Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (, officially changed from Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month)
is observed in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
during the month of
May, and recognizes the contributions and influence of
Asian Americans
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...
and
Pacific Islander Americans
Pacific Islander Americans (also known as Oceanian Americans) are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry (or are descendants of the indigenous peoples of Oceania or of Austronesian descent). For its purposes, the United States census ...
to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.
Background
The first Asians documented in the Americas arrived in 1587, when Filipinos
landed in California;
from
1898 to 1946, the Philippines was an American possession. The next group of Asians documented in what would be the United States were Indians in
Jamestown, documented as early as 1635. In 1778, the first Chinese to reach what would be the United States,
arrived in Hawaii. In 1788, the first Native Hawaiian arrived on the continental United States, in Oregon; in 1900, Hawaii was
annexed by the United States. The next group of Asians documented in what would be the United States were Japanese, who
arrived in Hawaii in 1806. In 1884, the first Koreans arrived in the United States. In 1898, Guam was
ceded to the United States; beginning in the 1900s,
Chamorros
The Chamorro people (; also CHamoru) are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, signif ...
began to migrate to California and Hawaii. In 1904, what is now American Samoa was
ceded to the United States; beginning in the 1920s, Samoans began to migrate to Hawaii and the continental United States, with the first Samoans documented in Hawaii in 1920. In 1912, the first Vietnamese was documented in the United States.
History
A former congressional staffer in the 1970s,
Jeanie Jew, first approached Representative
Frank Horton with the idea of designating a month to recognize
Asian Pacific American
Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or Asian American and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is a term sometimes used in the United States when including both Asian ...
s, following the
bicentennial __NOTOC__
A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to:
Europe
* French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
celebrations. In June 1977, Representatives Horton, and
Norman Y. Mineta, introduced a
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
resolution to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week.
A similar bill was introduced in the Senate a month later by
Daniel Inouye
Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative ...
and
Spark Matsunaga
Spark Masayuki Matsunaga ( ja, 松永 正幸, October 8, 1916April 15, 1990) was an American politician and attorney who served as United States Senator for Hawaii from 1977 until his death in 1990. Matsunaga also represented Hawaii in the U.S. ...
.
The proposed resolutions sought that May be designated for two reasons. For on May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant arrived in the United States.
More than two decades later, on May 10, 1869, the
golden spike
The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6- karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad ...
was driven into the
First transcontinental railroad
North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...
, which was completed using Chinese labor.
President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
signed a joint resolution for the celebration on October 5, 1978.
On May 1, 2009, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
signed
Proclamation
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
8369, recognizing the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Federal legislation
"A joint resolution authorizing the President to proclaim annually a week during the first 10 days in May as ''Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week''." was text in House Joint Resolution 540; this resolution as well as Senate Joint Resolution 72 did not pass.
Ultimately, though, Rep. Horton's House Joint Resolution 1007 was passed by both the House and the Senate, and was signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978, to become Public Law 95-419.
In 1990,
George H. W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress to extend Asian-American Heritage Week to a month; May was officially designated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month two years later.
Observances
During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, communities celebrate the achievements and contributions of Asian and Pacific Americans with community festivals, government-sponsored activities and educational activities for students.
Footnotes
References
External links
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{{US Observances
Asian-American culture
Commemorative months
May observances
Observances in the United States
Pacific Islands American history