AAPI community in Massachusetts tackles the 'model minority' myth
DORCHESTER - Teresa Tran recalls her family's history. They settled in a Dorchester triple-decker, fleeing political instability while adjusting to an entirely new country and culture.
"My mom emigrated from Vietnam in '92 when she was around 22, and my dad immigrated when he was much younger, but he was born in Vietnam as well," she said.
Though Teresa was born in the United States, she's faced her own challenges.
"There's this perception I was going to do well my entire time in high school because I made it into an exam school". Theresa, like many other Asians and Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), spent much of her academic career battling the "model minority myth." It's a belief that all Asians are polite, law abiding and highly successful. Children are exceptional students and musically inclined. They have "tiger moms" who push them in the classroom and dads who work in STEM...but usually not in leadership roles.
"The model minority is a myth that has really sensationalized and stereotyped Asian, Asian-American communities," said Kevin Lam. He's the Co-Executive Director of the Asian-American Resource Workshop in Dorchester.
"This myth is harmful for all of us because it erases the challenges, the structural barriers that so many different Asian communities have experienced" added Carolyn Chou, who's also co-executive director of the AARW. The AARW is a non-profit organization that advocates for Asians and other immigrants across Boston. Its main platforms are housing justice, immigration and deportation, policing and youth leadership.
"We think of that as our anti-displacement platform, because we think of all the ways people are removed from our communities and not being able to build that thriving, vibrant, resilient Asian American communities," said Chou.
The need for those services is only expected to grow. Asians make up almost ten percent of Boston's current population. According to the Pew Research Center, the Asian population in America is expected to quadruple in the next 40 years.
That brings us back to Teresa. She herself has benefited from the type of programming AARW provides, and it's made a huge, positive difference in her life.
"More people took the time to listen to what I was going through and what I had to say and really invested in me as a person," said Tran. She now works for AARW, breaking down those stereotypes and building up individuals.