Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. During this time, communities around the country celebrate the histories and contributions of Asian Americans and Americans from the Pacific Islands. Formerly known as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, the rather broad term Asian-Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

This guide provides a sampling of the wide variety of materials the Consortium Library has on Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage in the U.S. For more information or for help in locating materials, please contact a librarian.

Celebrating the YOU in UAA!

(Source: Library of Congress)