June 19, 2020

13. Second Place In A Rigged Race

31 minutes

The most productive and legitimate way we felt we could address the explosion of discussion around racial injustice spurred by the murder of George Floyd was by examining the place that Asians hold in society as "model minorities." We take a closer look at the bias against the Asian community as a result of placing us in this category, but also the privileges we've gained from the label and the bias we hold against other minority communities (namely the African-American and Latino communities) as a result of buying into this idea that we are just behind the white majority in terms of societal status and importance.

By recognizing these privileges and biases, we hope to bring awareness to the broader Asian community about how we may be contributing to the problem of racial injustice against black and other minority communities, and hope to help us all strive to become better allies. At the end of the day, we are all one community and we need to do what we can to advance equality and fair treatment for all.

Mentioned in the episode:

Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do By Jennifer L. Eberhardt, PhD

Original coining of the term "model minority" came from New York Magazine's "Success Story, Japanese-American Style" by William Petterson

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