Embassy of the United States

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month 2007

Asian Americans Honored in May   San Jose, California, city council member Madison Nguyen campaigns with American and old Republic of South Vietnam flags. (© AP Images)   Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month honors the achievements of American ethnic groups with roots in Asia and the Pacific Islands and recognizes their contributions to the United States. At 1978 joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week to be observed in May, a time chosen to coincide with two important anniversaries: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. In 1992,   Congress expanded the observance to a month-long celebration. According to 2005 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, approximately 13.5 percent of U.S. residents say they are Asian or Asian in combination with one or more other races. Hawaii is the U.S. state where Asians make up the highest proportion of the total population (58 percent) but, like most other ethnic groups, Americans with Asian or Pacific Island heritages reside throughout the United States.       (Source: USINFO.STATE.GOV) Presidential Proclamation Facts for Features: Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month We the People: Asians in the United States Asian American Organizations Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP) Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program U.S. Congress. Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. White House. Office of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Other Related Links Asia Source - Asian America Asian American Net Asian Americans: East and Southeast Asia: An Annotated Directory of Resources Infoplease Almanac: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America Chronology: Asian Americans Preliminary Guide to Resources on Asian Pacific American Artists at the Archives of American Art