May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month–a time to celebrate the rich cultures and histories of the AAPI community and their contributions to our nation. This commemorative month honors the significant contributions and pays respect to the history and culture of the country’s 25.2 million Asians and 1.8 million Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders.
The memory of my great-great-great grandfather, Ming Young Lee, sparked the creation of this federal month of recognition. In the 1860s, my ancestor helped build the Transcontinental Railroad, but was killed during a time of intense anti-Chinese sentiment. During the 19th century, the Chinese stoically endured violence and racist taunts, being called names such as “pigtails” and hearing “Chinese must go.”
Through the advocacy of Jeanie Jew, a member of my extended family, Congress established AAPI Heritage Month celebrated every May. The month of May was selected to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant on May 7, 1843, and to honor the 20,000 Chinese workers that supported the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.
Jew’s husband, Robert Jew, the former Director of Equal Employment Opportunity (EOO) and Diversity Programs for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) stated, “Amidst exploding fireworks and the festivities during America’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, she became concerned about the lack of recognition given to Asian Pacific Americans.”
At the time, Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Week were celebrated nationally, with Black History Month decreed by President Gerald Ford in 1976 and Hispanic Heritage Week designated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.
Deeply personal to Jew, her grandfather had immigrated to America from China in the 1800s and had helped build the Transcontinental Railroad integral to America’s economic transformation. He later became a prominent California businessman. When the Chinese were having difficulties in Oregon, Mr. Lee traveled to Oregon to help bring peace and was killed during that period of unrest and anti-Asian sentiment. Jew was determined that her grandfather’s story and other Asian American experiences were as much as part of U.S. history as Conestoga wagons.
Walking the halls of Congress with his wife and using an ample amount of “shoe leather,” Robert Jew recalls initially hearing laughs and remarks from some of the staff members that “they were not going to get far.” Undeterred, Jew visited every Congressional office lobbying for recognition for Asian Americans and recounting her grandfather’s story. In 1978, Jew convinced Congressmembers Frank Horton and Norman Mineta to introduce a bill proclaiming the beginning of May as Asian Pacfic American Heritage Week. After the joint resolution was passed by Congress, President Jimmy Carter signed it into law and thus the commemorative occasion began as a week.
In 1990, the commemorative week expanded to a commemorative month after a new bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. Finally in 1992, Horton along with other multiple co-sponsors introduced the legislation that would permanently designate May as the commemorative month. Crediting Jew as the creator of the observance, the bill received unanimous support in Congress.
Claudine Cheng, a former national president of OCA—Asian Pacific American Advocates, recalls Jew’s passion in creating the commemorative month and says, “Asian American history is part of American history.” In 2005, then San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom embraced her proposal to launch an official city of San Francisco celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Inclusive in her approach, Cheng states, “we invite everyone to celebrate because there’s so much to learn about each ethnic group within the AAPI community. The festivities strengthen the bonds between them and among different communities.”
The revelations about Jew’s grandfather and the story of Asian Americans caused her to believe that more than just Asians should understand their heritage, and formed the hope that all Americans should learn about the contributions and histories of the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience in the United States.
There are many ways you can celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, including several activities taking place in the greater Sacramento area, such as the Asian Pacific CultureFest, AAPI Night Market, and AAPI Month Exhibit Tours at the California Museum. There are several activities taking place in the Bay Area too, which you can see by clicking this link, and other events nationwide that you can see here.
