Monday marked the first day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a month-long celebration of the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans of the history, culture and achievements of the United States.
According to URL Media partner Documented, the month of May was chosen to commemorate two milestones in AAPI history — the first Japanese immigrant to arrive in the U.S. in May 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 1869. The majority of the transcontinental railroad workers were Chinese immigrants.
New York City also offers residents multiple ways to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month from parades to educational opportunities to cultural exchanges and community events.
But, like with all celebrations meant to encompass culturally rich and geographically diverse communities of people, the AAPI moniker might not be the best for everyone. Other terms used include Asian American, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA), Asian American Pacific Islander South Asian (APISA), and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (NHPI). All of these terms seek to provide more accurate and inclusive representation, but some say they still fail to accurately and adequately describe everyone under the AAPI umbrella.
“The emerging economic and cultural heterogeneity of Asian America has made it challenging to advance Asian American causes and narratives,” Anthony Ocampo writes for URL Media partner Prism. “The reality is that people still equate ‘Asian American’ with East Asian Americans.”
Ocampo notes there are more than 20 ethnic and national origin groups included in the umbrella term Asian American, and the decision by the U.S. government to merge that group with Pacific Islanders to create the AAPI racial category added even more confusion.
“Pacific Islander is not a monolithic category—it comprises over 20 subgroups including Native Hawaiians, Samoans, Tongans, and Chamorros,” Ocampo writes.
There is also a distinct difference in the way American geopolitical and economic interests have exploited the home societies of both Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and how that history impacts those countries today.
“If we understand the inadequacies and the pitfalls of the category, you can still work productively across communities,” University of Utah education professor Kēhaulani Vaughn tells Prism. “Pacific Islanders can call out anti-Asian hate crimes and racism and the Asian American community and organizations can recognize that when they say AAPI they really have no PI representation—and that matters.”
For those looking for organizations to support during AAPI Heritage Month (and beyond), URL Media partner Sahan Journal highlighted an effort by the Very Asian Foundation to put books full of Asian characters into the hands of school children.
Gia Vang, a news anchor in the Bay Area, co-founded the Very Asian Foundation with St. Louis news anchor Michelle Li after Li received a racist voicemail from a viewer who was upset that she had shared her Korean tradition for New Year’s Day on a television newscast in 2022.
The foundation, through its May Book Project, curates lists of books by Asian authors and donates them to schools. The project was started after Asian American students in Missouri reached out to Li for support in bringing more representation of Asian characters and stories in their school libraries.
“We think it’s important to see yourself in books,” Li told Sahan Journal.
I know I’ll be celebrating all month long by making it a point to support AAPI-owned businesses and organizations where I live. I hope you’ll do the same.
