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Multicultural Counseling Asia n American. Yoon Hang “John” Kim, MD MPH Director Georgia Integrative Medicine. Background. Born in Korea Lived in Korea, Philippine, and Singapore Speak Korean fluently Studied Japanese, Chinese, Malay, and Tagalog languages
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Multicultural CounselingAsian American Yoon Hang “John” Kim, MD MPH Director Georgia Integrative Medicine
Background • Born in Korea • Lived in Korea, Philippine, and Singapore • Speak Korean fluently • Studied Japanese, Chinese, Malay, and Tagalog languages • Physician – educated in the U.S. • Education – MD MPH Board Certifications in Medical Acupuncture, Preventive Medicine, Holistic Medicine
Definition of Asian American • Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. They include groups such as Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian/Khmer, Pakistani Americans and others whose national origin is from the Asian continent.
Asian American - Term • The term Asian American was used informally by activists in the 1960s who sought an alternative to the term Oriental, arguing that the latter was derogatory and colonialist. Formal usage was introduced by academics in the early 1970s, notably by historian Yuji Ichioka, who is credited with popularizing the term. Today, Asian American is the accepted term for most formal purposes, such as government and academic research, although it is often shortened to Asian in common usage.
History of Asian American • Early history • In 1763, Filipinos established the small settlement of Saint Malo in the bayous of current-day Louisiana, after fleeing mistreatment aboard Spanish ships. Since there were no Filipino women with them, the Manilamen, as they were known, married Cajun and Native American women.
History of Asian American • Chinese sailors first came to Hawaii in 1778, the same year that Captain James Cook came upon the island. Many settled and married Hawaiian women. • Some Island-born Chinese can claim to be 7th generation. Most Chinese, Korean and Japanese immigrants in Hawaii arrived in the 19th century as laborers to work on sugar plantations. • Later, Filipinos also came to work as laborers, attracted by the job opportunities, although they were limited.
History of Asian American • Numerous Chinese and Japanese began immigrating to the U.S. in the mid-19th century for work, because of poor economic conditions in their home nations. Many of the immigrants worked as laborers on the transcontinental railroad.
History of Asian American • Although the absolute numbers of Asian immigrants in the late 19th century were small compared to that from other regions, much of it was concentrated in the West, and the increase caused some Americans to fear the change represented by the growing number of Asians. This fear was referred to as the "yellow peril." The United States passed laws such as Asian Exclusion Act and Chinese Exclusion Act to sharply restrict Asian immigration.
History of Asian American • Effects of World War II • During World War II, the United States government declared Japanese Americans a risk to national security and undertook the Japanese American internment, authorized by President Franklin Roosevelt with United States Executive Order 9066. This controversial action forced the relocation of approximately 112,000 to 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans, taking them from the west coast of the United States to hastily constructed War Relocation Centers in remote portions of the nation's interior. This chapter in US history was a result of war hysteria, racial discrimination, and economic competition. Sixty-two percent of those forced to relocate were United States citizens. Starting in 1990, the government paid some reparations to the surviving internees in recognition of the harm it had caused them and their families.
History of Asian Americans • Despite the internment, many Japanese American men served in World War II in the American forces. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Infantry Battalion, composed of Japanese Americans, is the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history. The 442nd/100th fought valiantly in the European Theater even as many of their families remained in the detention camps stateside. The 100th was one of the first units to liberate the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau.
Asian Americans: Demographics • Overall, Asian Americans have the lowest poverty rate and the highest educational attainment levels, median household income, and median personal income of any racial demographic in the nation. Asian Americans make up the third largest minority group in the United States.
Asian Americans: Demographics • The Asian American population is heavily urbanized, with nearly three-quarters of Asian Americans living in metropolitan areas with population greater than 2.5 million. The three metropolitan areas with the highest Asian American populations are the Greater Los Angeles Area (1.868 Million in 2007), the New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island Area (1.782 Million in 2007), and the San Francisco Bay Area (979 Thousand in 2007).
Asian Americans: Demographics • A large proportion of all Asian Americans live in California (5 Million in 2007), New York (1.4 Million in 2007), Texas (915 Thousand in 2007), New Jersey, and Hawaii. Census data shows that Asian American populations are developing more recently in major metropolitan areas away from the West Coast faster than on the West Coast.
Asian American Demographics • In regions with large numbers of Asian Americans, suburban communities have developed that are heavily or predominantly Asian. The schools in these areas may offer languages such as Mandarin as a second language. Since the 1970s, in addition to Chinatowns, "Little Manila", "Koreatowns", "Little Saigons" and "Cambodia Town" have appeared in several cities.
Asian American Demogrpahics • According to the 2005 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Asian American households had the highest median income at $57,518. • However 9.8 percent of Asians were in poverty in 2004, higher than the 8.2 percent rate for non-Hispanic whites, and much higher for some southeast Asian ethnic groups. • Much of this poverty is concentrated in ethnic enclaves such as Chinatowns in the cities.
Asian American Demographics • Census figures also show that a white male with a college diploma earns in excess of $66,000 a year, far more than similarly educated Asian men who earned more than $52,000 a year. • Asians however are more likely to complete higher education particularly and most numerous the graduate degree.
Model minority • Asian Americans have also been stereotyped as a "model minority"; that is, positive traits are applied as a stereotype. Asians are seen as hardworking, politically inactive, studious, intelligent, productive, and inoffensive people who have elevated their social standing through merit and diligence. This label is given in contrast to other racial stereotypes which routinely accuse minorities of socially unwelcome traits: such as laziness or criminal tendencies.
Definition of Model Minority • Model minority refers to a minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members achieve a higher degree of success than the population average. It is most commonly used to label one ethnic minority higher achieving than another ethnic minority. This success is typically measured in income, education, and related factors such as low crime rate and high family stability. The term is often characterized as a myth which amounts to racial stereotyping. • In the United States, the term is associated with Asian Americans, primarily Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian and to a lesser extent, Vietnamese and Filipino Americans.
Model minority • However, many Asian Americans believe the model minority stereotype to be damaging and inaccurate, and are acting to dispel this stereotype. • Scholars, activists, and most major American news sources have started to oppose this stereotype, calling it a misconception that exaggerates the success of Asian Americans. • According to those trying to debunk this belief, the model minority stereotype alienates Asian Americans from other minorities and covers up actual Asian American issues and needs that are still not properly addressed in America today.
Model Minority Steotype • Model minority stereotype • For example, the widespread notion that Asian Americans earn higher-than-average income obscures issues such as the "glass ceiling"/"bamboo ceiling" phenomenon, where advancement into the highest-level managerial or executive positions is blocked, and the fact that Asian Americans must acquire more education and work more hours than their white counterparts to earn the same amount of money. • The "model minority" image is also seen as being damaging to Asian American students because their assumed success makes it easy for educators to overlook Asian American students who are struggling academically.
Model Minority Stereotype • A common misconception is that the affected communities usually hold pride in their labeling as the model minority. • Statistics are often cited to back up their model minority status such as high educational achievement, overrepresentation at Ivy League and other prestigious universities, and a high percentage of Asian Americans working in white collar professions (jobs such as medicine, investment banking, management consulting, finance, and law).
Model Minority Stereotype • Bhattacharyya, Srilata: From "Yellow Peril" to "Model Minority": The Transition of Asian Americans. • For example, 25.2% of Asian Americans over age 25 hold a bachelor's degree compared to only 15.5% of the general American population, thus giving the impression of Asian American success. • However, only 6.9% of Cambodians, and 6.2% of Laotians in this age group in America hold bachelor's degrees- albeit attributed by researchers due to poverty and severe mental health issues due to these nations' civil war. • Despite this stereotype of supposed Asian American success, there is a high 80% unemployment rate among the Hmong Americans and other Asian Americans groups from refugee backgrounds.[18]
Darkside of the Model Minority • In 2007, Asian Americans were implicated in cheating scandals, shooting sprees, and political corruption. Most notable is the Virginia Tech massacre by Seung-Hui Cho, which led to the deaths of 33 individuals, including Cho himself. The shooting spree, along with Cho's Korean ethnicity, stunned the Asian American community. • Other scandals which made headlines were the arrests of • Norman Hsu, a former campaign donor to Hillary Clinton • Ed Jew, the former San Francisco Supervisor, and • Kyung Joon Kim, a former Los Angeles City Commissioner who served as a business partner to current South Korean president Lee Myung-bak. • Also in 2007, 34 MBA students, primarily of East Asian descent, were caught in a major cheating scandal at Fuqua School of Business of Duke University. Of those 34 students, 9 were permanently expelled, 15 were suspended for one year, and the rest received failing grades.
