math Archives - The Race Card Project

Yes, I am good at math

May 11, 2026 Asian, CA, Dylan, math, San Jose, stereotype, Vietamese

Dylan,
San Jose, CA

I am Vietnamese, so when people hear this, they automatically say, “So you are Asian, ” which is a big generalisation. They also think I am automatically good at school, which is why I wrote six words: Yes, I am good at math. But what they don’t see is the amount of hours I put into studying. Yes, I am good at what I study, but it isn’t a genetic thing; it’s a putting in effort thing. People are so quick to think about why they are at a disadvantage compared to others, without recognizing the work that goes into overcoming obstacles. I have seen a lot of Chinese children studying for a test, and those endless hours of studying aren’t genetics; it’s discipline.

China, Yellow, hardworking, dream, versatile, active

January 22, 2025January 23, 2025 active, Asian, brave, China, Dream, hardworking, math, PA, Selinsgrove, small town, stereotype, versatile, yellow, Yilan Miao

Yilan Miao,
Selinsgrove, PA.

Maybe we should improved the inaccurate term “racism” with the much more accurate and potentially productive term “stereotype”. As American people always think, I am really good at math and this is the beginning of the third month for me to study in a small town of America. As you can imagine, the foreigners in the place where I live are really hard to see so it is a normal thing for people to see me surprisingly at the beginning. However, I don’t think that means kind of the racism because people are really nice to me and I have made lots of friends here now. As they start to talk with you the stereotype in their minds begin to break down and they will begin to appreciate your braveness. It is 21st century now, new idea has already had great influence on the racism. I believe as the growth of communications between different race, racism will finally disappear one day.

I’m black and I love math

September 4, 2024September 4, 2024 Black, Jasmine VanExel, MA, math, Northampton, Smith College, stereotype

Jasmine VanExel,
Northampton, MA.
Smith College

Hey, you’re good at math, right?

January 18, 2023January 18, 2023 American, animator, artist, Asian, assume, cretive, Houston, Lonestar College-University Park, math, Quoc Du, smart, stereotype, TX

Quoc Du,
Houston, TX

Being Asian American, there are certain expectations placed upon me. I’m expected to be smart, I’m expected to have good grades and excel in all my classes, I’m expected to acquire a career as a doctor or a dentist. I’m expected to do this and that, all because I am Asian. All these expectations mean nothing to me because at the end of the day these expectations placed upon my head are not my own. I’m not smart, I’m of average intelligence, My grades are good at the moment, but they can easily dip just like anyone else could, I failed two of my classes last semester. I don’t wish to pursue a career in the medical field, I’d rather be an artist, an illustrator, an animator, someone who creates things. I’m creative, I think a lot and say little, I am my own person. I am not the expectations placed upon my head by strangers and I never will be. I am Asian American and no, I’m not good at math.

Hey show me the answers please

August 29, 2022 Asian, asian-american, CA, Dylan Pence, good at math, judge, Laguna Niguel, math, stereotype

Dylan Pence,
Laguna Niguel, CA

As an Asian American I am often associated with the stereotype that all Asians are good at math. So almost every week during the school year I am asked to send the homework to a number of students because they automatically assume that I am smarter than they are. When in reality I am not that smart, in fact I have never received in A in a math class before. I know this isn’t really a huge deal but I just feel like people should judge others on their actual skill instead of their stereotypes.

We Do Not Look The Same

September 29, 2020 Anthropolgy Class, asian-american, CA, Huntington Beach, Le Hoang Nhat Vy, look the same, math, stereotype

Le Hoang Nhat Vy,
Huntington Beach, CA

As an Asian American growing up, I have been continuously been called the looking same as my other Asian friends even though we are two completely different people regardless of what any people say. It really irritates me when that happens. I grew up in Vietnam for my first 10 years of life and not once have I encountered the stereotype of looking the same! Well, it was because Vietnamese or Asian in general is not the minority, we are in fact the majority. There were no such things as stereotyping me as a mathematical person because we were all mathematical people! But as soon as I step foot on the cultural melting pot known as the United States, I was constantly being stereotyped and made fun of (which is absurd to me). How does someone mistake me with a completely different person when the only things in common were our hair and skin color? East Asians have a higher genetic diversity than even the Oceanians and the Native Americans but I don’t go around mistaken Sam for William because they are not the same person!

There is a term that I learned in my Anthropology class called Differential Worth which means that races were ranked according to moral and intellectual standards that were based on the researcher’s population affiliation.

Many scientists have made sexists and racist conclusions just based on their research, for example, Pierre Paul Broca, who is a French anthropologist believed that males were smarter than females because he classified humans based on their brain size. However, as I expand my knowledge in Anthropology, I realized that Anthropology should only be focusing on the morphological differences between species and not focused on sex or race. I listened to a report by NPR where they reported that even though millennials are now accepting racial differences but there are some people who are mostly white, still grew up with different mindsets and experiences which is weird to me for some reason. I still believe that stereotyping should not be a thing anymore even if some are true, or at least stereotyping where the person is being insulted or put down upon. Anthropologists are out here focusing on the cranial vaults and morphological differences because of their curiosity not of racism nor sexism, they are sincerely just researching for the development of humans and I hope that we, as humans, can also advance to the point where we don’t prejudice categorization on certain races.

Yes dude, I actually play basketball.

November 19, 2018July 11, 2024 Asian, badminton, basketball, CA, computer, identity, math, Mountain View, no fly, ping pong, Racist, science, stereotype

Roy Yuan,
Mountain View, CA

Is there something peculiar about this image? Well, whether you’re racist or not, you probably guessed it. Out of the four players sitting down, I’m the only Asian kid. Hi, I’m Roy, and as you can probably tell, I’m Asian (Chinese in particular). Being of Asian descent is a part of my identity, something I cannot change as it is genetically impossible. Being Chinese to me, however, isn’t such a bad thing; unless you happen to play a sport where at the highest professional level, there is one Asian dude who just happens to be injured right now (Jeremy Lin). Since I started playing basketball at a young age, many people doubted that I actually did. Growing up, when I told people that I played basketball, many did not actually believe me. My frustration surrounded the fact that I often was stereotyped into sports that Asians were seen playing: ping pong, badminton, applied mathematics, and the list continues. Many people thought it was rare for Asian kids to play basketball and they still do. In fact, at most of the tournaments I go to, I usually compensate for one-hundred percent of the Asian population in the whole entire tournament. Although I hated to admit it, some of my critics were correct. As I progressively aged, I began to notice a correlation with the increasing level of competition with the decreasing number of Asian hoopers. My perspective on this was based on the belief that Asian kids quit because they’re parents had switched their sport to computer science or such; however, a few of my Asian friends told me that they quit because they just couldn’t keep up with black and white people and often received racist remarks on the court from the other team primarily for being Asian. Similarly, I have experienced that as well. Although playing a sport and receiving criticism for it primarily based on your gender is indeed frustrating, I have come to terms with being an Asian basketball player. First off all, I literally cannot change my ethnicity. I would legitimately need to implant some genetic mutations or something but I honestly don’t think that the risk it worth it. Secondly, in terms of basketball, I honestly don’t think being Asian is a bad trait at all. After watching several inspirational sports movies about underdogs, I have developed that sense where I, the Asian, am the underdog when I step on the court. According to the plot in these movies, the underdog always prevails in the end so I think I’m on the right road for now. Not only this, but I have realized that whether I was Asian, Mexican, Black, or whatever ethnicity, my goal in basketball was ultimately to have fun. Once I realized this and came to term with my frustrations, I began to have a lot more fun playing basketball and even more fun being Asian. Being Asian is part of my identity and coming to terms with it was a big step in my life as it benefited me both on and off the court.

Aren’t all Asians good at math?

October 31, 2016 Asian, AZ, good enough, hate math, imply, math, school, Skye Kincaid, stereotype, Tucson

Skye Kincaid,
Tucson, AZ.

I may be Asian but I hate math. By suggesting all Asians should be good at math, you imply that I am not good enough. That is not okay.

You’re Asian, you’re good at math.

June 28, 2016June 28, 2016 Asian, Collegeville, math, PA, Steph Dang, stereotype

Steph Dang,
Collegeville, PA.

Can you help me with math?

October 12, 2015 Asian, average, High School, math, Samantha, Seattle, smart, stereotype, WA

Samantha,
Seattle, WA.

I’m an Asian American woman who gets this all the time. Throughout high school, people assumed that because I was Asian, I should be smart. Most times I laughed it off, but that’s allowing the stereotype to live on. It’s interesting to look back and see how other Asians in my year lived up to that stereotype and looked down on me for doing ONLY academically average. The stereotypes need to stop.

I am not a Math Expert

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 anonymous, Boston, expert, MA, math, stereotype

Anonymous,
Boston, MA.

I won’t do your math homework

March 24, 2014 Asian, homeowork, John Mendez, Las Vegas, math, NV, stereotype

John Mendez
Las Vegas, NV

Just because I’m Asian, it doesn’t mean that I have to be good at math. As a matter of fact, I struggle in that subject.

I’m not that good at math.

March 19, 2014 Asian, Derrick Busman, Grand Rapids, math, MI, stereotype

Derrick Busman
Grand Rapids, MI

Being an Asian, living amongst primarily white individuals, I tend to receive a lot of racism. One of the most common things, is the assumption that all Asians excel at math or scholastic studies in general.

You’re Chinese, you like math right?

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013 Chinese, math, Seattle, stereotype, WA

Jason
Seattle, WA

“Indian” does not mean math expert.

April 2, 2013April 2, 2013 DE, Harshita Kandarpa, Indian, math, stereotype, Wilmington

Harshita Kandarpa
Wilmington, DE

I bet they’re good at math.

January 3, 2013January 3, 2013 Asian, assumptions, children, Lindenwold, math, NJ, stereotype, Steve Titterton, white

Steve Titterton
Lindenwold, NJ

I’m white, and the father of two Asian children. Went into that thinking that race was irrelevant if I thought so, the social workers told me that I was wrong, and they were right. My card is about how I was made aware of what it means to make assumptions about people by looking at them, which I didn’t understand until people said things like this to me.

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