AAPI Heritage Month
This annual celebration focuses on respecting, honoring and acknowledging the role and contributions Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have made to the United States.
This annual celebration focuses on respecting, honoring and acknowledging the role and contributions Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have made to the United States.
Nathaniel Glanzman
Reviewer URLDate: May
Names: AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage Month
This annual celebration focuses on respecting, honoring and acknowledging the role and contributions Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have made to the United States.
Origin
Commonly abbreviated as AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage Month or APAHM for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, the month of May has been set aside for recognition of the contributions by Americans with cultural ties to those geographic regions.
Members of these groups include those whose ancestries trace to the Asian continent, encompassing India, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos, in addition to China, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea. Islands that include New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands; Micronesia, including Guam, Palau, and others; and Polynesia, a diverse region that encompasses New Zealand, Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Easter Islands and French Polynesia are also part of this enormous group of people. Together, they represent 59.76% of the world’s population, yet are among the least recognized. This holiday serves to celebrate the vast array of cultures that are AAPI.
A respectful acknowledgement of Asian Americans began as a single week under President Jimmy Carter’s leadership, who signed it into public law in 1978, after multiple failed resolutions in the legislative branch. In 1992, Congress extended it to the entire month of recognition in May, with individual cities, communities and organizations embarking on their own initiatives to elevate those voices. May was chosen to commemorate two very important milestones: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and the anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869.
Traditions
While this observance has been formalized for more than three decades, it is not yet widely embraced and has not had time to develop specific traditions. In most instances, traditions are determined by geographic and organization communities. Formal observances may include community festivals, government-sponsored activities and educational activities for students.
In recent times, Americans across the country have chosen to participate by publishing more writing work, recipes and stories of voices by those in the AAPI community; highlighting the achievements of historical and contemporary AAPI figures; discussing the reality of anti-Asian violence; sharing culture, history and traditions; and fostering discussions around the issues faced by this diverse group.
What to say
This heritage month is one of tribute and celebration. As such, "Happy AAPI Month" or "Happy APAHM" is appropriate, only in context. Those contexts include when it is organically brought up in conversation and/or the person you are greeting has openly identified as part of the AAPI community.