The term "model minority" was first coined in the mid-1960s by William Petersen, a social demographer, who believed that the success and achievement of Asian Americans paralleled those of the Jewish Americans. Petersen described

White groups also used the model minority myth to discredit other minorities' claims of injustice and to set behavior standards for other minorities (Lee 112). In the 60s, Blacks and other minorities fought against the built-in discrimination of the American system that kept them in lower-paying jobs, less advantaged schools, and deteriorating housing. As a way to counteract these claims, whites used Asian Americans to illustrate that in fact, other minorities have faced similar discrimination, and through hard work and determination, achieved the so-called “American Dream." This idea implied that the system should not be debilitating for other minorities, and that perhaps their failure was due to the inherent laziness of the minorities. Later, whites who opposed government aid to support minority groups (steps such as affirmative action), pointed to the model minority in their arguments. These methods served only to increase tension between Asians and minorities when the comparisons were not justified upon closer inspection.

Another way that white groups have attempted to show the superiority of Asians is through their media income as compared to the other minorities. The chart below summarizes the median income in 1997 (U.S. Census Bureau).

Most Asians migrated by their own free will. As the trip from Asia is a vast distance and costly, many self-selected Asian immigrants possessed greater wealth and education than their other minority counterparts. Furthermore, some evidence indicates that U.S. immigration policy has been discriminatory, favoring Asian immigrants with professional skills and higher education. This policy began in 1907, when President Theodore Roosevelt and the Japanese government negotiated a "Gentlemen's Agreement" restricting the exit of unskilled Japanese laborers to the United States (Foggo 128). Asian immigration was been heavily restricted for most of this century, and has only recently become relaxed.

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