Meeting Register Page

We're Not Your Model: Dismantling the Asian Model Minority Myth

For decades, Asian and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) folks have been told that our experiences as a community are not racialized, that our “success” as a community, either academically or professionally makes us a “model” minority, and disqualifies us from experiences with racism and oppression. Yet when we explore the numerous identities that exist within the APIDA community and the historical legacy of oppression APIDA folks contend with on a daily basis, we see that the label of “model minority” is nothing but a myth, and that this label serves a very different sociological function, one that is far from complimentary. Join Sophia Antoun, Intercultural Specialit for APIDA Student Initiatives, in a discussion of the “Model Minority” myth’s historical roots in white supremacy, and discover ways to dismantle the myth, reduce its harmful impacts on our everyday lives, and reclaim an empowered APIDA identity.