Asian Americans are those individuals with an Asian origin or appearance and reside in the Americas. They are often immigrants who obtain US citizenship by either birth or descent. By 2008, the Asian Americans accounted for 5% of the total population in the US. The American perception and treatment of immigrant races have historically been characterized by massive instances of racial discrimination. The immigrants have been subjected to reduced privileges compared to the people of Native American origin. This paper seeks to examine the case for Asian Americans in regard to how they have been viewed and treated in the USA both in the past and current. It aims at presenting the daily lives of the Asian Americans and the kind of treatment they receive from the American citizens. ("Asian-Nation : Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues")
Racial discrimination has been a major experience for the Asian American communities in America for quite long. When the Congress enacted the Chinese exclusion act in 1882, it was intended to deny the Chinese from further entry into the US. These discriminatory practices have spread across all facets of life such as economic, political, and social. The media in the US has been accused of furthering these discriminatory practices against the Asian Americans by making deliberate racist sentiments that have been blamed for the creation and reinforcement of detrimental stereotypes about the Asians. The media content has often deprived the Asian males for no apparent reason other than discrimination and intimidation in movies, magazines, and shows on the televisions. The contempt and discrimination against the Asians in America have been so entrenched in the American culture to an extent that it seems to be right. Asians are hardly given any leading positions in the press/ media, political offices, and they are poorly represented in the justice system despite them being academically qualified.
The Asian Americans have been victims of continuous discrimination and exclusion in the majority of the academic institutions all over the US. This has culminated. This discrimination in the learning institutions has persisted in the US since the war, post-war and recession periods to the present times. In the early days, the Asian Americans were bundled in together in schools and subjected to the same kind of unfair treatment. ("Asian Americans Then And Now")
Currently, the discrimination against the Asians in American learning institutions can be exemplified by a case championed filed by Asian Americans soliciting for an intervention by the federal government to resolve the crisis of discrimination on the basis of race at the Harvard university admissions. This case was presented to the US Department of Education and the Justice Department by a batch of aggrieved Asian Americans who allege that the institution deliberately set high admission requirements for the Asians, and despite their history of exemplary academic performances, they received the least admissions into Harvard and other institutions of higher learning unlike other citizens. (Camille Cava) There has been a negligible response from the government in a bid to intervene in the deteriorating condition of Asian American civil rights in the American to universities. The institutions have thus continued with mass violations of these rights for the Asians. ("Discrimination In College Admissions | Asian American Coalition For Education")
Other than being denied legal fairness and justice, the Asian Americans have continuously been victims of unusual legal punishments that are characterized by cruelty. This ruthlessness was evidenced in the case against Wen Ho Lee an Asian American scientist who was accused of leaking the US military nuclear confidential information to China in 1999.After his arrest, Wen was denied his legal right to a cash bail, confined in solitary cells and chained for up to nine months. It was later discovered that the FBI officials had testified lies to have Lee imprisoned and he was released in 2000.
Racial profiling against the Asian Americans is also presented in the labor market where they are not treated equally with other races. An approximated 30-31% of the Asian American workers in a Whitehouse survey claimed to have undergone various kinds of discrimination at their workplaces. Apparently this group has the highest percentage of employment discrimination cases yet it's the least represented in the job market. ("Critical Issues Facing Asian Americans And Pacific Islanders") Due to the fact that they are viewed and held with contempt by the Americans, they are victims of unemployment or end up in low-status employment opportunities that earn very little. They are usually paid less than their white counterparts who possess equivalent experience and academic qualification. Their professional growth is usually suffocated by the discriminatory work environments and this has contributed to their minimal or no representation in executive positions.
There also exist discriminatory barriers (glass ceiling barriers) that deter the Asian Americans from taking positions in good jobs. This is caused by the deliberate avoidance by recruiters to consider Asian Americans for such positions in the belief or perception that they are unfit. The stereotyping and treatment of Asian Americans as foreigners also serves as an obstacle to their access to top positions. They have continually been limited and customized to the low technical and professional employment opportunities that often lack opportunities of growth. Stereotyping in the labor market also asserts that these Asian Americans are unable to communicate effectively at work and are thus ineligible for promotion at work. ("Asian-Nation : Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues")
Being a minority group, the Asian community in America faces various limitations in access to good healthcare, unlike their European counterparts. They are usually stereotyped as the "healthy minority" due to their low susceptibility to diseases and thus a basis for denying them the appropriate healthcare. The fact that that English is their second language and some of them have no understanding of the language, provision of good healthcare are usually hampered by the lack of a common language. ("Asian-Americans | Womenshealth.Gov")
Another form of discrimination leveled against the Asian Americans is the limited opportunities to home ownerships in America. The US department of housing and urban development confirmed that a fifth of all Asians in America are met with racial discrimination when renting or buying homes. Due to this case, they form the lowest proportion in ownership of homes that all other races.
The conditions for the Asian Americans seem to have been getting worse every day. Despite the existence of laws that are expected to protect every citizen, the same laws are insensitive to their plight and they continue to occupy a subordinate position in the US. However, the American Asians have all along displayed the highest order of perseverance and are gradually devising mechanisms to survive in the American situation as full members of the society. Discrimination has not pushed them to extinction despite its persistence.
Works Cited
"Asian-Nation : Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues". Asian-nation.org. N.p.,
2016. Web. 19 May 2016.
"Asian Americans Then And Now". Asia Society. N.p., 2016. Web. 19 May 2016.
Camille Cava, CNN. "Asian-American Groups Say Harvard Discriminates". CNN. N.p., 2016.
Web. 19 May 2016.
"Discrimination In College Admissions | Asian American Coalition For Education".
Asianamericanforeducation.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 19 May 2016.
"Asian-Nation : Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues". Asian-nation.org. N.p.,
2016. Web. 19 May 2016.
"Critical Issues Facing Asian Americans And Pacific Islanders". The White House. N.p., 2016.
Web. 19 May 2016.
