Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is held every year in May in the US to celebrate the invaluable contribution of the racial group to America’s history.
In a proclamation issued on 29 April 2022, US President Joe Biden highlighted the contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPIs) in all spheres of American life and society.
“I am proud to have Vice President Kamala Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to serve as Vice President, and Katherine Tai, the first Asian American United States Trade Representative, in my Administration,” he said.
“This month, we celebrate our fellow Americans from AA and NHPI communities and pay tribute to all they have done to help fulfill the promise of America for all,” Biden added, while underlining his administration’s “long-overdue investments” in AA and NHPI communities, including helping reduce poverty, providing healthcare resources and rebuilding the immigration system for fair and humane treatment of all.
The theme of AAPI Heritage Month 2022
The Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC), the oldest and largest AAPI affinity group for federally employed Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, announced ‘Advancing Leaders Through Collaboration’ as the 2022 theme for AAPI. It is in continuation of the ‘Advancing Leaders’ theme series that began in 2021.
The theme is significant because, according to The White House, the AAPI community is the fastest-growing racial group in the country and is expected to double to over 47 million by 2060. Members of the community hold influential positions in some of the topmost decision-making levels in the US government, as well as big businesses.
Meet @UPS pilots Korean-born Capt. Don Yu & Japanese-born First Officer Miyoko Matsushima. This month, we’re honoring the contributions of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders during #AAPI Heritage Month. Help us thank these @UPSers. #YouBelongatUPS #aviation pic.twitter.com/oQGpIzB6TG
— UPS Airlines (@UPSAirlines) May 23, 2022
According to the US Census Bureau, the fields of management, business, science and arts together make up the ‘top Asian alone occupation’ in the US in 2018, with over 5 million employed in the sectors. Similarly, about one out of 10 businesses in the US in 2019 was Asian-owned.
“When you have diversity at the leadership table, the magnitude of what you can accomplish is enormous,” Fahmida Chhipa, FAPAC’s vice president, told NPR, adding, “You really expand yourself in the horizons to have something creative and innovative.”
Yet, this diverse community faces xenophobia and discrimination in the US.
Violence against Asians
During the pandemic, people from the community were targeted in racial attacks across the US.
As violence against Asians rose, protests and demonstrations erupted through 2021. Several prominent AAPI members extended their support to the ‘Stop Asian Hate’ demonstrations by joining protesters in the streets, raising awareness on social media or speaking about it through other channels.
In May 2021, the Biden government signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to ensure that hate crime information is more accessible to AA and NHPI communities, as well as provide law enforcement with the resources to combat such incidents.
“As we celebrate AA and NHPI communities, we must also redouble our commitment to combating the surge of anti-Asian hate crimes,” said Biden in his proclamation.
“We cannot allow these horrific acts to continue threatening the safety of AA and NHPI Americans — especially women, girls, and the elderly,” he added.
The AAPI Heritage Month 2022 is, therefore, highly significant for the community, as it not only draws attention to their contributions to America’s growth but also to the problems they face almost daily in the country where many have been living for generations.
Facts about AAPI Heritage Month and members of the community
AAPI Heritage Month is celebrated in May
Two of the most important events involving Asians in America happened in May — the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the US on 7 May 1843; Chinese immigrants were involved in the building of a transcontinental railroad, which was completed on 10 May 1882. Thus, May was chosen as the AAPI Heritage Month to commemorate these two events.
However, it is also significant to note that it was in May 1882 when the US turned the Chinese Exclusion Act into law, effectively banning the immigration of Chinese workers for 10 years. It was the first US federal law that excluded a group based on ethnicity. The ban was made permanent in 1902 but was eventually repealed only in 1943 during World War II.
The concept of AAPI Heritage Month
Jeanie Jew, a Capitol Hill staffer, shared the idea of celebrating the contributions of the community with New York Congressman Frank Horton. Jew’s great grandfather, who arrived in the US from China in the 1800s, was involved in the construction of the transcontinental railroad. He was later killed during anti-Asia violence.
Horton then introduced a resolution in 1977 while Senator Daniel Inouye introduced similar legislation to the Senate. Eventually, US President Jimmy Carter signed the Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week into law in 1978. The first Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was celebrated on 4 May 1979. Later, celebrations were officially extended to a month.
In 1992, US President George H. W. Bush signed a new law that led to the birth of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Number of ethnic groups in AAPI
The community is composed of over 50 ethnic groups, including Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Filipinos, Polynesians and Micronesians.
A 2021 Pew Research Center report revealed that some 22 million Asian Americans alone have roots in over 20 countries in East and South East Asia, as well as the Indian subcontinent.
Jean Lee, president and CEO of MCCA, which works towards hiring, retention and promotion of diverse attorneys in corporate law departments and law firms, told Forbes, “Within the Asian American Pacific Islander community, we have very different experiences, but amongst different communities of colour, we have different experiences.”
Despite this diversity and the significance of the community, 18 states in the US do not have AAPI content in their K-12 history curriculum.
The largest Asian-origin group in the US
According to the Pew Research Center, the population of Chinese Americans in the US numbered 5.4 million, or 24 percent of the Asian population, in 2021.
Indian Americans form the second-largest group, accounting for 21 percent, or 4.6 million people, of the Asian population in the US, followed by those with Filipino (4.2 million people), Vietnamese (2.2 million), Korean (1.9 million) and Japanese (1.5 million) roots.
Not all Asian Americans are prosperous
Indeed, Asian Americans do well on economic parameters when compared to the overall US population, but there is inequality among the various ethnic groups that make up the AAPI.
The Pew Research Center found that the median household income of 12 Asian origin groups was higher than the median among all Americans in 2019. While households headed by Asians had a median income of USD 85,800, the median of the overall US households was USD 61,800. Even within the Asian households, those headed by foreign-born Asians earned slightly more than US-born Asians.
However, there are stark contrasts in the incomes of the Asian groups. While Indian Americans had the highest household income among all Asians at USD 119,000, followed by Filipino Americans at USD 90,400 in 2019, the Burmese American households earned just USD 44,400.
At the same time, Mongolians had the highest poverty rates among Asian groups at 25 percent, while Indians had the lowest at 6 percent.
How to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month
One of the many ways to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month is by learning about the various cultures and traditions of the ethnic groups that form the community. This can be done through reading books, chronicling the histories of Asians and Pacific Islanders in America or watching documentaries such as Asian Americans on PBS. Attending AAPI events and visiting museums in person or virtually that house Asian art are perhaps some of the best ways to learn more about the community.
Several entertaining movies and shows on OTT platforms, such as Netflix and Disney+, have some of the finest Asian-American and Asian stars in the lead. These include commercially and critically acclaimed movies released in the recent past such as Crazy Rich Asians (2019) and Marvel’s Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).
Donations to organisations, such as Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Stop AAPI Hate, that strive to protect Asian-American civil rights and tackle xenophobia, can be made as well.
(Main and Featured images: Tong Su/@tongsu/Unsplash)