During the month of May, we celebrate Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. In 1977, the House passed a bill that proclaimed the first ten days of May Asian/Pacific Heritage Week. This was later expanded to Asian Pacific American Month in 1990 by George H.W. Bush. May was chosen to celebrate APA heritage because the first Japanese immigrated to the United States on May 7, 1843, and on May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad, which was mainly worked on by Chinese immigrants, was completed. This month commemorates the contributions of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States.
Resources:
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Association
Famous Firsts By Asian Americans
RLA Programming Ideas
-Host a speaker
-Create a display on important events in APA history and/or famous Asian/Pacific Americans
-Show a movie and host a discussion after, such as
- Go For Broke (1951)
- Joy Luck Club (1993)
- Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985)
- Who Killed Vincent Chen (1987)
-Host a trivia contest or put up trivia facts about Asian/Pacific Americans
