Nick Oliver

Professor Deis
Final Paper
24 November 2013
Multiculturalism and Democracy Final Paper
It is human instinct to become attached, whether on an emotional or superficial
scale, to others around you who share the same background. The barrier between each
other is lowered because the similarities such as experiences, problems, beliefs,
traditions, and/or values between one another are common (Blumer, page 126).
Because so many people come from so many backgrounds, it is evident that groups will
become imbalanced. This disproportion has created problems with race, gender, sex,
and religion; the list is endless. What to take away from the infinite number of groups is
how they interact with one another.
In American society are there forms of cultural egoism and if so, how do these
groups view one another? How does one group become a majority while another
becomes a minoritywho is to say? It is the clash of race and ethnicity that has been
going on since the start of man. The stereotyping is inevitable because the notions and
ideals that are engrained in groups grow, and through time develop into making other
groups become model minorities (Gans, page 114)
In this paper I address that there is a strong, diverse prevalence of the model
minority myth in American society that is carried out by the white race. To prove my
statement I will give two key examples, first on Asian Americans and secondly on
African Americans. For each, I will describe the history of their coming as a model

minority in American society and the beliefs that whites have brought upon them. Before
my analysis of these two groups however, I will layout the definition of the model
minority myth and the dynamics of it.
What is the model minority myth? The model minority is an ideal that is
developed over time by one group to another. This development is a stigma or
stereotype in which one group automatically associates another group with (Wu, page
40). To put into perspective take the job position of a school custodian. When one says
custodian, what comes to mind? Whether wanting to admit to it or not, somewhere
along the lines of lower class, uneducated, and either Latino or Black appear. It is
unfortunate that one automatically associates these characteristics to someone just
because of their occupation (hell, they could have more wealth and expertise than
anyone). From a cultural standpoint, the same idea is upheld, a group or race viewing
another as being intelligent or poor.
This model minority myth, while the term has only been distinct for sometime, the
act has not. A group that enacts these notions and be prejudice against another is
because of four different types of feelings: feeling of superiority, feeling that the
subordinate race is intrinsically different, feeling of proprietary claim to certain areas of
privilege and advantage, and the fear/suspicion that the subordinate race is an intrusion
into their sphere of group exclusiveness (Blumer, page 126). The originality of these
groups does not necessarily have to be a majority by any means because the idea of
stereotyping is intangible; it is a belief or principle associated with another group.
The formation of these groups starts from a historical aspect. Many factors such
as prestige, power, possession, numbers, and opportunities all come together to

arrange the group position. The definition of the group comes in two specific aspects.
One being a process of concentrated encounters and communication between
members. Through experiences, expressions and emotions are traded and thus
stimulating views upon one another. The second important aspect is the abstract image
of the subordinate group. There is a collective image that spreads throughout the group
and surpasses among members (Blumer, page 128). Simply, the upbringings of these
notions are from the experiences and encounters that become repetitive and turn belief
that shadows everyone else in the group. Also it is imperative to note that dominant
groups can alter racial classifications and constructions, and dominant populations can
choose the model minorities (Gans, page 114).
An eminent example of the model minority myth is the race of Asian Americans.
The development of Asian Americans in America has taken on an appearance of
successes, workaholics, and mathematicians. Whether it is from an academic point of
view or social, in the United States, Asians in America have grown to be overachievers
in math, sciences, politics as well as family oriented and lawful. This depiction did not
just form on its own, it was brought on by the immigration and hard work because of
their belief that physical possessions were less of a priority then the expertise and work
ethic.
Along with hard work and the strive for achievement, was the advancement of
the American Dream (Wu, page 44). Asian Americans due to their diligent work were
fulfilling what many other immigrants and already Americans dreamed of. And it was this
type of success that many other cultures and races began to notice. They came to learn
that these types of people were somehow becoming prosperous and ignoring the reality

of the cause, hard work and diligence. In order to keep this type of affluence through
generations and maintain this false preset of being superior intelligently was because of
the culture of Asians.
Unlike many other cultures at the time, Asian Americans were looking forward to
the next generation by being strict, but also investing strongly into their children (Wu,
page 42). All this collectively turns into a racial hierarchy. The transformations of Asian
Americans into a model minority and there uprising through the socio-economic status
have also created a status of superiority. So even though they are considered a model
minority, this trend can lead to the dissipation of the line that draws them away from
such opportunities and advancements that white Americans receive (Gans, page 115).
From the standpoint of such a majority as white race, the model minority of Asian
Americans has effected, or at least motioned too, the up bringing of higher
achievement. This triumph has created, along with the stipulation of smart, educated
beings, are characteristics such as ignorant and egoistic.
So this creates the model minority myth as a two-part system where one part is
how a majority views the minority group: whites viewing Asian Americans as naturally
intelligent and lawful. Secondly, by the cause of this affluence on such a group comes
the effect. So along with being considered experts and mathematical, the effect is the
claim of being selfish and patronizing. The reason for this outcome of the model minority
myth is because the majority group, whites, are threatened and intimated. With growing
success in the American society, whites are feeling pressure and overwhelmed that the
opportunities and advancements in the workplace or elsewhere will be at risk. The risk
is enough to evolve pessimism and attach it to a minority as a whole. In American

society, the white majority cannot help but when feel threatened by any means,
especially when referring to achieving the American Dream, to create a model minority
such as Asian Americans. This not only displays that the model minority myth is
prevalent in society, but cyclical and dynamic.
Another important example on the model minority spectrum are African
Americans. With such a vast, rich heritage that incorporates much of American history, it
should go without saying that African Americans have received a spot into the model
minority field. The clash of African Americans and whites in American culture has
produced identities that were solely brought on by white race and culture. Similar to
Asian Americans, their identities have been brought on through history. African
Americans and their immigration to America only brought them into a deeper darkness
of slavery. Historically and deplorably still rampant today, majority white society sees
African Americans as inferior, lazy, lower class, rudimentary, and even malformed
people.
It is through many mediums such as society and work were we see this model
minority myth in full effect. To assists these notions of downgrading African Americans,
whites constantly rejected the ideas of black service and patriotism. This means that
soldiers who were returning from World War ll did not receive equal treatment (such as
housing, pensions, employment) then white men (Katznelson, page 114). Whites saw
black aspirations to equality as radical. There is no helping the formation or creation of
these beliefs on behalfs of whites because it has been done since the beginning of the
country and beyond (McWhirter, page 73).

It was the also the majority of white workers that held high ranking jobs such as
CEOs or government professions that aided in the forming of African Americans and
the model minority myth. The discrimination and segregation of the workplace and
government only added to the cause by keeping African Americans out of work and
unable to change laws. It was not that African Americans were not carrying on the
stigma of what whites saw them as, but there was no implicit, dominant way to shake
the white societies model minority because of their standing in the workplace and
government. Many men had the ability to decide who is to be hired and who is to be
fired. The glass ceiling played a role in the capacity of how far African Americans
could succeed in the workplace (Feagin and OBrien, page 157). This kept them at bay
with low level and low paying jobs and resulting in their frequent low standard of living.
Whites had the opportunity to garnish on the status of white privilege that made
them automatically qualified over African Americans. And this situation was not just
highly evident in the workplace and society, but also education. Many African Americans
were at struggles with obtaining even medial levels of education because of either the
fact that whites controlled the school board or the school simply did not allow African
Americans (Feagin and OBrien, page 158). This loss of opportunities strengthens how
whites depict African Americans as uneducated, because the threshold for success that
was put on African Americans was so limited.
Lastly, it was the standing of neighborhoods that became another supplementary
part of whites model minority towards African Americans. Neighborhoods were (and still
are) extremely segregated, leaving poor and unsafe living conditions for African
Americans. Even though these neighborhoods served as a sanctuary for roots of

strengths during times of the mid-1900s (Colby, page 94), these were areas where
financial and social growth was stagnant and lead to racial violence among whites and
even inter-racial violence. Whites have placed many stigmas on African Americans and
it is clearly evident that there has been a model minority created from the white race.
While different in stipulations than Asian Americans, African Americans face the same
framework.
The model minority myth is the act of a majority placing an ideal on another
group, generally a minority. The development of a group to attach a certain stereotype
on another group takes on many years and interactions between the two groups or
races (Wu, page 41). The Asian American and African American races in American
society, as described above, have taken on two separate stereotypes among the
majority white race. These model minorities brought on by whites are two major
relationships that have been created due to whites acting as superiors through
discrimination, segregation, and scrutiny. While these two examples both represent the
model minority myth and parallel the definition of the model minority myth, they are
different in context (as goes with other model minorities). The extent should not go
unforgotten as to Asian Americans the verbal scrutiny was detrimental and with African
Americans, acts such as lynchings and riots occurred (McWhirter, page 19). This issue
of whites labeling other races is not just a one-sided problem; every other race carries
the same concept. Are there solutions to this problem? What does the future look like
with the model minority myth? As long as people are still associated to groups, religions,
races, etc. the act will still be prevalent. To reduce the model minority myth, it should be

to see other people as what they do, their character, and not by just their skin color or
ethnicity.

Works Cited
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Colby, Tanner. Some Of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story Of Integration In
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