This month we honor the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (APIA) in American society.
Origins of APIA Heritage Month
What first started as APIA Week in 1972 after President Jimmy Carter signed a presidential proclamation, evolved into a month-long celebration by 1992 when congress passed a bill designating the month of May to reflect on the achievements and contributions of the APIA community.
The month of May is particularly special for the APIA community because it commemorates the arrival of the first known Japanese immigrant to the U.S. on May 7, 1843 and honors the 20,000 Chinese workers who participated in the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.
Who Makes Up the APIA Community?
The APIA community is made up of Asians with origins in Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, as well as Pacific Islanders belonging to Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. This classification includes (but is not limited to) Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Guamanian, Fijian and Papua New Guinean people.
There are about 23 million APIA living in the US, over 6% of the total US population. California is home to 6 million Asian Americans, the highest number residing in that state followed by New York and Texas. While the majority of the 1.6 million Pacific Islanders reside in Hawaii followed by California.
APIA Are Not a Monolith
It’s important to understand that not all APIA are the same. The APIA community holds approximately 50 ethnic groups speaking over 100 languages. The Asian diaspora across the world represents many different languages, religions, cultures, and faiths.
Even positive stereotypes depicting all Asians as smart and successful cause harm to the APIA community because they ignore the economic hardship many immigrant Asian and Pacific Islanders face, excludes them from discussions on racial discrimination, and perpetuates the Model Minority Myth.
APIA Accounts to Follow
This month (and beyond) take some time to explore APIA history, food & culture, and current social issues the APIA community is facing. To learn more, here are some great APIA leaders and accounts to follow on Instagram:
- @asian.activiist
- @aznactivists
- @asianlitforkids
- @nextshark
- @APIAwomenlead
- @the_indian_feminist
- @michellekimkim
APIA Notable Figures
APIA have shaped our country’s culture through entertainment, government, business and more. Below, are four people we have spotlighted this month on our social media channels.
Patsy Mink, Politician
Patsy Mink was an attorney and politician from Hawaii. She was a third-generation Japanese American, having been born and raised on the island of Maui. In 1964, Mink ran for federal office and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first woman of color and the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress and also the first woman elected to Congress from the state of Hawaii. Mink was the first East Asian-American woman to seek the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party in 1972. She served in the U.S House of Representatives until her death in 2002.
Ai-jen Poo, Labor Activist
Ai-jen Poo was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in 1974 to Taiwanese-American parents. Poo received her bachelor's degree from Columbia University in Women's Studies in 1996. In 2000, she co-founded the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) with the help of 11 other organizations. The NDWA is a non-profit organization working to bring quality work, dignity and fairness to the growing numbers of workers who care and clean in homes, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color. In 2011, Poo also co-founded Caring Across Generations, which seeks to ensure access to affordable care for the nation's aging population and access to quality jobs for the caregiving workforce. Poo has also co-founded Supermajority. She currently serves as Co-Director for both organizations and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ford Foundation.
Mindy Kaling, Actress
Kaling was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1979 to Indian parents. She received her bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in playwriting. Kaling is known for her role in The Office (2005-2013) & The Mindy Project (2012–2017). Last year, she created the Netflix series Never Have I Ever, a comedy partially based on her real childhood story. Kaling continues to be a pioneer for aspiring Indian- American actresses in television.
Kiyoshi Kuromiya, Author
Kuromiya was born in Wyoming at the World War II-era Japanese American internment camp known as Heart Mountain in 1943. Not only was he a civil rights activist, he also advocated for the rights of the LGBT community, protested the Vietnam War, was involved in AIDS movement and was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front. Kuromiya was a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and helped care for his children after his assassination. He was diagnosed with AIDS in and died in 2000 from complications of cancer.
2021 APIA Summit
Enjoying our APIA content for this month? Make sure to read about our YES Prep 2021 APIA Summit event by clicking here.
Click here to view our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Instagram stories!
About the Author
The Department of Organizational Strategy, Initiatives, and Culture (OSIC) was established in 2017 to oversee YES Prep functions which speaks to organizational development and cultural foundation of YES.