Celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 1 begins Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

AAPI Heritage recognition in the United States first started in the 1970s with a week of celebrations which eventually extended to a month in 1992 when Congress passed a law that designated the entire month of May for this commemoration. This annual celebration recognizes the historical and cultural contributions of individuals and groups of Asian and Pacific Islander descent to the United States. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. Today, the AAPI community is a growing and diverse population at 22.9 million, comprising about 7% of the total U.S. population.

The AAPI Caucus welcomes all to join in on our conversations and events for the month of May. We also encourage everyone to explore the additional resources we have provided here.

EVENTS

• May 13, 3:00 pm EST – Movie Discussion for “Turning Red” by director Domee Shi
• May 23, 3:00 pm EST – Asian Experiences TEDx Talk: Watch Party & Discussion

Quick Resources

• 31 Stories for 31 Days
• PBS Documentary Collections of Asian Americans
• Hawaiian Queens
• How to Understand Chinese Characters TEDx Talk
• Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
• Japanese American visit Manzanar Internment Camp

Books by AAPI Authors

• Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang (Chinese author, memoir)

• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Korean American author and musician)

• Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou (Taiwanese American author)

• Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob (Indian author, graphic memoir)

• How to Pronounce Knife: Stories by Souvankham Thammavongsa (Laotian, short stories, fiction)

• Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (Taiwanese American author)

• Skinship by Yoon Choi (Korean author, short stories, fiction)

• The Girl in the Moon Circle by Sia Figiel (Samoan novelist, poet, and painter)

• The Latinos of Asia by Anthony Christian Ocampo (Filipino American author and professor)

• Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (Vietnamese American author and poet)

Resources for Reporting Hate Incidents

• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association | Hate crime resources
• stopaapihate.org | Donate, report, and educate
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Report incidents and donate

AAPI communities include all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands, including:

• Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands)
• Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, and the Federated States of Micronesia)
• Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and Easter Island).