Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Sunayana Dumala dreamed of building a prosperous life in Kansas. That dream was tragically shattered.
A vanishing dream?
Dumala’s words gave me pause for thought. I hope her question serves as a much-needed wake-up call for a community that has not always been totally honest in looking inward.
For too long, Indian-Americans have subscribed to the notion of the “model minority” immune from racism. As successful entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, professors and techies, they live in comfortable middle-class white neighborhoods and focus on getting their kids into Harvard and Yale.
Even though the government used to categorize us as “other,” not all Indians saw themselves as such. This, despite the long history of racism and xenophobia in this country that sometimes targeted Indians. “It’s a huge problem,” said journalist and educator Rajul Punjabi, 32. “It’s something that’s not talked about at all. Now for the first time Indians are thinking about race and what black people went through in this country.”