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Article
Injured privilege: Beyond “model minority"
Communication
  • Hsin-I Cheng, Santa Clara University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2021
Publisher
National Communication Society
Abstract

Weeks before the Atlanta mass shooting of Asian women, veteran professional basketball player Jeremy Lin shared that he was called “coronavirus” on the court. Immediately, he was pressured to identify the racial identity of the instigator.

He posted on Twitter, explaining that he refused to reveal the individual’s racial identity because doing so could lead to stereotyping an entire racial group. His statement drew much attention in Asian American communities. Some continued to ask about the perpetrator’s racial identity, while others argued that the person’s racial identity was irrelevant. As a Taiwanese-American immigrant, I admire Lin’s thoughtfulness and solution-oriented approach. His statement demonstrated an acute awareness of the intensified relationship between Asian and Black communities.

Citation Information
Cheng, H.-I. (May, 2021). Injured privilege: Beyond “model minority". NCA Spectra, https://www.natcom.org/spectra/injured-privilege-beyond-model-minority