AAPI HERITAGE MONTH
On May 1, 2018, Governor Charles D. Baker today signed House Bill 3360, An Act designating May as Asian American Pacific Islander Month. The bill was filed by State Representative Tackey Chan (D-Quincy) as an Asian Caucus priority, with caucus members Representative Donald Wong (R-Saugus), Representative Paul Schmid, III (D-Westport), Representative Keiko Orrall (R-Lakeville), and Representative Rady Mom (D-Lowell) also signed on.
May was chosen as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month 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.
AAPIs have a long and rich heritage of involvement in the history of the United States. If you didn’t know this, consider taking the time, particularly this month of May, but also any time you learn about US history, to inquire and ask about how AAPIs have played a role in shaping the country of America.
About Asian American Pacific American Heritage Month
May is Asian American Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian-Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific Islands of 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) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).
Like most commemorative months, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following Month, Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were Passed. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a joint Resolution Designating The Annual Celebration. Twelve Years Later, President George H.W. Bush Signed An Extension Making The week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month was signed into law.
Sources:
Library Of Congress
Office Of Minority Health