National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

History National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month began as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, first observed in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, who noted the “enormous contributions to the sciences, arts, industry, government and commerce” made by Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush expanded the celebration to cover the whole month of May. May was chosen by the organizers in recognition of May 7, 1843, the date the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States, and in recognition of May 10, 1869, which marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which would not have been possible without the contributions of Chinese-Americans.

Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have a history in America that stretches back hundreds of years. The first record of Asians in North America dates to 1587, when Filipino sailors came to what is now California. The first Chinese people recorded in the United States were three sailors who came to Baltimore in 1785 as part of an interracial shipping crew.

U.S. Population: Asian Asian and Pacific Islander Rates of Limited English Proficiency population by ethnicity Alone or in Combination Roughly a third of Asian- with Other Races Americans and Pacific Islanders 25.2% Asian-Americans and Pacific have limited English proficiency 34% for Islanders are a diverse group, 20.6% (LEP), significantly more than Asian and making up more than 50 ethnic 15.5% 17.2% the numbers for the U.S. Pacific groups and speaking more than 14.0% population as a whole. Americans 100 languages. Asian-Americans Not surprisingly, LEP rates and Pacific Islanders in the 7.5% differ by ethnic group, with 53 United States increased by 45 percent of Vietnamese and 2 9% for total percent between 2000 and percent of native Hawaiians US Population 2010, making them one of the considered LEP. Johns Hopkins Medicine Office of Diversity and Inclusion © 2018 | [email protected] fastest growing minority groups in Maryland in the country. 24.7% 24.8% 19.3% Speak a Language Other than English at Home Asian and Pacific Islander Asian-Americans are more likely than any other minority groups to population in the United States 12.8% 10.8% speak a language other than English at home.

7.4%

17.3 Million in 2010 15% White in Washington, D.C. 77% Asian alone 11.9 Million 28.8% in 2000 75% Latino 20.2% 70% 15.4% 16.6% 13.1% Asian “alone or in Asian Indian Chinese combination 5.9% Korean Filipino with other 43%

DIV1904087 races” Native Vietnamese Other Hawaiians and in Florida Pacific Islanders

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Asian and Pacific American Innovators Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have made tremendous contributions to medical science and innovation.

Dr. Anandi Gopal Joshi, born in India, was the first Hindu and first Indian female doctor to receive a medical degree in the United States, graduating at 20 years old in 1886. Dr. Min Chueh Chang, born in Taiyuan, China, helped develop the birth Improving Asian American Health control pill and was a pioneer Cancer is the leading cause of death in Asian-Americans, unlike most of in vitro fertilization who demographic groups, with kidney cancer rates nearly three times and stomach

paved the way for the birth of cancer rates two times those found for non-Hispanic whites. The Asian American Johns Hopkins Medicine Office of Diversity and Inclusion © 2018 | [email protected] “test-tube babies.” Cancer Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health aims Dr. David Ho, a Taiwanese- to reduce that disparity, using community-based participatory research to improve American physician, liver, breast and cervical cancer screening rates in the Asian community. developed foundational research for the modern Overcoming a History of Persecution “cocktail” antiretroviral Throughout American history, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have been therapy, of which Dr. Ho was both a highly desired and deeply debased immigrant group, responsible for some an early champion. of the nation’s greatest achievements and the targets of the nation’s worst instincts. Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, Victims of both individual and institutional prejudice, Asian-Americans have a Filipino-American faced a long history of inequality and exclusion. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 physician and pediatric was the only piece of immigration legislation to ever exclude a group based upon immunologist, who, in their nationality. Similarly, the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans conjunction with Johns in 1942 represented the only time since the end of slavery that a portion of the Hopkins virologist Deborah population was imprisoned solely because of their ethnicity. The vast majority Persaud, was recognized of the 117,000 people interned were American citizens, and 17,000 of them were for work leading to the children under the age of 10. “functional cure” of an HIV- positive infant. DIV1904087

#HopkinsBetterTogether National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Health Disparities Resources Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders compared to Non-Hispanic Whites Asian Pacific American Heritage Month www.asianpacificheritage.gov/

TUBERCULOSIS The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies 15x http://apaics.org/apa-heritage-month/ more likely to suffer from tuberculosis National Association of Asian CANCER American Professionals 8x http://www.naaap.org/programs/asian-pacific- 10% american-heritage-month/ more likely to die from more likely tuberculosis to die of cancer U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health Resource Center https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/

LIVER CANCER 80% STOMACH Johns Hopkins Resources more likely to CANCER die from liver Asian American Cancer Program cancer 2x more likely at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg to die of School of Public Health https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and- OBESITY stomach cancer institutes/asian-american-cancer-program/ 35% index.html Johns Hopkins Medicine Office of Diversity and Inclusion © 2018 | [email protected] more likely to be obese Inter-Asian Council at Johns Hopkins University HEPATITIS exhibits.library.jhu.edu/omeka-s/s/inter-asian- 3x council/page/welcome more likely to suffer from DIABETES Hepatitis A 10% more likely to 4.5x be diabetic more likely to suffer from 60% Hepatitis B more likely to have end- stage renal disease

Source: Families USA http://familiesusa.org/product/ DIV1904087 asian-american-pacific-islander- health-disparities-compared- non-hispanic-whites

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