Viet Thanh Nguyen writes that in the American imagination, a model minority is an engineer or doctor usually from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and India because they had worthy skills to offer the country. He also suggests that Asian Americans are the model minority because they are complicit in their low-level role in capitalism and do not act against the will of white Americans in the aggressive manner other minority groups have exhibited. This label is dangerous because it encourages Asian Americans to silence their concerns and align with the white perspective, rather than to unite with their fellow minority groups to fight the injustices all minorities face in the United States. This label of the model minority serves Asian Americans to a certain extent, in that they are considered more valuable in our capitalist system than other minorities, leading the Asian Americans to believe they are adequately  accepted and integrated into the American society. However, this label still depicts Asian Americans as a minority, not truly accepted by Americans, only meant to be used for quality cheap labor by the capitalist system, thus mostly serving those with power and wealth. 

Nguyen states that “the end of Asian Americans only happens with the end of racism and capitalism.” He argues that racism and capitalism are interconnected because the American system of capitalism relies heavily on cheap labor, typically of minority groups who face discrimination, to profit the large corporations and powerhouses of America. Therefore, the only way to eliminate the harmful title of “Asian American,” which implies not being a true American, and their model minority status is to abolish the capitalist system so that minority groups have more opportunity to utilize the resources of America and turn their focus away from hostility or feelings of contempt towards other minority groups.

Nguyen’s essay provided me with great insight into the relationship between black people and Asian Americans. Prior to reading his essay, all ll I knew of that relationship was that Asian people think black people steal and black people don’t like that. I was unaware of the complexity of their relationship, especially now surrounding the death of George Floyd and the lack of response from Hmong American police officer, Tou Thao. The label of the model minority has made Asian Americans hesitant to support black people’s efforts to fight discrimination and police brutality, despite the fact that black people rallied to defend that same cause when Hmong American, Fong Lee, was killed. I agree with Nguyen that it is crucial for minority groups to unite in their cause in order to successfully combat discrimination and segregation, and eliminate the titles of “[foreign country]-American.”