Where It All Began
Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month is annually observed in May. The first presidential proclamation for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week was issued by President Carter on March 28, 1979. There were five joint resolutions or something similar to a bill that required approval of both chambers (Senate and House of Representatives).
Three joint resolutions were introduced and designated for the Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week. Three by the House of Representatives [H.R.J Res. 540, 661, and 753], which designated the first 10 days of May. One was introduced by the Senator [S.J. Res. 72], which also designated the entire beginning of May. The fourth joint resolution was introduced by Representative Frank J. Horton [H.R.J Res. 1007], designating seven days of May, which was passed by Congress and became Public Law No. 95-419.
In 1990, Congress passed a new Public Law [no. 101-283] and requested the president to issue a new proclamation, extending the celebration of Pacific/Asian American Heritage from a week into a whole month. This expanded Proclamation [No. 6130] was issued by President George H.W. Bush on May 7, 1990. Eventually, Congress passed Public Law No. 102-450 around 1992, permanently designating May of each year as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.”
The First Japanese Immigrant and the Transcontinental Railroad
May was chosen to observe as AANHPI for two main reasons. The first reason was to commemorate the first Japanese immigrant who came to the country in May of 1843; while the second reason was to remember the contributions of Chinese immigrants who helped complete the 1869 Transcontinental Railroad.
The first Japanese immigrant to arrive in the United States in May 1843 was a 14 year old fisherman known as Nakahama Manjiro. According to the National Endowment of the Humanities, the boy and his crew were caught in a violent storm which left them stranded 300 miles away from their coastal Japanese village. Manjiro and his crew were eventually rescued five months later by an American whaling ship, where Captain William Whitfield adopted Majiro and renamed him as John Mung and brought him home to Massachusetts. When Manjiro grew up, he returned to Japan, where he was named a samurai and worked as a political emissary between his home country and the west of the United States.
Around 20 years later, in the 1860s, groups of Japanese immigrants began arriving in the Hawaiian islands to work in the sugarcane fields; from there, many relocated to California, Washington and Oregon. Between 1886-1911, more than 400,000 Japanese people immigrated to America this way, mainly settling around Hawaii and the West Coast. Along with commemoration of Manjiro’s early arrival, this was one of the reasons May was established as AANHPI heritage month.
The Transcontinental Railroad was established by the Federal Government’s Pacific Railroad Act (1862), where two railroad companies built a traveling link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The Central Pacific Railroad started from the west in Sacramento, California and the Union Pacific Railroad started from the East in Omaha, Nebraska. Between 1863 and 1869, Central Pacific hired more than 13,000 Chinese laborers to support the construction.
Although the railroad became a symbol of a growing industrial power and a source of national confidence for the United States by facilitating American prestige, there was not one Chinese laborer shown on the picture of the railway completion celebration at Promontory Point Utah and the time there was minimal recognition of the way Chinese labor contributed to the achievement of this railroad construction.
Today
A Proclamation on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month was published by whitehouse.gov, where they praised achievements and bills they created for the AANHPI community.
“…I launched the first-ever National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities…” Biden-Harris Administration officials outlined the details of 32 federal agency plans to promote safety and equity for AANHPIs; plans including, data dis-aggregation, language access, and combating anti-Asian hate (January 2023).
“…I signed historic legislation that will bring us closer to a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture…” As stated by the bill, it will create a commission that will be tasked with studying the cost involved with the proposed National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture, whether it should be considered as part of the Smithsonian Institution and possible locations in the Washington-area (June 2022).
“…I also issued a Presidential Memorandum to consider expanding protections for the Pacific Remote Island…” This memorandum permanently protects the islands, atolls, and emerged reel and 50 nautical miles of water around each Pacific Remote Islands, as well as honoring the traditions and culture practiced by the communities.
“NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR… call upon all Americans to learn more about the histories of the Asian American and Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders community and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities…”
In service,
Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion