05/01/2023
MAY IS ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH. THE OBSERVANCE HAD ITS START IN THE LATE 1970S, BUT IF IT WASN’T ON YOUR RADAR THAT’S FORGIVABLE SINCE IT’S ONE OF MORE THAN A DOZEN COMMEMORATIVE HERITAGE MONTHS ON THE CALENDAR. MAY IS ALSO JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH & THE HOST OF MEMORIAL DAY, MILITARY SPOUSE DAY, MOTHER’S DAY, MALCOLM X DAY, & PEACE OFFICERS’ MEMORIAL DAY AMONG OTHERS...
DESPITE A LONG LIST OF PROCLAMATIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THESE DATES EACH SERVE A GREATER PURPOSE. THEY MAY PASS YOU BY LIKE ANY OTHER, BUT IF YOU FEEL THAT THESE OBSERVANCES ARE NOT ABOUT OR FOR YOU, THEN PERHAPS THEY DESERVE A SECOND LOOK. THESE MONTHS, WEEKS, OR DAYS ARE NOT JUST DESIGNED FOR SELF-AWARENESS WITHIN A PEOPLE OR GROUP. THEY ARE MEANT TO HIGHLIGHT A SHARED HISTORY OF THE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THESE PEOPLE HAVE & CONTINUE TO MAKE TO OUR COUNTRY. ON THE SURFACE, THEY ARE A CELEBRATION OF CULTURE, TRADITIONS, & ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BUT THEY ALSO PRESENT A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT THE HISTORIES & PEOPLE THAT HAVE LONG BEEN IGNORED OR ARE AT RISK OF BEING FORGOTTEN...
ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH IS A TIME TO RECALL OTHER STORIES THAT HAVE BEEN SQUELCHED FROM THE HISTORY BOOKS. ASIAN AMERICAN STORY IS ABOUT PERSEVERANCE & TRIUMPH. IT IS DISTINCTLY AMERICAN. BUT WHEN WE DOWNPLAY SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF OUR HISTORY, WE DON’T FULLY UNDERSTAND OUR ROOTS. THERE IS A LONG TRACK RECORD OF ASIAN AMERICANS EXPERIENCES & CONTRIBUTIONS BEING OVERLOOKED. MAJOR COMPONENTS OF ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY ARE BARELY TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS OR FIND THEIR WAY INTO MAINSTREAM CONVERSATIONS. THIS HISTORY IS OFTEN NOT WELL KNOWN EVEN WITHIN ASIAN COMMUNITIES. THOSE MISSING PAGES IN THE HISTORY BOOKS CONTRIBUTE TO THE FALSE NOTION THAT ASIANS IN AMERICA ARE ADJUNCT CITIZENS, PERPETUAL FOREIGNERS &, AS A PEOPLE, ARE A RECENT PHENOMENON TO THE AMERICAN STORY...
ASIANS HAVE BEEN PART OF THIS COUNTRY SINCE ITS EARLIEST DAYS. THE FIRST DOCUMENTED CHINESE IN AMERICA ARRIVED IN 1785. THE FIRST JAPANESE IN 1843. TODAY, THERE ARE MORE THAN 22 MILLION ASIAN AMERICANS AMOUNTING TO NEARLY 7% OF THE U.S. POPULATION. FIFTH-GENERATION ASIAN AMERICANS & NEW IMMIGRANTS ALIKE CONTRIBUTE TO EVERY ASPECT OF SOCIETY. THEY HAVE SERVED IN EVERY CONFLICT SINCE THE CIVIL WAR...
EVEN AFTER 200+ YEARS, GREATER AWARENESS HELPS FURTHER RECOGNIZE ASIAN AMERICANS AS AMERICANS. IN DECEMBER 2018, CONGRESS PASSED THE CHINESE AMERICAN WORLD WAR II VETERANS CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT TO RECOGNIZE THE MORE THAN 20,000 CHINESE AMERICANS THAT SERVED...
ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH IS NOT THE CELEBRATION OF A SINGLE DEFINITION OF ASIAN AMERICANS. APIAS ARE NOT ONE THING. THEY CONSIST OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WITH UNIQUE STORIES & EXPERIENCES. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR BACKGROUND, WHERE YOU ARE FROM, OR WHEN YOU CAME HERE…THIS MONTH IS ABOUT YOU. IF WE ALLOW ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY TO BE TOLD, THEN IT HAS A BETTER CHANCE OF BEING WOVEN INTO THE GREATER AMERICAN STORY THAT WE ALL SHARE...
AS A PROUD VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN, I'M HONORED TO CELEBRATE MAY'S ASIAN-AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDERS HERITAGE MONTH AMONG ALL WHO ARE DOING THE SAME...
