Asian Pacific Month May 2008 |
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Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Honored in May
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) is celebrated in May to commemorate the contributions of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States.
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month honors the achievements of American ethnic groups with roots in Asia and the Pacific Islands and recognizes their contributions to the United States.
he U.S. Census Bureau lists more than 25 such groups -- Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipinos, Indian, Pakistani, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Laotian, Indonesian, Thai, Burmese, Malaysian, Taiwanese, Sri Lanka, Bangladeshi, and native Hawaiians, Polynesians, New Zealanders and Australians. As Americans, they contribute to the strength of the United States, help shape its future and share in its promise and opportunity.
According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, approximately 13.5 percent of U.S. residents say they are Asian or Asian in combination with one or more other races. Hawaii is the U.S. state where Asians make up the highest proportion of the total population (58 percent) but, like most other ethnic groups, Americans with Asian or Pacific Island heritages reside throughout the United States.
Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution in 1978 to commemorate Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May. This date was chosen because two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869. Congress later voted to expand it from a week long to a month long celebration.
www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/asia/
www.loc.gov/topics/asianpacific/
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