Asian Americans have not only overcome the bondage of racial discrimination, but they have also become a successful model minority worth of emulation by other minorities ( Chou & Feagin, 2015 ). They are said to be better educated, high-income earners and successful entrepreneurs. Research has shown that this minority group is successful than the Americans themselves in many areas including education and business. The history of the racial discrimination dates back to 17th century when certain privileges were given to the white Americans but denied to the African Americans, Asian Americas, Hispanic and Latino Americans. The white Americans were granted the right and privileges to education, immigration, voting rights, land acquisition and citizenship. The minority group was not allowed to access certain facilities such as schools and hospitals that were used by the whites. Despite the many forms of discrimination, Asian Americans managed to remain determined and emerged out as a successful minority group because of their belief in the economic achievement rather than liberty and human rights.
As compared to other minority groups in America, Asian Americans have managed to achieve remarkable success in providing education to their children. The average ACT score for the Asian American students is higher than all of the other minority groups in America. This has made the Asian American students enjoy great representations in the top universities globally including Harvard and Stanford universities. The Asian American students score good grades necessary to earn them an enrolment into top universities where they take up engineering, medical and business courses among other top courses. Their success in education can be greatly associated with the cultural heritage and family values. In the Asian culture, education is regarded with the highest esteem in the culture. Despite some of them having been integrated and assimilated by the Americans, one defining feature that they can never let go is the singular focus and relentless emphasis on educating their young generation. Asian American student was reported saying, “when I was young my parents were poor and did not have money to buy me toys, but my father could buy me books and tell me that if I mastered mathematics and physics, I would go anywhere in the world.” This shows how Asian culture values educating the young generation at the expense of any other thing.
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Among Asian Americans, people prefer extended families especially having three generations under one roof ( Lee, 2015 ). This according to them, is a show of family unity and happiness. They put so much value on family and the unity to prosper together as a family. Americans, on the other hand, consist mainly of nuclear families which majorly consist of the couple and the underage children. Americans value privacy which fully embodies the idea of individual-based. Once a child attains a majority age, he/she can move out of the parents’ house and live on his own, unlike the Asian Americans who stay with their children even after they become adults. Among Asian Americans, the relationship between the father and the son is significant. The father should be kind to the son, which means love and the son should be filial, which means respect. Asians believe that their bodies were given by the parents and thus they emphasize on the respect towards the parents and adults. Americans, on the other hand, have an equal relationship between the parents and the children. They do not value the inherent relationship between the father and sons because they believe in equality as a family. They also believe that their children are independent and hence they cannot force them on what to do. Stricter family values and more inherent relationship with adults has contributed greatly to the success of the Asian Americans by making their young generations grow up with morally and with many disciplines. Also, Asians culture tend to be more on collectivism as compared to the Americans culture of individualism. Among Asians, they believe in working together, and success is measured not by individual’s prosperity but by the prosperity of a collection of people. This equally plays a role in their success as a minority in America.
Despite the differences, Americans and Asian Americans still share some culture and values. Both Americans and Asian Americans put many values on punctuality and time management. In any activity be it school, work or business, time management and punctuality is highly valued. Also, they share some religion. In both groups, there is a belief in the Supreme Being and who is honored and worshipped.
The Asian Americans have values that demand respect for the authority. Anyone who is in authority is to be respected by everyone. As opposed to liberal democracy that exists in America, Asians consider the authoritarian rule. Also, they prefer the welfare and collective well-being of the community as opposed to the individual rights that are preferred by white Americans. Their focus on the socio-economic well-being of the community, as opposed to civil liberties and human rights, has made them develop economically and make them successful.
In conclusion, the current success and economic as well as social development of Asian Americans have been contributed to their way if life and determination for a developer community. Their strong values and esteem for education have made them emerge out as best in education among the minorities as well as among the dominant white Americans group. Their strong family values and belief in support for the extended family where children are brought up with moral values that help them prosper in the future. The belief in collective community development rather than individualism has also contributed to the economic growth of the minority group.
References
Chou, R. S., & Feagin, J. R. (2015). Myth of the model minority: Asian Americans facing racism . Routledge.
Lee, S. J. (2015). Unraveling the" model minority" stereotype: Listening to Asian American youth . Teachers College Press.
