The Parallels Between the Origins of Racial Discrimination of Asian and Black Americans

Research Question: What parallels exist between the origins of the socioeconomic and political

struggles of the Asian Americans and the Black Americans in the United States during the late

1800s, prior to the advent of the 20th century, leading up to the era of the Civil Rights

Movement?

IB Candidate Number: 000251-0077

Word Count: 3985

000251-0077 i

Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

Origins of Racial Minorities in America ......................................................................................... 2

Socioeconomic Disparity in the 20th Century ................................................................................. 3

Addressing the Asian “Model Minority Myth” .............................................................................. 6

Mutual Struggle ............................................................................................................................ 10

Mutual Influence ........................................................................................................................... 15

Continuing Internal Disparities ..................................................................................................... 17

Mutual Tension ............................................................................................................................. 18

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 19

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 20
000251-0077 1

Introduction

During this modern age of progressivism and the return of the heightened focus on

socioeconomic and racial justice, the cultural potpourri of the United States once again was in a

scramble to have their voices heard and stories known. However, as history has shown, the

diversity of the United States can bring as much cultural understanding and exchange as it can be

a site of festering cultural tension and misunderstanding as social minorities are all trying to fight

against the terrible reign of white supremacy—the tyranny of the racial majority. In this

tumultuous fight of necessity to secure their own liberties and socioeconomic justice, that has

been ongoing for centuries, it has often been the unintended effect that, in the cacophony of the

fight for racial justice, each discordant voice often silences out the voices of others: a destructive

interference. In just two sectors of the diverse society of the US, the Black and Asian

communities, such tension grew as each were merely trying to protect their own in this fight for

social justice. Thus, tensions and misunderstandings between communities arose, losing focus of

the common threat: white supremacy and the danger of the ideals of racial superiority. In

addressing this in my Extended Essay, I drew from the first and secondhand experiences of both

Black and Asian communities, finding the nuances between different Asian communities, and

analyzing the various commonalities between the communities but also acknowledging the

idiosyncrasies of their socioeconomic experiences in the United States.

000251-0077 2

Origins of Racial Minorities in America

Although the Asian and Black community are often seen as separate, each respective

community’s origin stories in the Americas are quite similar. Unfortunately, they are similar in

their way of their interaction with the Western world and their dehumanization and social

detriment in Western societies such as in the United States. In the advent of the increased

interaction between the societies of the New World and that of East Asia, most particularly

China, some of the first Asian migrants came to the Americas through force. 1 Chinese people,

who were dubbed Chinese “coolies”2, were forcefully brought to the Americas aboard the holds

of European and US ships. Similar to the African experience of the Middle Passage in the

gruesome slave trade, Chinese people also suffered inhumane treatment, mass death, and forced

labor under the hand of white supremacy and Eurocentrism of people who thought themselves

higher than those who were non-white.

In the United States, then, Chinese people were being used as slaves, as well as in

numerous countries in Latin America. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the United States

attempted to replace their Black slaves with Asian people. 3 However, although there is this

1
Lisa Yun, “Linking African and Asian in Passing and Passage: The Pagoda and the True History of Paradise,”
Blacks and Asians: Revisiting Racial Formations 3, no. 3.
2
kǔlì 苦力 (bitter work), in reference to forced unskilled Chinese labor; my translation.

3
Evelyn Chen, “The Black Power Movement and The Asian American Movement.” Dartmouth College,
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~hist32/History/S18%20%20The%20Black%20Power%20Movement%20and%20the%
20Asian%20American%20Movement.htm.
000251-0077 3

shared pain between the origin stories of Asian and Black Americans in their mutual suffering,

forced labor, and coerced leaving of their motherlands, it is important to acknowledge that the

slave trade of Asian people was not as widespread nor as rampant as that of the Atlantic slave

trade of African peoples. Whilst it is seemingly unfair to compare the emotional qualia in

analyzing the pain and suffering of communities from third person perspectives, the fact of the

degree and widespread practice of the African slave trade should not be diminished and

neglected in tandem with the acknowledgement that the practice of trafficking and enslaving

Asian people persisted, as well.

Socioeconomic Disparity in the 20th Century

Later in the history of the United States, over the course of the 20th century, the parallels

between the racism and discrimination that Asian and Black people faced and suffered continued

on from the colonial past and were further exacerbated by the socioeconomic and political

injustices done unto both communities in relation to the privilege and relatively easy social

mobility of the White majority population of the United States. In terms of pay and

socioeconomic situations, Asian people and Black people often were payed similar wages, which

was of huge disparity between that of White men at the same level of education and career

choice. There was a significant lack of job opportunities that limited the social and economic

mobility of both Asian and Black people of the early 1900’s. However, in the latter half of the
000251-0077 4

1900’s, the average income of Asian people slowly rose to that of the same level as White people

around 1980, with there still being quite a significant difference between them and the average

household earnings of Black people.4 Whilst this upward mobility of Californian Asians is often

seen as the result of higher, superior schooling as Black people did not experience this kind of

upward mobility, this is merely not the case. This notion was perpetuated by the Model Minority

Myth surrounding the Asian community, which was the prejudiced belief that Asian people were

model citizens with outstanding morals and extremely high educational standards.5 Due to the

dismantling of discriminatory institutions post-World War II and the softening of racial

prejudices, Asian people were merely just receiving better and more lucrative economic

opportunities and receiving equal pay for equal skills and equal work. 6 However, the Asian

community itself is quite diverse, and so is its internal socioeconomic diversity—so the average

household income statistic that is provided to perpetuate the belief that Asian-Americans are

proof of the so-called “American Dream” in which hard work and education will grant you

economic success, no matter your skin color, is quite misleading in itself. If the statistics were to

focus on the disparity between people with similar educational backgrounds, Asian people still

4
Guo, Jeff, “The Real Secret to Asian American Success Was Not Education,” Washington Post, April 29, 2019,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/19/the-real-secret-to-asian-american-success-was-not-
education/.
5
Guo.
6
Guo.
000251-0077 5

earned 5% less compared to White people who also had advanced degrees; however, Black and

Hispanic people earned 20% less.7 This is a fundamental difference between the experiences of

discrimination of Asian and Black people: the Model Minority Myth seemingly was greatly

beneficial to the socioeconomic prosperity of Asian Americans, whilst Black Americans did not

gain any sort of significant rise in opportunity nor upward economic mobility.

Despite the seeming increased economic opportunity and average income of the Asian

community, coming onto par with the average incomes of the White population, the perpetuation

of the Model Minority Myth is merely a manipulation of the White majority population in

masking and trying to negate the obvious and persisting racial discrimination against both Asian

and Black Americans as racial minorities. Asian people were living under conditions that were

similar to the social conditions under which Black Americans lived under the racially targeted

and discriminatory Jim Crow laws: it was “not the same as Jim Crow, but certainly a cousin of

Jim Crow.” This Jim Crow-like “exclusion regime”, of course, included that of the limiting of the

socioeconomic opportunities of Asian Americans and other racial minorities, but it also

exacerbated violence—lynching.8 Similar to the immensely dangerous social situations that

7
Guo, Jeff, “The Real Secret to Asian American Success Was Not Education,” April 29, 2019.
8
Guo, Jeff, “The Real Reasons the U.S. Became Less Racist toward Asian Americans,” Washington Post, April 29,
2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/29/the-real-reason-americans-stopped-spitting-on-
asian-americans-and-started-praising-them/.
000251-0077 6

newly freed Black people lived under during the time of the post-Reconstruction South, after the

American Civil War, in living under Jim Crow laws that prevented Black people from the right to

vote and in preventing them from having equal justice and protection under law, Asian

Americans thus also had to face a similar social outlook during the early 1900s in facing

potential racial discrimination and the physical harassment and murder by lynching wherever

they went. Asian Americans, thus, were certainly not on par with White people in that respect.

Asian Americans also lived under segregated conditions: segregated schools and segregated

neighborhoods. They were denied equal job opportunities either by custom or by law, and their

employment prospects were definitely not equal to that of White people. 9 While we learn about

the segregation of Black and White people as the result of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)10 and the

Supreme Court doctrine of “separate but equal”, it was not always clear how Asian Americans

were treated and their own respective experiences during this time, but it is now clear that Asian

Americans definitely and most certainly faced immense discrimination and segregation in the

United States for being a racial minority and people of color.

Addressing the Asian “Model Minority Myth”

However, despite this terrible history of segregation and violent discrimination, it may

9
Guo, “The Real Reasons the U.S. Became Less Racist toward Asian Americans,” April 29, 2019.

10Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/163/537/#tab-opinion-

1917401.
000251-0077 7

seem like Asian Americans had the upper hand to Black Americans and were granted a social

privilege that likens to that of White people. The Model Minority Myth seemingly negated the

racism of the past and encouraged people of color that they can achieve great things, too, just

like Asian people. However, this is only true to a certain extent to which Asian people were

granted greater socioeconomic advantages. The reality of the situation was that the manipulation

of the Model Minority Myth was used by the White dominated society and legislatures in

response to the geopolitical scene—they were not driven by some altruistic initiative in the

realization of Asian people’s rights.

The Model Minority Myth was founded by the Asian community themselves, as Asian

people wanted to paint themselves as good citizens that were worthy of social recognition and

greater economic opportunities. This myth painted Chinatowns and Chinese children as being

sources of and examples of exemplar education and bright minded scholars. The myth was

created out of necessity, as the good public relations that the myth thus brought about was of

great utility to the Asian American community in garnering positive attention for themselves.

This went on to help aid their attempt to have a greater chance of improving their appalling

socioeconomic and political conditions, which were mentioned before in the previous sections.

However, White politicians quickly utilized this myth for their own political gain and as a
000251-0077 8

tool to win allies during the Cold War era. 11 Racial discrimination did not look very good for the

United States, which did not help the United States’ case in appealing to countries in preventing

the spread of communism and in limiting the sphere of power and influence of Russia. The US

had to improve its own reputation to appeal itself to the other nations of the world. White

politicians thus saw the Model Minority Myth and the embracing of Asian Americans as merely

a means to greater diplomatic and geopolitical influence and sway; the US took this chance to

“’proclaim itself a racial democracy and thereby credentialed to assume the leadership of the free

world.’”12 Racism took on a different form in the way of seemingly good-natured prejudice for

White gain and utility in perpetuation of their world power and influence over the international

community.

As an unexpected turnout of the Model Minority Myth on behalf of Asian Americans, the

myth was then utilized by White politicians to demean the economic situation of Black

Americans and was a basis for exacerbated prejudice against Black Americans and their personal

resolve. White politicians, both liberal and conservative, twisted the narrative of the Asian

American Model Minority Myth: they fully backed and support Asian Americans whilst using

11
Guo, “The Real Reasons the U.S. Became Less Racist toward Asian Americans,” April 29, 2019.
12
Ellen D. Wu, The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2015).
000251-0077 9

the narrative to shift the blame for Black poverty. 13 They questioned the resolve and work ethic

of Black Americans as they compared the socioeconomic relations of Asians Americans and

Black Americans. But the economic situation of Asian Americans was manipulated by White

people when it suited them: when Asian American prosperity was of utility to them. Furthermore,

in shifting the blame for Black poverty to Black people themselves, White politicians used this as

a tactic to prevent the furthering of calls for integration.14 It exacerbated the negative image of

Black people that was prevalent in society and further such ideas as they tried to diminish their

struggles through the seeming success of Asian Americans as if in proclamation that you can be

successful regardless of skin color, so there should be nothing that impedes upon Black people’s

socioeconomic mobility. This could not be farther from the truth as White politicians thus pit

each community against each other and increased tensions between these minority groups as

misunderstandings of the situation of each group; the sly hand of White society manipulated the

narrative as if it was their plaything upon the throne of White supremacy and hubris in their

continuance of using people of color as a means to an end. The advent of the Model Minority

Myth and the era’s geopolitical situations thus were greatly influential in the differing evolution

of racism and discrimination of Asian and Black Americans; however, the presence of racism and

13
Guo, “The Real Reasons the U.S. Became Less Racist toward Asian Americans,” April 29, 2019.
14
Guo, “The Real Reasons the U.S. Became Less Racist toward Asian Americans,” April 29, 2019.
000251-0077 10

prejudice did not diminish but merely took another form and adapted to the situation.

Mutual Struggle

Despite the differences in the socioeconomic experiences of these communities of color, the

Asian American Movement and the Black Power Movement had a plethora of shared struggles.

Each community is hugely interconnected as shared struggles of minority oppression under the

White-dominated society naturally formed an aggregate identity of oppressed people of color—

as each community sought liberty and equality for their own community, they saw the struggles

of the other and formed bonds and a shared view of achieving liberty for people of color. Each

community saw how the other had shared experiences of suffering, gained each other’s respect,

and worked together to move forward in social justice, drawing on shared experience of

prejudice and finding commonality.

The Civil Rights Movement of the mid-1950s to the early 1960s brought about great strides

in equality for people of color, especially for Black Americans. 15 The Civil Rights Act of 1964, a

product of the labor of the Civil Rights Movement, brought about the banning of discrimination

of people in government, small businesses, and public facilities based upon race and color;

although it is often taught to only be a part of Black history, this momentous achievement for

15 Kevin L. Nadal, “The Brown Asian American Movement: Advocating for South Asian, Southeast Asian, and
Filipino American Communities,” Asian American Policy Review 29: 2–11.
000251-0077 11

Black Americans was not limited to them only as it did not distinguish ethnicity.16 This act not

only signified a great advancement of the rights of Black Americans, but the rights of all people

of color, including Asian Americans.

It was not only triumph that served to unite Asian and Black Americans, but the shared

toiling under the oppression of a discriminatory government that has broken its covenant of

democracy and equal protection with its minority populations. During the Cold War, the

suppression of dissent and free speech caused Black American radicals and liberals to lobby

criticism and indictment of the contradiction with the “free world” ideals of the United States,

along with the United States’ denial of civil and voting rights; this was a consensus that was

steadily being reached in American and international youth cultures.17 Distrust between these

movements and the government is exacerbated by the US Justice Department’s Bureau of

Investigation’s targeting of Black organizations such as the dedicated communists of the African

Blood Brotherhood—they heavily monitored all aspects of Black activity.18

Black Americans rejected all the surface reforms that White society had to offer that only

16
Evelyn Chen,
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~hist32/History/S18%20%20The%20Black%20Power%20Movement%20and%20the%
20Asian%20American%20Movement.htm.
17
Kevin Gaines, “African-American Expatriates in Ghana and the Black Radical Tradition,”
Radicalism in Black America 1, no. 4.
18
Christopher Capozzola, “’Seeing Red’: Federal Campaigns Against Black Militancy, 1919–1925,” Radicalism in
Black America 1, no. 4.
000251-0077 12

sought to protect the fundamental inequities—this was the very heart of Black radicalism of the

twentieth century—and thus gave rise to a growing militancy among Black and Asian Americans

with the Black Panther Party at the vanguard. 19 American people of color were not only being

confronted by the conservatives in government but also by a non-progressive “liberal” party in

the Democrats as they were facing “an ascendant racist, pro-imperialist united front that

incorporates the entire leadership and membership of the Republican Party as well as the

majority of the Democratic Party.”20 This wall of oppression was a shared experience that all

racial minorities had to experience and battle against. Being comrades in arms against this

monster of White supremacy and racial discrimination helped them to find a commonality in

their American experiences suffering under the White, straight, heterosexual man that dominated

government. From these strenuous times were racial unity amongst minorities thus borne out of

necessity for survival as minority voices amalgamated into one loud vitriolic rallying cry against

the torment of White dominated society. The parallels of the suffering of Black and Asian

Americans were made apparent with the White man’s lack of discrimination for who they are to

discriminate against.

19
Herbert Aptheker, “The Nature of African-American History,” Radicalism in Black America 1, no. 4; Jeffery O.G.
Ogbar, “Yellow Power: The Formation of Asian-American Nationalism in the Age of Black Power, 1966–1975.”
Blacks and Asians: Revisiting Racial Formations 3, no. 3.
20
Eric Mann, “Building the Antiracist, Anti-Imperialist United Front: Theory and Practice from
the L.A. Strategy Center and Bus Riders Union,” Blacks and Asians: Revisiting Racial Formations 3, no. 3.
000251-0077 13

Yuri Kochiyama, a Japanese American activist, coined that the “commonality of suffering”,

the racism that all people of color in the United States face, allows us to find common ground. 21

Yuri Kochiyama experienced this realization of the interconnectedness of the Black and Asian

American experiences as she was thrust into incarceration into one of the Japanese concentration

camps established in the United States during World War II over concerns of loyalty of Japanese

people due to the Empire of Japan being a belligerent against the United States in the war. 22 This

demonstrates that, unfortunately, the sober realization of a shared experience of suffering is more

easily perceived through first-hand experience, and this unfortunate event is thus the catalyst for

shared understanding between the minority groups. Out of such dismal and dark suffering under

racial oppression came to be a great light of progress and liberal thinking for the liberation of

people of color as Yuri Kochiyama grew her firm stance in the advancement of civil liberties.23

Although our experiences are not entirely the same, the presence of prejudice for the color of our

skin or ethnic background is a shared pain that allows us to see each other as connected in that

pain and in that fight against it. It was made apparent that no matter what your ethnic background

or your color it was all the same for the White man: people of color were merely people to be

21
Yuri Kochiyama and James Jennings, “The Impact of Malcolm X on Asian-American Politics and Activism,”
Blacks, Latinos and Asians in Urban America: Status and Prospects for Politics and Activism, 1994, 128–41.
22
Diane C. Fujino "Race, Place, Space, and Political Development: Japanese-American Radicalism in the "Pre-
Movement" 1960s." Social Justice 35, no. 2 (112) (2008): 57-79.
23
“Yuri Kochiyama's Words of Wisdom,” CAAM Home. Center for Asian American Media, May 19, 2018.
https://caamedia.org/blog/2014/08/29/yuri-kochiyamas-words-of-wisdom/.
000251-0077 14

trampled upon by the White supremacy. This self-determined prerogative of White supremacists

helped forge a bond between Asian Americans and Black Americans as worsening conditions of

racial discrimination had people of color face the common threat together and see themselves as

one people with a shared goal of exposing the racist truths of society and expanding the liberties

of people of color. This rising realization of interconnectedness of ethnic minorities thus gave

rise “to a visible movement of radical ethnic nationalism and new constructions of ethnic

identity.”24

This unity between peoples only exacerbated the militancy of Asian and Black Americans

as they drew from each other’s performance of force and ostentatious showcasing of combative

ability. The Black Panthers were a militant group for the advancement and protection of Black

civil liberties and Asian Americans drew from their example of protection by show of force:

Asian Americans created militant groups like the Red Guard and I Wor Kuen25 (IWK).26 These

Red Guards mimicked the language and style of the Black Panthers as a statement of espousal of

the same sort of racial politics and militant rhetoric.27 This thus exemplifies the influential hold

24
Peniel E. Joseph, ed, The black power movement: Rethinking the civil rights-black power era (Taylor & Francis,
2006).

25
義和拳 (yìhé quán): “righteous, harmonious fists”; my translation.

26
Daryl J. Maeda "Black Panthers, Red Guards, and Chinamen: Constructing Asian American Identity through
Performing Blackness, 1969–1972." American Quarterly 57, no. 4 (2005)
27
Daryl J. Maeda, Rethinking the Asian American Movement (Florence: Taylor and Francis, 2012).
000251-0077 15

that these communities have on one another as the militancy of Black Americans gave rise to the

militancy of Asian Americans. Shared struggles thus beget unity, commonality, and

understanding between Asian and Black Americans as they are tied in the same blood spilt and

tears shed in the battle for equality and liberty.

Mutual Influence

Unity not only comes from the shared suffering of each community, but Black and Asian

Americans came to support one another and inspire each other in their political activity, religious

epiphanies, and social development. The sociopolitical revolutions of China and Japan saw great

favor in the eyes of Black Americans who were entranced by the ideas of communism and

socialism and saw the great feats of industry in Asia as a triumphant slap on the face of the

egoism of White supremacy. A Black Panther founder, Huey Newton, described their visit to

China as affording them a “’sensation of freedom—as if a great weight had been lifted from

[their] soul and [they] were able to be [themselves].” 28 This thus gave rise to a growing number

of Black socialists and communists who joined the Socialist Party and the Industrial Workers of

the World (IWW); they even created a new party: African Blood Brotherhood (ABB). 29 Many

28
Robin D.G. Kelley and Betsy Esche, “Black Like Mao: Red China and Black Revolution,” Radicalism in Black
America 1, no. 4.
29
James, Winston, “Being Red and Black in Jim Crow America: Notes on the Ideology and Travails of Afro-
American’s Socialist Pioneers, 1877–1930,” Radicalism in Black America 1, no. 4.
000251-0077 16

looked to Tokyo, in the period after World War II, as evidence that “modernity was not solely the

province of those of European descent and that the very predicates of white supremacy made no

sense.”30 Black Americans saw that the sociopolitical advancements and achievements of non-

White societies and nations as being the antithesis of the entire rhetoric of White supremacy that

claimed monopoly of being “civilized” people and being of the greatest potential for success.

The development of Asian countries gave Black Americans hope and tangible evidence for the

advancement of civil rights of people of color against the racism of White supremacy.

The cultural exchanges between Asian Americans and Black Americans also contributed to

the growth of a new identities that are intertwined between the two communities. Malcolm X, a

militant Black activist that advocated for the Nation of Islam and Black nationalism, held great

connection with Asian people and religion, namely Islam. Malcolm X, a Black man, once

identified himself as being “Asiatic”, which was a strategic belief in the universal nature of

Islam.31 This demonstrates how a religion with Asian roots helped a Black activist come to

realization of the shared struggles of people color and the universality of the nature of racism,

which only serves to unite people of color together more.

30
Gerald Horne, “Tokyo Bound: African Americans and Japan Confront White Supremacy,” Blacks and Asians:
Revisiting Racial Formations 3, no. 3.
31
Moustafa Bayoumi, “East of the Sun (West of the Moon): Islam, the Ahmadis, and African America,” Blacks and
Asians: Revisiting Racial Formations 3, no. 3; Manning Marable, “Transforming Ethnic Studies,” Blacks and
Asians: Revisiting Racial Formations 3, no. 3.
000251-0077 17

Asian Americans, more specifically desi 32 youth, also found comfort in Black culture and

hip-hop.33 In the struggle for identity in being an Asian American youth, it expressed an

ambivalence toward the burden of the struggle for upward social mobility that Asian families

often laid on their children. It represents a growing new subculture and the formation of

interracial ties and the forming of a more interconnected racial mosaic in US society. This

exacerbates the parallels of the experiences between these groups as each had went through their

share of pains together and inspired each other in how they traversed sociopolitical struggles.

Continuing Internal Disparities

However, oftentimes these communities can be discordant and hamper their own social

progress. In the case of addressing women in both Asian and Black communities, they are often

overlooked and misjudged. Former Red Guard members critiqued the party for their sexism and

their ultra-militarism34; in the Black community, the voices of women were often not paid

attention to or were “subject to be overlooked, misheard, misinterpreted, misrepresented and

ultimately misappropriated.”35 There was also prevalent colorism found in the diverse Asian

32
“The Desi Diaspora.” Asia Society, n.d. https://asiasociety.org/education/desi-diaspora. (“…people of the Indian
subcontinent (desis, or those from the desh, homeland)”)
33
Sunaina Marr Maira, “B-Boys and Bass Girls: Sex, Style, and Mobility in Indian American Youth Culture,”
Blacks and Asians: Revisiting Racial Formations 3, no. 3.
34
David K. Yoo and Elichiro Azuma, eds, The Oxford Handbook of Asian American History (Oxford Univ Press
US, 2020).
35
Taylor, Ula Y, “’Read[ing] Men and Nations’: Women in the Black Radical Tradition,” Radicalism in Black
America 1, no. 4.
000251-0077 18

community as “brown” Filipinos and South Asians felt underrepresented in the pan-Asian

movements.36 Varying social issues such as racial, women’s, and LGBTQ+ rights are not

mutually exclusive from each other. Women are still members of the Black and Asian American

communities; if their rights are hindered then it would still mean hindering the rights of Black

and Asian Americans. These issues should not be seen as being individual and having a clear

delineation from each other.

Mutual Tension

There was also heavy tension between Black and Asian Americans in their differing social

experiences. Asian Americans were seen as complicit in White supremacy as tensions rose

during the Rodney King Riots of 1992, specifically Koreans.37 With approximately 2000 Korean

businesses left burning without police protection, leaving Koreans to arm and violently defend

their stores themselves, and with the Black community protesting the unjust and unfair treatment

of the government, the mistrust between the racial communities as well as with the government

was soaring.38 However, neither group is fully innocent nor guilty and complicit in this as either

36
Kevin L. Nadal, “The Brown Asian American Movement: Advocating for South Asian, Southeast Asian, and
Filipino American Communities,” Asian American Policy Review 29: 2–11.
37
Janine Young Kim, "Are Asians Black?: The Asian-American Civil Rights Agenda and the
Contemporary Significance of the Black/White Paradigm," The Yale Law Journal 108, no. 8 (1999): 2385–412;
“The Political Awakening of Korean Americans.” Korean Resource Center, March 27, 2019.
https://drupal.krcla.org/en/history/awakening
38
Lah, Kyung. “The LA Riots Were a Rude Awakening for Korean-Americans.” CNN. Cable News Network, April
29, 2017. https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/28/us/la-riots-korean-americans/index.html; Sastry, Anjuli, and Karen
Grigsby Bates. “When LA Erupted in Anger: A Look Back At The Rodney King Riots.” NPR. NPR, April 26, 2017.
000251-0077 19

group’s actions were executed out of necessity to survive and support themselves as people of

color in the United States.

Conclusion

The Asian American and Black American experiences differ significantly in regard to how

each kind of racism towards each respective community manifests itself. These communities find

common ground in their roots, in their pain, and in their socioeconomic and political

discrimination and manipulation by White dominated society. Although the Model Minority

myth was created by Asian Americans, it was out of their own necessity for survival and was

manipulated by White society for their own benefit on the international stage, leading to the

unforeseen outcome of perpetuating anti-Black racism. These two communities are both victims

of White supremacy, colorism, and racism, but each respective community’s experiences have

their own idiosyncrasies and do not mimic each other exactly.

https://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/524744989/when-la-erupted-in-anger-a-look-back-at-the-rodney-king-riots.
000251-0077 20

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