The History of Yellow Peril and the Model Minority Myth in Relation to AAPI-Hate in 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v11i1.2402Keywords:
Asian American Pacific Islander(AAPI), The Yellow Peril Stereotype, The Model Minority Myth, Xenophobia, 2020Abstract
In this paper, we discuss the relationship between the yellow peril stereotype along with the model minority myth and how they influence the recent Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate in 2020. We first delve into the treatment of Asian Americans during the interwar years, specifically the immigration center Angel Island. Using oral histories we collected from outside sources and books, we discuss the social and legal treatments of the Asian immigrants both in the immigration center and in the country. Next, we discuss the origins of the model minority myth that date back to the 1960s to 70s using newspaper articles and interviews conducted during the time period. We also explore the formation of the Asian American identity and movement in the 1960s and 70s through newspaper articles that demonstrate the community’s pushback to white supremacy and dismantling harmful prejudices against Asian Americans. From this historical lens, we connect the formation and continuation of the yellow peril and model minority stereotypes to the Asian American hate of 2020 through current interviews and podcasts with Asian Americans. This reemergence of hate against the Asian American community demonstrates the stereotypes’ long-lasting effects. Simultaneously, the AAPI protests evidence that Asian Americans continue to fight back against their mistreatment as a continuation of the Asian American Movement that started in the late 1960s. These historical and modern events assist our discussion of the Asian-American community’s relationship with white supremacy in order to fight back against the discrimination we face today.
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