Asian Americans have it made! Need proof? One needs to look no further than the glowing statistics collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and other agencies, like those collected in The Asian Reporter's Asian heritage special issue. Consider these figures:
Asians are well educated. Forty-nine percent of Asians 25 and older have a bachelor's degree or higher level of education, compared to 27 percent for all other groups. Compared to only 10 percent of the general population, 20 percent of Asians have a graduate or professional degree.
Asians have higher incomes. In 2005, the median household income for Asians was $61,094, the highest among all race groups.
Asians have good jobs. Forty-seven percent of Asians work as managers and professionals.
Asians are business owners. The rate of increase in the number of Asian-owned businesses was about twice that of the national average for all businesses.
Lumped together as if we were a homogeneous group, Asian achievement in education, income levels, and business ownership perpetuate the "model minority" myth.
Numbers rarely lie, but they hardly tell the full story about our diverse communities, and the challenges faced by immigrants, and their sons and daughters.
In all honesty, the myth hurts more than it helps. It denies the fact that more than any other racial group, Asians come in all hues, shapes, and sizes.
Better established Asian communities have rates of employment and income levels comparable and even better than the mainstream, yet recent immigrants have a tougher time achieving the holy trinity of the American Dream: solid education, home ownership, meaningful work that not only puts food on the table, but also feeds one's soul. Our Southeast Asian brothers and sisters ? still haunted by the phantoms of genocide, statelessness, trauma, and torture ? have the toughest time of all.
Taking a closer look at the statistics on various Asian-American communities yields a completely different picture of the Asian experience in these United States.
Lots of new immigrants. Only one-third of all Asian Americans are native born, which means there are many of us who are first generation (or 1.5-ers at best). About half of Asians living in the U.S. are foreign-born, and some 33 percent of foreign-born Asians entered the U.S. during the 1990s. About 17 percent arrived in 2000 or later.
Education levels. According to a 2004 report by the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, some 45 percent of Hmong, 23 percent of Laotians, and 26 percent of Cambodians have no formal schooling. This is compared to 2.2 percent of Asian Indians, 1.3 percent of Filipinos, and 0.6 percent of Japanese. The 2004 American Community Survey shows that 30 percent of Vietnamese and 20 percent of Chinese have less than a high school degree. While 68 percent of Asian Indians have bachelor's degrees or higher, only 23.5 percent of Vietnamese can make the same claim.
Disparities in employment. Sixty percent of Asian Indians hold management and professional jobs, while less than 20 percent of Cambodians, Hmong, and Laotians hold these jobs. More than 35 percent of these groups are employed in production, transportation, and material-moving jobs.
Poverty rates. In 1999, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $17,029. Among Asians living below this threshold are: Hmong, 37.8 percent; Cambodian, 29.3 percent; Lao, 18.5 percent; Pakistani, 16.5 percent; and Vietnamese, 16 percent.
Household incomes. Remember the median household income referenced earlier? Consider these disparities among ethnic groups: Asian Indian, $68,771; Filipino, $65,700; Chinese, $57,433; Vietnamese, $45,980; and Korean, $43,195.
Health issues. Some 18 percent of Asians do not have health insurance coverage. According to the 2001 Commonwealth Fund study, "Quality of Health Care for Asian Americans," Asian Americans had greater difficulty communicating with their physicians, received fewer preventive services and less chronic disease care, and were less satisfied with the quality of their health care. In addition, Asian Americans were less likely than other groups to report that their doctors counselled them about mental health or lifestyle issues, such as nutrition, exercise, or smoking.
Mental health. According to the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association, young Asian females consistently have the highest suicide rate of females between the ages of 15 and 24. About 40 percent of Southeast Asian refugees suffer from depression, 35 percent from anxiety, and 14 percent from post-traumatic stress disorder. The suicide rate among Chinese American elderly women has been found to be 10 times higher than for white elderly women.
The truth isn't always pretty. The thing is, it's difficult to revel in the statistically skewed accomplishments of our hyphenated model minority subgroup when the harsh realities of poverty, low education levels, marginalization, and isolation continue to exist in our communities.
By acknowledging that gaps in achievement exist among various Asian groups, we can help advocate and raise awareness about the issues faced by communities that need a serious boost.
From The Asian Reporter, V17, #18 (May 1, 2007), pages 6 & 7.
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