Scot Nakagawa: Asian America’s Overlooked Diversity

The diverse ethnic groups that are often lumped together under the designation “Asian American” share little in the way of common cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds, and a recent Pew Center study found that the term had little meaning even for Asian Americans. But that’s not the only problem with this classification, according to activist and writer Scot Nakagawa. The term, he argues, has more often than not been used to conjure up the idea of a model minority against which all other minority groups should be judged—and found wanting. Watch the full conversation with Laura Flanders for more on the term’s troubled history and potential use for those fighting for social justice.