Model minority

The Model minority is a stereotype for a minority group that is successful in the country they are in. In North America, such is a racial stereotype for Asian Americans. This stereotype began in the 1960s when American news media began reporting on the success of some Asian Americans. The news media stated that Asian American students were scoring very high on tests and earning high marks in school. It was also reported that Asian Americans were winning national spelling bees. Asian Americans were also seen as being accepted to universities at higher rates than other races. One example is the University of California system. Many wondered how the success of Asian Americans was possible because they were highly discriminated against in the century before, just as African Americans and Latinos. Asian Americans were previously stereotyped as cheap, lazy, and stupid laborers. Many feared the American West would be overrun by Yellow Peril. The Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese from immigrating to the United States. In addition, many of these Asians Americans were recent immigrants or children of recent immigrants. Immigration laws had limited Asian immigration prior to 1965. The 1965 Immigration Act removed national origin based quotas. As many wondered how some Asian Americans were so successful, compared to other racial minorities in the United States, some people began to form the notion in their minds that Asian Americans were succeeding because of genetics. Asian Americans became stereotyped as hard working, intelligent, and overachieving. The Yellow Peril stereotype was replaced by the Model Minority stereotype. Because Asian Americans are thought of as intelligent, Asian Americans with learning disabilities are sometimes ignored and do not receive the special attention they need. Asian Americans are also stereotyped as being studious, affluent, meek, and docile. This ignores the presence of Asian gangs, crimes, etc. in several cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, as well as in Hawaii. One famous crime that occurred in 1996 was The Han Twins Murder Conspiracy. External links:\n*Are Asian-Americans a model minority? (This site is critical of the "model minority" notion)