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BY: I want to ask you about one more concept, and that is the "model minority" myth. So what do you think of the "model minority" myth?

SM: It's a curse; it really is a curse. There are Sansei and Yonsei walking around right now that embraced that. And they think that that's how they got their job and that's how they're going to move forward. Not recognizing that that stereotype only takes you so far. And in a way, it's very destructive because it pits us against other communities of color. Like, "Why can't you be like those Asians?" "Why don't you study hard and not get into a gang?" or whatever. I mean, totally disregarding the conditions under which people grew up differently and were oppressed in different kinds of ways. I think it's really... I think it's really disgusting, and it's a construct that was created by powerful people in the government, and or in the media perpetuating it, and that's part of why I went into the media when I was an education person, and I still wish that I could have taught all the way through, taught school. Because the media, the reason I went into the media was because of the stereotypes, and it includes the "model minority" stereotype. I mean, how overwhelming is that for a Sansei who comes from a family that can't afford to get them to college, who had to go to work in their family business, small business, and ended up working there their whole lives, and barely making a living. And I remember friends who went to the university for, like, one year and then dropped out. And did they drop out for economic reasons? I don't think most of them flunked out. I think that they dropped out for economic reasons or for family responsibilities, you know, Dad died and I got to go home and run their business, that kind of thing kept happening. And so they never had, they never had the chance.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.