Every May, we here at Harris County Public Library, like people across the United States, celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AANHPI), which is a lot of culture in one title! I’ve often seen people online wonder why the month is so full, so let’s take a look at it.
Origins
This heritage month, like many cultural heritage months, began as a week-long celebration and later became a month-long celebration. It started in the 1970’s when a congressional staffer, Jeanie Jew, had the idea for Asian Pacific Americans and approached Representative Frank Horton who then put forth a resolution for May. May was suggested for a couple reasons, most notably because the first Japanese immigrant arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843.
Evolution
You might have noticed that the acronym has evolved a couple times within the last few years. The timeline has gone like this:
- In 1978 President Carter proclaimed a week-long celebration.
- In 1990 President Bush extended it to the whole month.
- In 2009 President Obama included Pacific Islanders.
- In 2021 President Biden included Native Hawaiians.
Why Are So Many Diverse Cultures in One Month?
There’s no doubt that this month celebrates a lot of different cultures, and it does inspire a lot of mixed feelings. In this one cultural celebration alone, we have East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Hawaii, Samoa, Guam, Fiji, Tonga, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and other Pacific islands. That’s a lot, and they’re all very different communities. Some from those communities feel like their cultures get lost being grouped with peoples whose experiences and culture are very different.
The reason for it seems to not be very specific. The U.S. census has split Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders from Asians since 2000 but they are still grouped together in many other ways, like university departments and congressional caucuses. There are Reddit threads saying the reasoning is because Pacific Islander Americans make up only 0.2 percent of the population and that being grouped with a larger community helps give them power in numbers. While I can’t find anything official to say that’s the reason, the executive director of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities told CNN that there is indeed power in community and solidarity, so though the label feels limiting it is also important for those communities to be able to access resources and to have a celebration commemorating their contributions to our country.
Read CNN's Article "Why some have mixed feelings about the terms Asian American and AAPI" Here
What do you think about Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Month?
Want some cool nonfiction for AANHPI Month? I got you!
Find more blogs and reading lists for AANHPI on the HCPL's Celebrations Page
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