American communities against these stereotypes. “If one race can excel in something why can’t another race” was the basic argument that justified the reasoning for pinning stereotypes of these two communities together. This was an unfair way to justify American society’s treatment to different minorities. This does not take into consideration the treatment of different minorities within society and the limitations or expectations placed on different groups in society. There are even modern day examples of this stereotype in places such as Ivy League schools who have a more prominent White and Asian American population than other minorities. This shows how stereotypes can play a huge role in how many people are treated in society. It is a toxic mentality that affects one life simply because you were born into a certain race which is something you cannot control. This allows society to further justify unfair treatment and use stereotypes as a way to attack other minorities.