Why is AAPI Heritage Month in May?
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month recognizes the achievements of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians.
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Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: May is designated Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. US President Jimmy Carter declared a celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week on May 4th 1979. In 1990, Congress, under President George H.W. Bush, passed a law extending the celebration to the full month of May.
SPEAKER 2: HR 3802, a bill designating the month of May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.
SPEAKER 1: In 2009, President Barack Obama changed the name to its current title, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
BARACK OBAMA: Your role in America's story has not always been given its due. And many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have known tremendous unfairness and injustice during our history. But we also know that generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders helped to build this country, defend this country, make America what it is today.
SPEAKER 1: This observance honors the rich culture of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians and their substantial contributions to the United States.
BILL CLINTON: Thanks to the inventiveness of people like Vinod Dham, we celebrate it whenever we use a computer with a Pentium chip. We celebrate it when we read the works of writers like Amy Tan, when we visit the haunting Vietnam Memorial designed by Maya Lin, when we benefit from the pathbreaking medical research of Dr. David Ho, and from countless other Asian Pacific Americans.
SPEAKER 1: May marks the anniversary of some historical events that are important to the community. In May of 1843, Manjiro, a teenager who survived a shipwreck became the first Japanese national to visit America for a prolonged period of time. He was adopted by the American captain of the ship that rescued him in 1841. Manjiro earned respect as a member of the Massachusetts community and back in his homeland. He was an ambassador and a translator, helping to end Japan's isolationist policy.
Also in May, in 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed. It was an engineering marvel that reduced the trip across the country from months to days. The western leg was primarily built by thousands of Chinese immigrant rail workers who experienced racism, brutal conditions, and an equitably low pay from bosses who decided that they were worth less than their white counterparts. Including this achievement in AAPI Heritage Month attempts to give these men their overdue recognition.
BILL CLINTON: This month, we celebrate the accomplishments of more than 10 million Asian Pacific Americans in every aspect of our nation's life. You may be fifth generation Americans or newcomers to our shores, but you have all enriched our country and reinforced our values of family, work, and community. We should recognize that not just in one month, but every day.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 2: HR 3802, a bill designating the month of May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.
SPEAKER 1: In 2009, President Barack Obama changed the name to its current title, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
BARACK OBAMA: Your role in America's story has not always been given its due. And many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have known tremendous unfairness and injustice during our history. But we also know that generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders helped to build this country, defend this country, make America what it is today.
SPEAKER 1: This observance honors the rich culture of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians and their substantial contributions to the United States.
BILL CLINTON: Thanks to the inventiveness of people like Vinod Dham, we celebrate it whenever we use a computer with a Pentium chip. We celebrate it when we read the works of writers like Amy Tan, when we visit the haunting Vietnam Memorial designed by Maya Lin, when we benefit from the pathbreaking medical research of Dr. David Ho, and from countless other Asian Pacific Americans.
SPEAKER 1: May marks the anniversary of some historical events that are important to the community. In May of 1843, Manjiro, a teenager who survived a shipwreck became the first Japanese national to visit America for a prolonged period of time. He was adopted by the American captain of the ship that rescued him in 1841. Manjiro earned respect as a member of the Massachusetts community and back in his homeland. He was an ambassador and a translator, helping to end Japan's isolationist policy.
Also in May, in 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed. It was an engineering marvel that reduced the trip across the country from months to days. The western leg was primarily built by thousands of Chinese immigrant rail workers who experienced racism, brutal conditions, and an equitably low pay from bosses who decided that they were worth less than their white counterparts. Including this achievement in AAPI Heritage Month attempts to give these men their overdue recognition.
BILL CLINTON: This month, we celebrate the accomplishments of more than 10 million Asian Pacific Americans in every aspect of our nation's life. You may be fifth generation Americans or newcomers to our shores, but you have all enriched our country and reinforced our values of family, work, and community. We should recognize that not just in one month, but every day.
[MUSIC PLAYING]