
Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month, celebrating the achievements and contributions of Asian Americans in the United States. CMSS is celebrating in April due to our semester ending so early in May.
A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).
In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage week.
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress to extend the week-long celebration to a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law.
The month of May was chosen to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.
Schedule of Events
APIDA History Month Lunch & Panel
Wednesday, April 5, 2023, noon - 1:30 p.m. in CMSS SOGIE, SSC 1312
Poetry Month Collaboration: Verses & Vibes
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 6-7 pm, Grafton Stovall Theater
APIDA Heritage Month Speaker: Dr. Felix Wang
Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 7-8:30 p.m. The Union, Warren 256
D.E.E.P. Impact Dialogue: Busting Myths & Speaking Truth: Exploring the APIDA Community
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. The Union Ballroom