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Oral History Paper

Anna Nguyen HIS 270: Asian American History Will Schultz January 14, 2020 This text represents my own work in accordance with university regulations. Ann Nguye

1 Asian-Americans possess ambitious economic and educational expectations for themselves and their children, which reinforces their stereotype as model minorities, a population that successfully overcame adversity and discrimination to become the epitome of self-respect and achievement in America. 1 These lofty expectations reflect the Asian-American framework of success, which consists of high educational attainment in technical fields such as engineering, law, and medicine as well as the acquisition of high-salaried occupations post-graduation.

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Despite encountering language barriers and possessing non-transferable skills when they initially immigrate to the United States, Asian-Americans attain success by utilizing resources offered through familial ties, public welfare systems, and private philanthropies. The experiences of Kim L. Nguyen, my mother, who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam on April 17, 1999, at the age of 37 reveals how the Asian-American definition of success impacts their relationship with the public welfare system as well as private welfare offered through religious organizations. Despite the importance of programs such as Food Stamps and Medicaid to the economic subsistence of some Asian-American households, Kim Nguyen’s apprehensive sentiment towards the public welfare system mirrors the attitude of hard-working, self-reliant Asian-American model minorities who prefer to utilize familial resources and religious ties to achieve financial and political independence. Classified as minorities, Asian-Americans encounter adverse conditions following their immigration to the United States. Immigration to the United States presented my mother with numerous challenges including financial and housing instability, homesickness, language barriers, neighborhoods with high crime and poverty rates, as well as weak social support 1 2

Beth Lew-Williams, “The Model Minority,” Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, November 6, 2019. Lee, Jennifer, and Min Zhou. "The Success Frame and the Asian F." In The Asian American Achievement Paradox, 51-68. Russell Sage Foundation, 2015. www.jstor.org/stable/10.7758/9781610448505.8.

2 systems. Upon her arrival in Ithaca, New York, she realized that my father shared a cramped apartment with another Vietnamese family who also struggled to become financially independent in the United States. She candidly recalled the economic and housing instability she encountered in the United States, conditions which worsened when she became pregnant, miscarried, and encountered numerous medical complications, resulting in debilitatingly expensive medical bills which placed her in debt. She candidly expressed: At this point, I felt afraid of encountering the same issues I tried to escape in Vietnam and I began to feel homesick since I didn’t have a strong network of family and friends in the United States and I didn’t know the language well. Similar to Kim L. Nguyen’s narrative, the majority of Asian immigrants encountered language barriers upon their arrival to the United States. Therefore, they typically toiled in low-paying, menial positions which required minimal communication skills.

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Given their low wages,

Asian-Americans typically resided in housing projects or predominantly impoverished neighborhoods since they could only afford cheap housing options. 4 Occupied by minimally-educated, highly discriminated minorities such as African Americans

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or Latinos

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some of whom attempt to become financially stable through illegal

means, these affordable neighborhoods typically possessed high crime rates. Some Asian-Americans reside in these precarious neighborhoods, including my mother who contrasted 3

Lee, Jennifer, and Min Zhou. "The Success Frame and the Asian F." In The Asian American Achievement Paradox, 51-68. Russell Sage Foundation, 2015. www.jstor.org/stable/10.7758/9781610448505.8. 4 Segal, U. (2002). Public Policies: Social Welfare, Housing, Education, and Criminal Justice. In A Framework for Immigration: Applications to Asians in the United States (pp. 226-268). New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/sega12082.11 5 Nguyen, Marguerite. "“Like We Lost Our Citizenship”: Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Hurricane Katrina." In Asian Americans in Dixie: Race and Migration in the South, edited by JOSHI KHYATI Y. and DESAI JIGNA, 264-88. University of Illinois Press, 2013. www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt3fh5ww.15. 6 Lee, Jennifer, and Min Zhou. "The Success Frame and the Asian F." In The Asian American Achievement Paradox, 51-68. Russell Sage Foundation, 2015. www.jstor.org/stable/10.7758/9781610448505.8.

3 the unsafe environment to her “neighborhood in Vietnam” which “was very religious and safe.” As I reached primary-school-age, my mother noted: I knew the neighborhood was not the ideal place to raise you, so I enrolled you in a Catholic elementary school four blocks away from our neighborhood so you could be surrounded by more upstanding peers and a safer environment. Of course, we had to apply for financial aid to send you to a private school. Her actions resembled the measures taken by Asian-American parents to ensure their children grew up with more educational opportunities than other minorities. Relying on familial or ethnic ties, financial aid programs at prestigious schools, and private philanthropies, Asian-Americans enrolled their children in good schools and advanced-level classes, acquired supplementary resources and tutoring, and exposed their children to Asian-American, high-achieving peers. In addition to having high educational standards for their children, Asian-American immigrants possess the desire to become financially independent, corroborating the “Hard-working, self-control[led], self-reliant”

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stereotype utilized to classify Asian-Americans

as model minorities. In fact, Kim L. Nguyen enrolled in English as a Second Language classes after I commenced primary school to become proficient enough in English to acquire a part-time job as a seamstress and increase her financial independence. With me in her custody, my mother could have depended on programs such as Women, Infants, and Children, but she possessed reluctant feelings towards public welfare programs. She immigrated to the United States to escape her financial woes in Vietnam after the Vietnam War and she hated the notion of applying for Food Stamps and being on welfare since she struggled to become a financially independent

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Beth Lew-Williams, “The Model Minority,” Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, November 6, 2019.

4 person regardless of how tough times were, so she felt like she was taking the easy way out and being lazy when she applied for Food Stamps. She explained: I worked hard at my part-time job and volunteered at food pantries because I believed that I should at least contribute positively to society if I was depending on welfare to meet my needs. I raised you to contribute positively to society and to become a good student so you could grow up to be financially independent and not have to depend on welfare to survive as I did. Despite Asian-Americans’ intention to become financially stable and to positively contribute to society, there lacks unanimous agreement on the classification of Asian-Americans as model minorities. For instance, other minorities interpreted Asian-American civic engagement, diligence, and entrepreneurship as increased competition in the local economy, which increased racial tensions. In New Orleans, Louisiana, African Americans accused “Vietnamese fishermen of illegal fishing practices and receiving federal money to purchase boats” while white, working-class individuals described the Vietnamese as “an alien horde that swept into the area and ruined a way of life” by increasing competition for resources and failing to assimilate to American culture. 8 New Orleans African Americans believe that the usage of federal money to purchase fishing boats contradicts the Asian-American model minority's values of financial independence and self-reliance. Meanwhile, Asian-American immigrants who aspire to establish careers and develop self-sufficiency refrain from dedicating time to improve English proficiency and vocational skills, which limits their cultural assimilation, exacerbates their homesickness, and weakens their relationship with fellow Americans. 8

Nguyen, Marguerite. "“Like We Lost Our Citizenship”: Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Hurricane Katrina." In Asian Americans in Dixie: Race and Migration in the South, edited by JOSHI KHYATI Y. and DESAI JIGNA, 264-88. University of Illinois Press, 2013. www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt3fh5ww.15.

5 These unique conditions explain why Asian-Americans traditionally abstain from utilizing social welfare services outside of their community and familial boundaries,

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which

reinforces ethnic boundaries. The Asian-American Achievement Paradox recounts how Chinese-Americans and Vietnamese-Americans residing in predominantly Asian communities or large cities with established Asian-American networks share resources such as college preparation courses and tutoring within their networks to equalize educational attainment in second-generation Asian-American students despite the vastly different socioeconomic profiles of their immigrant parents.

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However, Kim L. Nguyen lives in a society with few

Asian-Americans in the suburbs of Ithaca, New York, which prevents her from utilizing resources passed through Asian-American networks and facilitates her assimilation into American culture. She notes that: Ithaca isn’t inhabited by many Asian people, so I naturally felt more connected to the American community. I have also started assimilating to American culture and gradually stopped practicing Vietnamese traditions over the years. I enjoy learning about the American culture, perspective, and traditions from my American friends. It makes me feel cultured, intelligent, and successful. One cannot extrapolate Kim L. Nguyen’s account of residing in a suburban community with sparse Asian-American populations to represent the experiences of all Vietnamese immigrants or

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Segal, U. (2002). Public Policies: Social Welfare, Housing, Education, and Criminal Justice. In A Framework for Immigration: Applications to Asians in the United States (pp. 226-268). New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/sega12082.11 10 Lee, Jennifer, and Min Zhou. "The Success Frame and the Asian F." In The Asian American Achievement Paradox, 51-68. Russell Sage Foundation, 2015. www.jstor.org/stable/10.7758/9781610448505.8.

6 Asian-Americans. However, her narrative provides an interesting perspective that mainstream academic sources have neglected. Since the majority of her family remains in Vietnam and the majority of her husband's family resides in California and Texas, Kim L. Nguyen lacked support from familial and community ties, so she had to rely on public welfare programs for financial assistance. She felt deeply uncomfortable with depending on federal assistance since she felt like she inconvenienced America with her lack of financial independence. She recounts: Some Food Stamps caseworkers who I will not name made me feel inadequate and unwelcome when I applied for welfare. However, not all Americans make me feel this way. I have met quite a few nice people. Because of the treatment she received from social welfare caseworkers as well as the generally negative Asian-American sentiment towards dependence on welfare programs, she preferred to seek support from religious philanthropies such as Catholic Charities and her parish, recalling how: The priest in our parish and the people from church helped me emotionally cope with difficult times. They always listened to my worries and provided us with financial help through Catholic Charities and the church food pantry when we were on Food Stamps during times of financial insecurity. Religion provided Asian-Americans with a sense of community that reflects their values from across "across the Pacific" so Asian-Americans preferred to utilize private welfare resources offered through their community ties to religious philanthropies.

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In particular, Catholic

Nguyen, Marguerite. "“Like We Lost Our Citizenship”: Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Hurricane

7 Vietnamese immigrants depended on Catholic Charities following their immigration to the United States and in moments of financial difficulty such as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Catholic Charities’ Resettlement and Immigration Services identified “low-income, section-eight housing” for Vietnamese immigrants as well as displaced Vietnamese civilians after Hurricane Katrina, and their fellow parishioners pooled resources and manpower to assist needy Asian-Americans.

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However, Asian-Americans possess values that obligate

them to participate in civic engagement and positively contribute to society by providing their services to the communities which have helped them, solidifying their classification as a "model of citizenship."

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Therefore, the Vietnamese-American community went door-to-door in boats

with religious philanthropies to rescue about 300 African Americans after Hurricane Katrina. 14 In conjunction with their exemplary citizenship, Asian-Americans’ determination to achieve success confirms their status as the model minority. Although Asian-American frameworks of success may contain nuanced differences, their criteria combine American and Asian values of success which include educational attainment, strong community ties, and self-sufficiency. Kim L. Nguyen personally defines success as follows:

Katrina." In Asian Americans in Dixie: Race and Migration in the South, edited by JOSHI KHYATI Y. and DESAI JIGNA, 264-88. University of Illinois Press, 2013. www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt3fh5ww.15. 12 Nguyen, Marguerite. "“Like We Lost Our Citizenship”: Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Hurricane Katrina." In Asian Americans in Dixie: Race and Migration in the South, edited by JOSHI KHYATI Y. and DESAI JIGNA, 264-88. University of Illinois Press, 2013. www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt3fh5ww.15. 13 Nguyen, Marguerite. "“Like We Lost Our Citizenship”: Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Hurricane Katrina." In Asian Americans in Dixie: Race and Migration in the South, edited by JOSHI KHYATI Y. and DESAI JIGNA, 264-88. University of Illinois Press, 2013. www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt3fh5ww.15. 14 Nguyen, Marguerite. "“Like We Lost Our Citizenship”: Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Hurricane Katrina." In Asian Americans in Dixie: Race and Migration in the South, edited by JOSHI KHYATI Y. and DESAI JIGNA, 264-88. University of Illinois Press, 2013. www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt3fh5ww.15.

8 My version of success is being politically and financially independent as well as possessing a strong network of family and friends. In Vietnam, people prioritize family and friends. In general, I believe America is more materialistic and capitalistic. People strive for promotions at work, higher levels of wealth, and the acquisition of luxury goods. I think the ideal version of success incorporates both money and strong social ties to provide a good quality of life. With specific success frameworks and lofty goals, Asian-Americans reinforce the problematic model minority stereotype. Since Asian-Americans constantly achieve their aspirations despite adversity, American politicians feel no inclination to listen to their complaints or to address the needs of these minorities. However, since Asian-Americans feel pressured to conform to the established success framework, they often suppress complaints and downplay the challenges they encounter. Kim L. Nguyen describes how: Among the Asian-American immigrants in our community, life consisted of competitions where people flaunted their achievements and downplayed their failures.

This

competitiveness

resulted

in

the

high

achievement

of

Asian-Americans. Additionally, Asian-American achievements perpetuate a culture of apathy towards the struggles of minorities, including Latinos and African Americans.

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America fallaciously believes that if

Asian-Americans possess the ability to realize the “American Dream”, then minority groups must have adequate resources and rights to succeed in the United States. It is necessary to realize that this problematic sentiment obstructs social justice reforms for minorities.

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Beth Lew-Williams, “The Model Minority.”

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