The US has celebrated the heritage and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders every May for nearly 45 years.
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month began in 1978 as a 10-day observance with a Congressional resolution. Congress expanded the observance to a full month in 1992.
May is significant for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The first Japanese immigrants arrived in the US in early May of 1843. And some 25 years later, Chinese immigrants played a key role in the laborious construction of the transcontinental railroad. Completed in May 1869, the rail line linked the Midwest and Eastern US with the Pacific coast.
As with any heritage month[1], it's important not to overlook histories of oppression or intolerance. Unfortunately, in recent years, AAPI people have faced intensifying racist harassment and violence.
Stop AAPI Hate[2], a national nonprofit organization that tracks these incidents, said it received 10,370 reports of hate-based incidents between March 2020 and September 2021.
Who identifies as AAPI?
Asian American and Pacific Islander, or AAPI for short, is a broad term that includes people from throughout the continent of Asia, and about two dozen Pacific Islands, including Guam, American Samoa, and Hawaii.
A diverse AAPI community
Like every group, the people in the AAPI community are not monolithic, according to Angelique Geehan.
"They are as different from each other as humans can be, except for the characteristic they share by chance: That their ancestors came from places on earth that we consider the same or that we group together and recognize as part of the continent of Asia or any of the many Pacific Islands," Geehan said. "Knowing that, I think it's fair to say that any issue that matters to anyone might matter to someone of the AAPI community."
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