Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 24, Asia Society Texas, in partnership with the Asian American Bar Association in Houston, will present a film by award-winning filmmaker, Jon Osaki. This documentary, entitled Not Your Model Minority, explores the historic and cultural roots of the model minority myth imposed on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in academic, professional, and political contexts. As the film explores how this pernicious myth affects the professional community as a whole, it also emphasizes how we can reverse the negative impact of even “favorable” stereotypes imposed on individuals of a minority population or identity group. The event will be apolitical, but it will contain as much honest conversation as possible to encourage open dialog on a potentially fraught and emotional topic.
Hoyt Zia, an advocate with the Stop Repeating History initiative and organization, will be present at the screening. Founder of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), Mr. Zia served on the committee that sought justice for Vincent Chin, a Chinese American man who was fatally beaten in Detroit in the summer of 1982. This racially motivated hate crime was the subject of the first federal civil rights trial for an Asian American.
Justice Sara Beth Landau and several leading public and private attorneys will also be present for an engaging panel discussion following the screening. The AABA and firm sponsors have underwritten the event to be completely free to the public. All are welcome to attend, but registration is required.