May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. DCBS celebrates the achievements and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in our agency and around the nation.
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers in building the transcontinental railroad, completed May 10, 1869.
US Census
The term “Asian and Pacific Islander” is used to include all people of Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander ancestry who trace their origins to the countries, states, jurisdictions, and the diasporic communities of these geographic regions.
Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
Did you know?
- Around 1750, Filipino sailors were the first to settle in the U.S. in what would later be Louisiana.
Asian Nation
- Between 1917 and 1965, immigration to the U.S. of all Asian people was explicitly outlawed. Immigration from China, for example, was banned as early as 1882, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed.
National Archives
- The unique hybrid language spoken at Hawaii's sugar cane plantations contained elements of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and English.
World Atlas
Asian American achievements
Arts:
Amy Tan – She was born in 1952 in Oakland, Calif., the daughter of Chinese parents who had immigrated to the United States three years earlier.
Technology:
Jerry Yang – A native of Taiwan, he came to America at age 10, knowing a single English word: shoe. Yang and classmate David Filo created the Yahoo! directory to help their pals hunt down cool websites.
Entertainment:
Ken Jeong – He was the lead in the ABC sitcom “Dr. Ken,” in which he was also the creator, writer, and executive producer. Jeong is a licensed physician, but has stopped practicing in favor of his acting career.
Sports:
Chloe Kim – An Olympic gold medalist in women’s snowboard halfpipe, she was raised in Torrance, Calif. Her parents are from South Korea. Her father started her on a snowboard at age 4 at the Southern California resort of Mountain High.
This month, we are also observing Older Americans Month. The 2019 theme, Connect, Create, Contribute, encourages older adults and their communities to:
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Connect with friends, family, and services that support participation.
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Create by engaging in activities that promote learning, health, and personal enrichment.
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Contribute time, talent, and life experience to benefit others
Resources
Events around the state