Combating racism, bigotry, and prejudice: preliminary research for development of an oral history CD on the cultural heritage of Hmong Americans Plan B paper

Abstract

Research indicates that in the last half century, the population of minority immigrants has been growing rapidly in the United States. Despite its growth, research indicates that racial and ethnic discrimination is common in the United States (Duany, 1998). The objective of this preliminary study is to determine the factors of prejudice and discrimination against new immigrants in general and specifically to look at the prejudice and discrimination against the Hmong Americans. The focal point of this study is to gather data and recommendations from the focus group informants. The data then will be used to develop a multi-media (CD-ROM based) oral history on the cultural heritage of Hmong Americans, which will serve as an educational tool for individuals and the general public to be able to access to the Hmong culture, history, language, and arts. A Focus Group Interview Guide was used to guide and engage conversations with each individual’s interviews and the focus group interviews. The primary topics that will be explored and discussed during each interview session include Hmong culture and history. As the results, the factors of prejudice and discrimination against the Hmong Americans were due to the lack of cultural awareness, misinterpretation, language barrier, misjudgment, fault of assumptions, and/or rumors. The Hmong have faced the following types of prejudice and discrimination: verbal harassment, poor services in organizational settings, physical harassment, avoidance in institutional settings, and police mistreatment. When the CD project is completed, it would serve as an educational key to combat racism, bigotry, and prejudice and discrimination. The result of this study highly corresponded to the hypothesis of the development of a CD that based on the cultural heritage of the Hmong Americans. The following topics were cited by the focus group informants as very important to put into the content of the CD, which include the Hmong culture, history, language, and arts.