In 1982, Chinese American Vincent Chin was murdered by two white men in Detroit because they believed Asians were taking auto industry jobs from whites. Hall that people of Asian descent could not testify against a white person in court, meaning that white people could avoid punishment for anti-Asian crimes.ĭuring World War II, from 1942-1945, people of Japanese descent were incarcerated in internment camps across the nation. In 1854, the California Supreme Court ruled in People v. Chinese workers were abused, robbed and murdered in San Francisco in the 1850s. Since their immigration to the United States, Asians have been met with xenophobia, racism, bias and violence. In 1882, Congress enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese immigration for 20 years. During the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, a wave of Asian immigrants came to the West Coast and provided labor for gold mines, factories and the transcontinental railroad. In the 16th century, Filipinos who were escaping forced labor and enslavement during the Spanish galleon trade immigrated to North America, eventually establishing a settlement in St. According to the Bering Land Bridge Theory, Asians first migrated to what is now known as North America over 15,000 years ago through a land bridge between Asia and North America. In film history, AAPI people, stories, and traditions have become more visible with South Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2019 and the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 2021, debuting Marvel’s first Asian superhero.ĪAPI people have a long history in the United States, despite the stereotype that they are “ perpetual foreigners,” the idea that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are inherently foreign, other and not truly American. In 2021, Kamala Harris became the first Asian American Vice President of the United States. Why Do We Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month?Īsian Americans and Pacific Islanders have contributed significantly to many facets of American culture and society, including science and medicine, literature and art, sports and recreation, government and politics, and activism and law. Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month was renamed as AAPI Heritage Month in 2009. Bush administration with the passing of Public Law 102-450. May was annually designated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in 1992 under the George H. In 1990, Congress expanded the observance from a week to a month. From 1980 to 1990, each president passed annual proclamations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. When the resolutions did not pass, representative Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007 the following year, which requested the president to proclaim a week during the first 10 days of May starting in 1979, including May 7 and 10, as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.Īfter the House and the Senate passed the Resolution, President Jimmy Carter signed it into Public Law 95-419 on October 5, 1978.
Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye introduced a similar joint resolution the same year. In 1977, New York representative Frank Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 540, which proposed proclaiming the first 10 days of May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.
The effort to officially recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander contributions to the United States began in the late 1970s, and took over 10 years to make it a permanent month-long celebration.
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