Dancers from the Manea Porinesia dance group performing at an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration hosted by the U.S. Air Force at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado in May 2009.
Before the celebration was extended to a full month, the first Asian Pacific Heritage Week took place May 4 through 10, 1979. The first 10 days of May were chosen because they coincided with both the arrival of the first Japanese in the United States on May 7, 1843, and contributions by Chinese laborers to the building of the transcontinental railroad. The railroad was completed on May 10, 1869, known as Golden Spike Day.
-From library database, Gale eBooks.
| Thurs., May 8, 2025 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM |
Threads of Tradition: APAHM Fashion Show Summit Event Center (Building 410-3rd floor) |
| Mon., May 12, 2024 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM |
Poetry Workshop: Haiku & the art of Living in the Moment |
| Wed., May 14, 2024 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM |
APAHM Festival |
| Wed., May 14, 2024 1:30 PM & 2:00 PM |
Wayfinders: Waves, Winds, & Stars |
| Thurs., May 15, 2024 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM |
Ethnic Studies Day |
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Thurs., May 21, 2024 |
Streaming Critical Consciousness: Gook (film & discussion) |
| Thurs., May 22, 2024 12:00 PM |
AANHPI Self-Care Practice: Yoga |
Highlighting library books to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Americans in AANHPI Heritage Month in May Heritage AANHPI Heritage Month Booklist
This video provides a brief history of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Asian American Milestones: Timeline
1849: Following the discovery of gold in California, Chinese miners head to California with 25,000 arriving in 1851.
1869: With uncertain work and hostile locals, not to mention a language barrier, many Chinese laborers take dangerous work, for little pay, building the transcontinental railroad, which was completed on May 10, 1869.
1882: The Chinese Exclusion Act is signed into law, prohibiting the immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. Every 10 years, Congress extends its provision until 1943. The Act was repealed in 1943, when the United States and China were allies during World War II.
1941: After Pearl Harbor, 120,000 Japanese Americans are forced into internment camps.
1979: A week in May, May 4 - May 11, 1979 is to be designated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.
1990, '91, and '92, Congress and the President proclaimed May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. Nearly 8,000,000 people in the United States can trace their roots back to Asia and the islands of the Pacific. Asian and Pacific Americans have contributed significantly to the development of the arts, sciences, government, military, commerce, and education in the United States.
Source: "Chinese Exclusion Act". Docs Teach Online by the National Archives
