I was driving to CENT practice yesterday (CENT itself is a whole entire Blog full of stories) and I passed by the Cesar Chavez library at San Jose City College. After thinking for a bit, I wondered... are there any predominant Asian American civil rights leaders?

We can name a number of leaders from the Black and Hispanic civil rights movements. What happened to the Asians?

If I remember correctly from my ethnic studies class, Asians did not have a civil rights movement of their own but tagged on to the other movements. I think there were some Asians who died during the Black civil rights movement. Instead of having a movement of our own we have been our typical conformist selves and lead by example rather than being vocal about our demands. This is NOT a bad thing. I think what IS cool about it is that Asians are compassionate and have taken other people's problems and embracing it. From all that we have become the 'model minority'. The myth states:

"Model Minority" Myth

The reference to Asian Americans as "model minorities" has to do with the work ethic, respect for elders, and high valuation of family and elders present in their culture. Despite the fact that this concept seems to valorize Asian Americans, it comes with an underlying notion of their apoliticality. Moreover, such a label one-dimensionalizes Asian Americans as having those traits and no other human qualities, such as vocal leadership, negative emotions, or intolerance towards oppression. Asian Americans are labeled as model minorities because they have not been as much of a "threat" to the U.S. political establishment as blacks, due to a smaller population and less political advocacy. This label seeks to suppress potential political activism through euphemistic complements. (Reference: Asian Americans and Politics: Perspective, Experiences, Prospects by Gordon H. Chang.)

In the environment of public education, Asians, especially people of Chinese or Korean descent, are often stereotyped as over-achieving students. Surprisingly, many Asians tend not to be classified in the "nerd" category because much of their achievement in academics stem from parental pressures. The "smart" stereotype is attached with the concept that Asians play the violin, flute, and/or piano. The trend is a stereotype, and many Asians are not over-achievers.

Great... Thank you DOC 1! ;)

Taken at: Rome, Italy

I thought I should post up a 'people' picture. Since SOMEONE claims I don't take them! This is a cute one, no?