Not Your Model Minority

Dr. Sarah-Soonling Blackburn is an educator, speaker, and professional development specialist. Growing up in a mixed race, Asian and White family, and spending most of her childhood in various countries in Asia, ideas of belonging have always had salience for her. From the classroom to Learning for Justice, her work has focused on the things that help students feel seen and included. She joins us to discuss the myth of the Model Minority and helps contextualize the role of Asian American identities in our collective understanding and education about race and America.With a bit of a history lesson, Dr. Blackburn gives us a greater understanding of how this myth is not only harmful to Asian Americans, but to all people of color, and how it is directly tied to anti-Black racism in our country. She also offers deep reflection about what solidarity building can really mean and what we all have to offer in the fight to dismantle White supremacy culture.LINKS:Time cover – “Those Asian-American Whiz Kids“Learning for JusticePaula Yoo – From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American MovementCathy Park Hong – Minor Feelings: An Asian American ReckoningErika Lee – The Making of Asian AmericanElizabeth McRea – Mothers of Massive ResistanceDr. McRea on our podcast – White Women and the Politics of White SupremacyJeff Chan – We Gon’ Be AlrightOther resources that have shaped our learning:The Asian American Justice and Innovation LabSee Us Unite The PBS Series – Asian AmericansCode Switch Post – The Model Minority Myth Angry Asian Man Bianca Mabute-LouieDr. Connie WunUse these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.Register for our upcoming bookclub in early December. We’re reading Mia Birdsong’s How We Show Up.Join our Patreon to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss these issues even further.Let us know what you think of this episode, suggest future topics, or share your story with us – @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected] are a proud member of The Connectd Podcast Network.The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.Music by Kevin Casey.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy