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.
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 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.
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Questions
James’ Discussion Questions (PDF For Print)
- What is a stereotype? How are stereotypes created and perpetuated?
- What are the effects of a positive stereotype and how might it be harmful? Compare and contrast a positive stereotype with a negative stereotype.
- 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?
- How can a positive stereotype based on race enable racism in institutions? (Ex. schools, college admissions, workplace, etc.)
- How is the “model minority” stereotype used to enable racial tension against other people of color and justify racism against them?