Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Did you know that the month of May was designated as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 1990, but the first Asian immigrant arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843? 

The term “Asian American” was coined in 1968 when students Emma Gee and Yuji Ichioka named their activist organization the “Asian American Political Alliance” to both increase visibility of their efforts and to counter use of the term “Oriental,” which carries colonialist and racist inferences. 

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) broadly describes groups with origins in both Asia and the Pacific Islands. There is significant diversity within both groups; each has its own unique culture, history, and experience. Today, the most accurate reference is to use specific ethnic identities, such as Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Filipino American. 

According to the Pew Research Center, the Asian American population is the fastest growing racial group in the United States, more than doubling between 2000 and 2003. In Iowa, roughly 3% of the population identifies as Asian American or Pacific Islander. 

Many of us recall when Iowa’s Governor, Robert D. Ray, became one of the strongest allies for refugees of the Vietnam War and other conflicts in Southeast Asia. Although the Paris Peace Accords ended United States involvement in the Vietnam War, the fighting between North and South Vietnam continued until the fall of Saigon in 1975. Thousands of refugees of South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos had become refugees. 

President Gerald Ford contacted governors, urging all governors to help resettle Southeast Asians. Although the U.S. State Department would not allow large groups of refugees to settle in one location, Governor Ray sought an exception for the Tai Dam (formerly of Vietnam) who wished to settle as a group and offered a home in Iowa for nearly 1,400 Tai Dam refugees. 

This weekend, May 23 and 24, the Celebrasian in Full Bloom: 50 Years Ray of Freedom marks the 50th anniversary of Governor Ray’s initiatives in Western Gateway Park. 

Chrysalis is proud to learn from various community partners about the issues and concerns of Asian American and Pacific Island girls and women, including EMBARC, Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, and Des Moines Refugee Support.