Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Each year, May presents an opportunity to learn about and pay tribute to the enormous and diverse contributions that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have made throughout American history. AAPI stands for Asian American and Pacific Islander. The term is used to describe a diverse and growing population of 23 million Americans that include roughly 50 ethnic groups with roots in more than 40 countries. The term, “Asian American,” was first used by activists in 1968. Its creation was the direct result of radical cross-racial and ethnic solidarity movement building in the US in the 1960s. Very different peoples from the Asian diaspora realized that once coming to America, racism shaped particular shared histories and experiences that tied very disparate ethnic groups together. The term “Asian American” is deeply rooted in the community’s attempts to fight racism and other oppressive systems by building a sense of unity.

The history of AAPIs in America is a complicated one.  As a country, we must reckon with the virulent and explicitly racist policies and practices that have been directed at Asians and Asian Americans for generations, as well as the consequences of a history of imperial conquest, militarization and extraction in Asia and the Pacific. But there is also a proud history of resistance and resilience, battles hard fought – and won – from Supreme Court landmark cases, to cultural and linguistic reclamation and deepening roots of belonging, to the fight for visibility in education as well as in career fields.  In AAPI America, the statement “We belong here” is not only a denial of AAPI people being viewed as “perpetual foreigners” – people who can never be real Americans –  but a firm positioning of a people’s right to be here. Affirming Asian American historical presence and the long, ongoing struggle for civil and human rights as Americans is what we celebrate this month.

Affirming Asian American historical presence and the long, ongoing struggle for civil and human rights as Americans is what we celebrate this month. Yes, AAPI heritage is worth celebrating too. Our food, fashion, folk tales, festivals, and famous people matter as well. But it is the history that remains invisible. Using May to lift up that history for even a brief moment helps to fight invisibility, and we celebrate that after nearly three centuries of presence in the US, the AAPI diaspora is finding glimmers of visibility.

May 2024 – Events

Monday, May 13th – 4:30pm – 6:30pm – Legacies of Japanese American Incarceration and the Philadelphia Connection

For 5 years, at least 125,284 people of Japanese descent including infants and the elderly were forcibly relocated and incarcerated in 75 identified incarceration sites. At the end of World War II, they were released from incarceration. Philadelphia served as one center of relocation for those who had been incarcerated. Learn about the role that Philadelphia played in the resettlement of Japanese Americans, with a particular focus on those Philadelphians who became actively involved in the Civil Rights movement. Register

• Shofuso Japanese Cultural CenterLansdowne and Horticultural Drives West Fairmount Park

Tuesday, May 21st – 4:15pm – 5:30pm – Humanizing China – COVID and Xenophobia

During the crises of COVID lockdowns, coverage of China focused on China as the source of COVID. The humanity of the people actually facing the terrible death tolls at ground zero of the pandemic were erased in the US consciousness. Anti-Chinese sentiment was spurred on by government officials at the highest levels. Ordinary Asian American citizens faced increased levels of attacks and incidents of anti-Asian violence soared. How do public portrayals of the Chinese hide the humanity of a people allowing for racial violence to become acceptable? Register

• FACTS Charter School – 1023 Callowhill Street (Parking Available Onsite)

Tuesday, May 28th from 12:00pm – 1:00pm – Central Office Only – 440 Brown Bag Lunch

Happy AAPI Month! On Tuesday, May 28th at 12 PM in room 1072 we are celebrating AAPI Month with a brown bag lunch at 440 N. Broad St. The purpose of this brown bag lunch is for 440 employees identifying as part of the AAPI community to discuss our unique, collective identities as well as important AAPI issues related to supporting students, teachers, and leaders in our district.