Journaling Questions on the Full Tokenism Chapter

We define tokenism as a mechanism that “stabilizes existing hierarchies” rather than a neutral first step. Reflect on a time when you witnessed or experienced what appeared to be inclusion but may have actually been tokenism. What signals helped you recognize it — or what made it hard to see?

The Model Minority Myth emerged in the 1960s in direct response to the Black freedom struggle. How does knowing this historical context change the way you understand media narratives or workplace conversations that praise one group of people of color while dismissing another?

“Brown Silence” describes a tendency among some relatively privileged non-Black migrants to remain silent during moments of acute anti-Black violence in order to maintain distance from stigmatized Blackness. What conditions, pressures, or fears make this silence feel rational — and what does it cost communities?

We argue that colorism is a structural, not merely a personal, issue rooted in slavery, colonialism, and caste. In what ways have you seen colorism treated as a personal preference or aesthetic choice in your family, community, or workplace — and what does that framing protect or conceal?

The image of the “Pet to Threat” dynamic describes how racialized women are often welcomed with enthusiasm at hire, only to be reframed as disruptive once they exercise agency or challenge inequity. If you hold institutional power, what specific practices could you put in place to interrupt this pattern before it takes hold?

The 2023 SFFA v. Harvard/UNC Supreme Court cases were described in the curriculum as a strategy to use Asian American students as a “face” of anti-affirmative action arguments while ultimately protecting white advantage. How should communities of color respond when they are weaponized against each other by systems that benefit neither?

Tokenism “narrows who gets in” by favoring those whose class background and social habits most resemble the dominant group. Think about hiring or selection processes you have been part of. In what ways did criteria that seemed neutral actually screen for cultural fit with the monoculture?

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha’s phrase “Inclusion without power or leadership is tokenism” draws a sharp line between visibility and real institutional change. What does genuine power-sharing look like in an organization or community you are part of — and what would have to change for it to exist there?

The three ways to avert tokenism identified in the screenshot — reasonable expectations, being genuine, and tweaking norms — are framed as practical, actionable steps. Which of the three do you find most difficult to practice, and why? What personal or structural barriers are in the way?

We distinguishe between solidarity that is “sentimental” and solidarity that is “strategic, historically grounded, and oriented toward collective liberation.” What is the difference in practice? Describe what each looks like inside a workplace, a movement, or a family.

The material argues that Asian American success rates obscure the enormous class, immigration-status, and ethnic diversity within that broad category. How might this erasure of internal diversity affect the policies, funding decisions, or support systems available to different Asian communities?

Colorism deepens fractures within communities by assigning status according to proximity to whiteness, even within the same ethnic or national group. How have you seen this dynamic play out in your own community — and what resistance to it have you witnessed or practiced?

Tokenism in popular culture — sitcoms, fashion, annual reports — as parallel to tokenism in workplaces. Why does representation in media matter for what happens inside organizations? What are the limits of representation as a strategy?

The cascade from Privilege and Position → Monoculture → Tone-Policing → Exoticism and Fetishization → Power → White Savior → Tokenism is described as deeply embedded in cultural fabric. At which point in this chain do you think intervention is most possible — and what does that intervention look like?

The curriculum notes that for people raised in dominant-culture environments without ties to their own racial or ethnic communities, declining the token role is especially disorienting. What kind of community, mentorship, or structural support would make it easier for tokenized individuals to refuse that role without paying a prohibitive personal cost?

By interrogating the model minority myth, addressing colorism, and rejecting tokenism, we create room for solidarity that is not sentimental but “strategic and historically grounded.” What personal work — intellectual, relational, or institutional — does that shift require of you specifically, given your identity, role, and position?