May is Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The 2024 theme is “Advancing Leaders Through Innovation”.
Efforts began in 1977 to proclaim the first ten (10) days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week. After various iteration and some progress, in 1992, Congress designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.
It’s a celebration of Asians 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).
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.
We recognize the rich history and myriad of achievements that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have contributed to American society.
You can learn more at https://asianpacificheritage.gov/
