MCC DIVERSITY LECTURE SERIES: THE MODEL MINORITY & FOREVER FOREIGNER MYTHS with JESSIKA CHI, PHD

Empowering solidarity between communities of color is difficult because of the racial tropes produced by whiteness that continually pit communities of color against each other. Whiteness as an ideology has led to a unique construction of two hegemonic tropes for Asian Americans – the "forever foreigner" and the "model minority." The "forever foreigner" positions Asian Americans as eternally not-American and critically different. Taken literally, it erases Asian American history by persistently portraying the community as newcomers to the United States. Simultaneously, the narrative of Asian Americans as "model minorities" is used to discredit the Civil Rights Movement, negate critiques of racism, and prevent community solidarity. Therefore, a critical examination of these two racial tropes are needed in order to understand how whiteness is institutionally imposed on, and internalized by, communities of color. Utilizing a critical race theory lens, this talk will provide context for the myths of the model minority and forever foreigner, illuminate the consequences of these racial stereotypes on communities of color, and offer strategies to create change.

BIO:

Jessika Chi, PhD, is the Assistant Dean for Institutional Diversity at Reed College and serves as an adjunct professor for Lewis & Clark College and the University of San Francisco's higher education programs. In her roles, she leads campus-wide diversity, equity, inclusion, and campus climate initiatives and prepares graduate students to be equity and student-centered change agents. Chi received their MA in educational administration and leadership with an emphasis on student affairs from University of the Pacific and their PhD in education and leadership from Pacific University. Her scholarship centers on critical examinations of racial ideologies and higher education's role in maintaining systems of inequity.

Co-Sponsors: Office of Equal Opportunity & Discrimination Prevention, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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