Asian American Empowerment - New Report Dispels Model Minority Myth

Press Release
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
January 31, 2005

"The Diverse Face of Asians and Pacific Islanders in California" identifies challenges facing state’s fastest growing community

Los Angeles, CA - Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs) are often thought of as ‘model minorities.’ Yet a new report released jointly by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Asian Law Caucus, and National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium reveals that thousands of APIs in California live in poverty, face language barriers, and dwell in overcrowded housing. The Diverse Face of Asian and Pacific Islanders in California is the first report using Census 2000 and other data to provide detailed information on the characteristics of over 20 API ethnic groups statewide and regionally.

Social and economic indicators often show Asians and Pacific Islanders doing better collectively than their Latino and African American counterparts. However, data on individual API ethnic groups reveal that many, especially Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders, are faring much worse. “While we’ve seen progress over the past decade, our community continues to face challenges,” said Stewart Kwoh, President and Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. “This research is critical if government and community institutions are to truly understand and help APIs respond to those challenges.”

The report’s key findings include:

- Data disaggregated for over 20 API ethnic groups find some to be among the most poverty stricken in the state. Hmong, Cambodian, and Laotian communities are the poorest in California. In Southern California, Rosemead, Long Beach, and El Monte are home to some of the state’s poorest Asian communities, while Compton is home to the state’s poorest Pacific Islander community.

- Asian households suffer from the highest levels of linguistic isolation in the state. Among Asian households statewide, those in Southern California are most likely to be without a fluent English language speaker over 14 years old, with communities in El Monte, Rosemead, San Gabriel, Garden Grove, Alhambra, Westminster, and Monterey Park highest on the list.

- Disproportionate numbers of Asians and Pacific Islanders live in overcrowded housing. Statewide, one out of four APIs in California live in overcrowded housing and 14% live in severely crowded housing. A majority of Asians in Rosemead and Garden Grove and Pacific Islanders in Long Beach and Compton live more than one to a room.

“Many Californians remain unaware that Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders are among the state’s poorest communities, or that a hospital’s failure to provide interpretation in Asian languages denies critical emergency care to limited English proficient seniors,” said Kwoh. “It is particularly important that policy makers, both locally and in Sacramento, understand our community and its needs.”

Asians and Pacific Islanders are among the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups in the state. According to the report, their growth from 1990 to 2000 outpaced even that of the Latino community (52% versus 43%, respectively).

Founded in 1983, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) has become the largest organization in the country focused on providing multilingual, culturally sensitive legal services, education, and civil rights support to one of the nation’s fastest growing populations. Both APALC and Asian Law Caucus (ALC) are affiliated with the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) in Washington, D.C. ALC and NAPALC were co-partners on this report, while APALC was the lead researcher. Research and launch sponsors include the Chung Ying Tang Foundation, Bank of America, the James Irvine Foundation, the Fannie Mae Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Sempra Energy, Washington Mutual, Union Bank of California, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Media sponsor is KPCC.