Everything You Need to Know About AAPI Heritage Month!

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month lasts the entirety of May each year. Officially instated in 2009 by President Barack Obama, the month of May was selected to commemorate the first Japanese and Chinese immigrants’ arrivals into the United States, both of which were during the month of May in the mid-1800s. While the idea of a similar, week-long celebration was proposed as early as the 1970s and approved by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, it was not until President Obama’s aforementioned signature of Proclamation 8369 that the celebration became a month long. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing minority demographic in the United States today, and with this comes higher levels of representation in media and pop culture that this month is intended to honor.

In recent years, however, this celebration of diversity has expanded across the world, being celebrated unofficially by other countries with large amounts of Asian immigrants, such as Canada. Because of the international nature of this celebration now, many AISG students have strong connections to this month as well.

“I think it’s really important for us Asian Americans and international kids who follow much of the same culture as Asian Americans to get recognized and educated,” said senior Andrew Z. “It’s great to see more representation and awareness for our cultures.”

In light of the pandemic and rise in anti-Asian hate crimes throughout North America, many consider this year’s AAPI Heritage Month the most important yet.

“I think the existence of this month is really important for many of us who are Asian who are going to the U.S. for university,” said senior Sheila W. “It’s comforting to know that ignorance and discrimination [are] being combatted through ways like this.”

With much of the United States general population supporting and recognizing or participating in this month and the country-wide events taking place, it is exciting to see that strides are being made in terms of AAPI representation.