Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 101

I think that’s an acceptable name, but to be honest, I’m not totally sure. Thankfully, this isn’t NPR, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. Not to mention that ComposeMD has some Asian activity going on—so I can basically say whatever I want! Anyway, here’s a brief primer on Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, along with a few issues the occasion might overlook.

 

Terminology

Regarding the perplexing name, here are a few variations that you might see.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As of 2009, this appears to be the official name.

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. This one is technically passé, but eliminating the slash results in the seemingly acceptable alternative that I have used (mostly because an editing tool suggested that the official name was too long to use in a title).

AAPI Heritage Month. This version can save you a few syllables and is convenient for texting/tweeting. Just beware that AAPI also stands for the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.

 

History

What exactly is the deal with this month anyway?

Let’s start with some demographics. Around 7.2 percent of the US gets lumped into a category that includes Asians (and part Asians), and another 0.5 percent goes under the umbrella of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (including those who partially fit the bill). In total, we’re talking about 25.6 million residents according to 2020 US Census data.

It’s worth noting that the US Census Bureau classifies Asians as having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. Those from Central Asia and the Middle East are considered White. (It’s also worth mentioning that this is not a joke.)

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands that the Census Bureau doesn’t know exist.

Taken together, the figure of 25.6 million quoted above can include someone with origins ranging from Mumbai to Honolulu, a distance of over 8,000 miles, or one third the circumference of Earth. But I’ll get to that later.

The idea behind the month is to honor the fact that this assorted collection of people has managed to participate in regular American society. Some members of the group have gotten what economists term as jobs, managing to work as teachers, construction workers, doctors, lawyers, artists, politicians, computer scientists, plumbers, and, yes, even bloggers.

It’s also recognized that some in the group may have grown up with cultural traditions that might not have high visibility in mainstream America—traditions that include different kinds of food, dance, fashion, and so on.

And how did this potpourri-style celebration come into existence?

The concept of a dedicated week was first proposed by Congress in the late 1970s, and after some back and forth, President Jimmy Carter signed a resolution authorizing the yearly proclamation of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week in early May starting in 1979. Congress and President George H.W. Bush turned that into a month starting in 1992. And as mentioned above, in 2009, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation officially changing the name to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

May holds special significance as the month contains the anniversary of a couple key milestones in the Asian/Pacific experience in America—the immigration of the first Japanese on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (aided immensely by Chinese labor) on May 10, 1869.

 

Issues

Celebratory months typically have the best of intentions, but they invariably raise some questions, and AAPI Heritage Month is no exception.

The bucket issue

The categorization of humans is a decidedly human endeavor. At some point, a practice that is not supported by quantum mechanics or DNA sequencing must be called into question. In other words, the desire to constantly put people into different buckets might be, you know, outdated.

The size issue

Assuming we stick with the buckets, Asia—even without Central Asia and the Middle East—still means about half the world’s population (and that doesn’t even include Pacific Islanders). That’s a lot of linguistic, religious, ethnic, and political heterogeneity to put into one pile, explaining why not all in the category are chummy.

The geography issue

Are Asians who are not considered Asian by the US Census Bureau allowed to participate? And since the participating Pacific island groups (Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia) comprise much of Oceania—including New Zealand—are Australians welcome (as long as they promise not to play INXS in excess)?

The awkwardness issue

Some who fall under the AAPI classification are more comfortable eating chicken wings and watching football than celebrating a culture that is geographically and generationally distant.

The land claim issue

Aren’t a decent number of Pacific islands already part of the US anyway? Hawaii. Guam. American Samoa. The Northern Mariana Islands. So we’re celebrating that Americans are…American?

The Asia issue

I’m talking about the band Asia, which hails from…London! This is very disconcerting (and confusing). You’ll recognize this song, but it’s unclear if you’re supposed to listen to it in May.

 

 

And on that note, Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage month. Or is it Merry Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month?