A majority of Americans can't name a single famous Asian American, according to a recent survey, and for the fourth year in a row, the most common answer beyond “can't think of one” was non-American actor Jackie Chan.
The report, released Tuesday by the nonprofit Asian American Foundation, surveyed more than 6,200 people ages 16 and older across the country about attitudes toward the Asian American community.
A majority of respondents, 52%, said they could not think of any famous Asian Americans: 9% named Hong Kong native Chan, and 5% named Asian American actor Bruce Lee, who died in 1973. Just 2% named Vice President Kamala Harris, who is Asian.
About 26% of survey respondents were Asian American, 49.5% were white, 12.6% were Hispanic and 9.4% were black.
This year's findings are a stark difference from last year's, when 26% of respondents answered “I don't know” to the same question. The researchers say the spike could be due to the way the question was structured this year, including the introduction of a “I don't remember” option.
“The main takeaway is that many still cannot name famous Asian Americans, which speaks to the invisibility of our community,” said Shruti Chandrasekaran, TAAF's director of data and research.
The study found that Americans often confuse Asian nationals with Asian Americans, and when they did name Asians, it was rarely women.
“We think this reflects hundreds of years of invisibility in American society,” said TAAF CEO Norman Chan. “This is the fourth year in a row that Jackie Chan has been ranked No. 1. … Our question is: who will be the first person to replace Jackie Chan as a well-known AANHPI? When will that happen? Will it be in five years, 10 years, 20 years, or even longer?”
For more information about NBC Asia America, please visit Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
