Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is celebrated annually throughout the month of May to appreciate the historical and cultural contributions of people from AAPI descent to the United States. Yet, few are aware about the history of this cause and the reason we honor it. This community’s influence is widespread and undeniable; be it art, film, music, food, fashion or even language, Asian influence has shaped our world in numerous ways. So, here is everything you need to know to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month and support this cause.
The History:
Efforts to recognise this cause began in the late 70’s and took almost a decade to coin the month of May as AAPI Heritage Month. The initial proposal by New York representative Frank Horton and Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye was rejected in 1977 and after several resolutions, on October 5th, 1978, President Jimmy Carter passed the law dedicating the first 10 days of May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. For the next ten years, each administration reinforced the resolution to celebrate this week.
However, the law to expand this week to a month was passed only in 1990, and was officially assigned to the month of May in 1992. Eventually, in 2009, it was renamed to AAPI Heritage Month. The reason we celebrate this in May is because May 7, 1843 marks the date the first Japanese immigrated to the US and during this month, the transcontinental railroad was completed, which wouldn’t have been possible without the help of hundreds of Chinese immigrants.
What you can do to help:
The theme for this year is ‘Advancing Leaders Through Opportunities’ which encourages local governments to present opportunities for people of AAPI descent to hone their leadership skills. At an individual level, the best way to celebrate this month is to explore the plethora of Asian cultures through activities such as:
- Visiting museum displays (eg- Wing Luke Museum in Seattle)
- Learning a new language (there are more than 2000 Asian languages)
- Getting creative with art (calligraphy and origami are also a great way to relax)
Supporting AAPI businesses (not only does this help support a minority-owned business but it will also help you understand the AAPI heritage better)
