ASIAN UNAMERICAN (2017)
As an Asian American person who fits into the "Model Minority" category, I frequently find that my experiences with racism and prejudice are invalidated or wholly dismissed. However, the sense of otherness that follows Asian American people remains palpable throughout our lives despite our surface level successes in the American economy and education. I decided to reach out to other Asian American students on my campus to see how they felt about their personal identity and portrayal in American media. It's really not talked about often enough, and I wanted to provide Asian Americans a platform to vent about their frustrations, laud their communities, talk about their childhood, and so on.
I set up a Google Survey with a series of open-response questions that stimulated conversations about personal experiences with prejudice, the Model Minority status, portrayal in American media platforms, and racial stereotyping. I received 42 responses, which was more than I was expecting for just posting the link in some CMU-related Facebook groups on a Sunday evening before finals week. Have a look at some of the questions and responses below:
Needless to say, I was very grateful for everyone's willingness to open up to a complete stranger about the unspoken hardships they encounter. Sifting through the responses, I found most of them extremely relatable and I was glad to open up a discussion for those who were going through similar things as me. As a reward for their contributions to this project, I offered to lasercut each participant a personalized keychain with their name on it. As gimmick-y as it sounds, I wanted to provide them with an "All-American" souvenir for once.
