James Le

Milton High School Senior & InIt Delegate

James Le is a delegate of InIt Youth Initiative’s Class of 2018 at YW Boston. He is currently a senior at Milton High School where he is exploring work on Asian-American culture. As a Vietnamese-American, he is passionate about fighting back against racist institutions. He believes that standing up against racism is about actively resisting racial injustice wherever it is.

 

 

 Content

“Model Minority” Seems Like a Compliment, but It Does Great Harm (New York Times Article) Download PDF for Print

I chose this content because it demonstrates the negative effects of positive stereotypes and the model minority status, issues that affected my self-esteem growing up. The article explains how the model minority stereotype is also used to justify oppression against other PoC.

 

Questions

James’ Discussion Questions (PDF For Print)

  1. What is a stereotype? How are stereotypes created and perpetuated?

 

  1. What are the effects of a positive stereotype and how might it be harmful? Compare and contrast a positive stereotype with a negative stereotype.

 

  1. What are the negative effects of placing higher expectations on students or co-workers based on their race? What happens when they are unable to meet these demands?

 

  1. How can a positive stereotype based on race enable racism in institutions? (Ex. schools, college admissions, workplace, etc.)

 

  1. How is the “model minority” stereotype used to enable racial tension against other people of color and justify racism against them?

 

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