Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Floren Vogelbaum. Here.
Speaker 1: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a celebration
Speaker 1: of the twenty five million Asian and one point seven
Speaker 1: million Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Island people currently living
Speaker 1: in the United States and the role that they and
Speaker 1: their ancestors have played in shaping American history. Although America
Speaker 1: has celebrated AAPI Heritage Month of every year since nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety two, when President George H. W. Bush signed legislation
Speaker 1: designating this commemorative month, it started out as a week
Speaker 1: long celebration in nineteen seventy nine thanks to the efforts
Speaker 1: of a woman named Jeanie F. Jew. A Jew was
Speaker 1: a board member of the Organization of Chinese Americans and
Speaker 1: a Capitol Hill staffer when she approached government officials about
Speaker 1: acknowledging and celebrating Asian Americans for their accomplishments. She took
Speaker 1: on this challenge after noticing the lack of Asian and
Speaker 1: Pacific representation during the bicentennial celebrations of nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 1: It was personal for Jew, as her great grandfather had
Speaker 1: helped build the Transcontinental Railroad. A jew enlisted the support
Speaker 1: of Ruby moy, an administrative assistant to then New York
Speaker 1: Representative Frank Horton, and the two worked together to gain
Speaker 1: support for a proclamation. Horton introduced a bill in nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy seven that called for the first ten days in
Speaker 1: May to be Pacific Asian American Heritage Week, while Hawaii
Speaker 1: Senator Daniel Inowey introduced a similar resolution. The drafters chose
Speaker 1: the month of May in a remembrance of two historic events.
Speaker 1: The first official Japanese immigrants arrived in the US on
Speaker 1: May seventh of eighteen forty three, and the Transcontinental Railroad
Speaker 1: was completed on May tenth of eighteen sixty nine. Before
Speaker 1: the railroad's completion, it would take you half a year
Speaker 1: to get from New York to California. After it was built,
Speaker 1: took a week. About twenty thousand Chinese workers took part
Speaker 1: in constructing it, about one thy two hundred of whom
Speaker 1: died from explosions, avalanches, and other disasters. These two bills
Speaker 1: actually failed, but the drafters didn't let that discourage them.
Speaker 1: The legislation needed at least two hundred and eighteen members
Speaker 1: of Congress to sign on, so the sponsors got to work.
Speaker 1: During this period, the bill was revised to reflect the
Speaker 1: Census Bureau's designation of the community as Asian Pacific instead
Speaker 1: of Pacific Asian. A Ju and Moy founded the Asian
Speaker 1: Pacific Congressional Staff Caucus, and Jew also founded and chaired
Speaker 1: the National Coalition for an Asian Pacific American Heritage Proclamation.
Speaker 1: Other groups like the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Japanese
Speaker 1: American Citizens League, and the Organization of Chinese American Women
Speaker 1: also advocated for the bill. Thanks to their persistence, two
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty one congressional representatives co sponsored it, and
Speaker 1: it passed with massive support in both the House and
Speaker 1: the Senate. In nineteen seventy eight, President Jimmy Carter signed
Speaker 1: the resolution declaring May fourth through eleventh Asian Pacific American
Speaker 1: Heritage Week, and the celebration started in nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 1: Over the next decade, Presidents Carter, Reagan, and Bush passed
Speaker 1: annual proclamations for Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. In nineteen ninety,
Speaker 1: Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and in nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety two it became an annual celebration in perpetuity. President
Speaker 1: Barack Obama expanded the commemoration to include Pacific Islanders and
Speaker 1: Native Hawaiians in two thousand and nine, and in his
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two proclamation about the month, President Joe Biden
Speaker 1: tweaked the name a little to Asian American, Native Hawaiian
Speaker 1: and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, likely as a nod to
Speaker 1: the individual experiences of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander
Speaker 1: Americans in the past and present. After all, this month
Speaker 1: is a time to mark the individual historical events, hardships,
Speaker 1: and amazing contributions that many millions of people have made.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article why is AAPI
Speaker 1: Heritage Month celebrated in May? On HowStuffWorks dot com written
Speaker 1: by Francisco Gusman. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in
Speaker 1: partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.
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