National Asian American and South Pacific Islander Heritage Month

National Asian American and South Pacific Islander Heritage Month, observed every May, is a celebration of the culture, traditions and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the first Japanese immigrant arriving to the United States in May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, which was mostly laid down by Chinese immigrants.

Like most commemorative months, Asian and South Pacific Islander Heritage Month originated with Congress. In 1977, Rep. Frank Horton (NY) introduced a resolution that would proclaim the first ten days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage week. Later that year, Senator Inouye introduced a similar resolution. Neither resolutions passed; however, later in 1978, Rep. Horton proposed in House Joint Resolution 1007 that the President should proclaim a week in May to celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. This joint resolution was passed by the House and then the Senate and was signed by President Carter on October 5, 1978. During the next decade, presidents passed annual proclamations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week until 1992 when Congress passed Public Law 102-450 which annually designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

To learn more, please visit the Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month website. It hosts a variety of information and resources and is meant to pay tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America's history and are instrumental in its future success.