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Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

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Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH M A Y 2 0 2 1 November 13, 1982: The Vietnam War Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. Designed by Maya Lin, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, the simple, black-granite wall is inscribed with 57,939 names of Americans killed in the conflict. Lin, as an architecture student at Yale, bested more than 1,400 entries in a national competition to design the memorial in a unanimous decision by the jurors. At first considered controversial, it quickly becomes a powerful symbol of honor and sacrifice. O R I G I N S O F A S I A N A M E R I C A N H E R I T A G E & P A C I F I C Asian Americans and Pacific I S L A N D E R H E R I T A G E ( A A P I ) M O N T H Islanders have played vital roles in May is Asian American - Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage shaping the nation—from building Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the the Transcontinental Railroad to United States. AAPI Heritage commemoration was first proposed advocating for labor law changes in 1977 to observe the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to to fighting in multiple wars. They the United States (May 7, 1843), and the completion of the made these contributions while transcontinental railroad, constructed mainly by Chinese also facing persistent immigrant workers (May 10, 1869). discrimination and violence In 1978, President Carter made it an annual week-long event throughout U.S. history. and President George H.W. Bush extended the proclamation to include the entire month of May. U N D E R S T A N D I N G W H A T T H E T E R M A A P I — A S I A N A M E R I C A N S A N D P A C I F I C I S L A N D E R S — M E A N S How a person chooses to identify can be complex, but it's crucial for us all to educate ourselves about the distinctions between the two as experience differs vastly between Asians and Pacific Islanders. Who may identify as Pacific Islander? It helps to look at Pacific Islander countries' geographic location. Pacific Islanders are people whose origins belong to Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. This classification includes (but is not limited to) Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Guamanian, Fijian and Papua New Guinean people. Who may identify as Asian? Today, the U.S. Census Bureau classifies Asians as "having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent," including A quote from President Harry Truman during a ceremony for the 442nd. The regiment is best known for its history as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American (but not limited to) China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, soldiers of Japanese ancestry who fought in World War II. India, Cambodia, Vietnam or the Philippines. A V I T A L N O T E : There are many Asian diasporas across the world representing many different languages, religions, cultures and faiths. People from Central Asia (a person with origins in the original peoples of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) may or may not identify as Asian due to the geographically proximity to Europe (Eurasia). The same can be said for people from West Asia (a person with origins in the original peoples of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, The Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II pays tribute to the 120,000 Japanese-Americans incarcerated in World War II, and the 20,000 who fought for the U.S. during the Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and same war. Yemen), where many countries are part of the Arab Credits: www.history.com League organization. www.wtop.com www.whitehouse.gov www.news.stanford.edu www.fapac.org G O L D R U S H L U R E S N E W W A V E O F I M M I G R A N T S May 7, 1843: A 14-year-old fisherman named Manjiro becomes the first official U.S. Japanese immigrant after being adopted by American Capt. William Whitfield who rescued the boy and his crew after a shipwreck 300 miles from Japan's coast. Years later, Manjiro returned to his home country, where he was named a samurai and worked as a political emissary May 6, 1882: with the West. Facing hostile, and often violent treatment from 1849: locals, Chinese immigrants are targeted by Congress Following the discovery of gold in with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, signed California, Chinese miners head to California into law by President Chester Arthur. The act bans seeking riches, with 25,000 arriving by 1851, Chinese workers from entering the country and according to the Library of Congress. With excludes Chinese immigrants from American uncertain work and hostile locals, not to citizenship. Every 10 years, Congress extends its mention a language barrier, many Chinese provision until 1943, when World War II labor shortage laborers (including more than 10,000 with the pressure and increased anti-Japanese sentiment leads Central Pacific Railroad alone) take to its demise and Chinese immigrants are allowed to dangerous work, for little pay, building the become naturalized citizens. transcontinental railroad, which is completed T H E C E O ' S on May 10, 1869. M E S S A GMaErch 3, 1885: In the case Tape v. Hurley, California's Supreme Court rules that the state entitles "all children" access P A G E A C T , C H I N E S E E X C L U S I O N to public education. The case centers on Mamie Tape, A C T R E S T R I C T I M M I G R A T I O N then 8, an American-born daughter of Chinese March 3, 1875: immigrants whose family sued the San Francisco Board The Page Act of 1875 is enacted, prohibiting the of Education for denying her admission because of her recruitment of laborers from “China, Japan or any race. Oriental country” who were not brought to the United States of their own will or who were brought for “lewd and immoral purposes.” The law explicitly bars “the importation of women for the purposes of prostitution.” The act, based on stereotypes and scapegoating, is enforced by invasive and humiliating interrogations at the Angel Island Immigration Station outside San Francisco. It effectively blocks Chinese women from entering the country and stifles the ability of Chinese American men to start families in America. W H I T E C O A L M I N E R S T A R G E T C H I N E S E W O R K E R S Septembe r 2, 1885: Angered that they’re taking away “white” jobs, white coal miners attack Chinese laborers in the Wyoming territory during what comes to be known as the Rock Springs Massacre. Twenty-eight Chinese are killed, with 15 more injured by the mob, which also looted and set fire to all of the homes in the area’s Chinatown. Federal troops are brought in to return Chinese miners, who had fled, to Rock Springs, and Congress eventually agrees to compensate the workers for their losses. May 27-28, 1887: J A P A N E S E I N T E R N M E N T Seven white horse thieves ambush a group of Chinese miners who had set up camp along the Snake River in Oregon, murdering all 34 men and mutilating their bodies December 7, 1941: before dumping them in the river. Three members of the The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Two months later, gang stand trial in the Hells Canyon Massacre, with one President Franklin D. Roosevelt, fearing Japanese testifying for the state, and all are found not guilty by an immigrants or those with Japanese ancestry had taken all-white jury. part in planning the attack, issues an executive order that forces more than 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast into internment camps. January 21, 1910: According to the National Archives, approximately The immigration station Angel Island opens in 70,000 of those targeted are U.S. citizens, and no California’s San Francisco Bay, serving as the country’s charges are made against any of them. Most lose their major port of entry for Asian immigrants, with some homes, businesses and belongings, and are held until 100,000 Chinese and 70,000 Japanese being processed the war ends. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signs a through the station over the next 30 years. Known as the law apologizing for the civil liberty injustice with the “Ellis Island of the West” and located 6 miles off San order to pay $20,000 to each person who had been Francisco’s coast, the island was a military reserve during incarcerated. the Civil War. Immigrants without proper documentation were quarantined there for days to years in a “prison-like environment,” according to the National Parks Service. Closed in 1940, it’s now a California state park. February 5, 1917: Congress passes the Immigration Act of 1917, which includes an "Asiatic Barred Zone," banning Chinese, Asian Indians, Burmese, Thai, Maylays and others.
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