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Back to Commemorative Observations
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
Overview | Legislative Branch Documents | Executive Branch Documents
Overview
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is a month to celebrate the contributions Asian/Pacific Americans have made to American history, society and culture.
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month had its origin in 1978 when Congress passed Pub. L. 95-419 which requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the 7-day period beginning on May 4, 1979 as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.” President Carter issued Presidential Proclamation 4650 on March 28, 1979. In this proclamation President Carter spoke of the significant role Asian-Americans have played in the creation of a dynamic and pluralistic American society, with their enormous contributions to the sciences, arts, industry, government and commerce.
Over the next ten years, Presidents Carter, Reagan and George H.W. Bush continued to annually issue proclamations designating a week in May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.
In 1990, Congress passed Pub. L. 101-283 which amended Pub. L. 95-419. Pub. L. 101-283 requested the President to issue a proclamation which expanded the observance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week to a month in May 1990. This law called on the people of the United States to observe Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month with “appropriate ceremonies, programs and activities.” President George H.W. Bush issued Presidential Proclamation 6130 on May 7, 1990 designating May 1990 as the first “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.”
The following year, Pub. L. 102-42 was passed unanimously by Congress and signed by President George H.W. Bush on May 14, 1991. This law requested that the President proclaim May 1991 and May 1992 as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Months.” This law also recognized the significance of May 7th and May 10th in the history of Asian/Pacific Americans. May 7, 1843 is the date on which the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States while on May 10, 1869 the first transcontinental railroad in the United States was completed with significant contributions from Chinese pioneers. In 1992, Congress passed Pub. L. 102-450 which permanently designated May of each year as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.”
Pursuant to this law Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush have annually issued proclamations proclaiming May as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.” On May 6, 1996 President Clinton issued Presidential Proclamation 6892 proclaiming the contributions to American life by Asian/Pacific Americans and designating May 1996 as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. On April 29, 2008, President Bush issued Presidential Proclamation 8247 designating May 2008 as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month” and honoring the achievements and contributions of Asian/Pacific Americans.
Legislative Branch Documents
The public laws between which designate a week or month in May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week or Month are also available in the United States Statutes at Large. The specific citations are as follows:
Pub. L. 95-419, 92 Stat.920 (PDF, 62.3 KB)
Pub. L. 101-283, 104 Stat. 168 (PDF, 90 KB)
Pub. L. 102-42, 105 Stat. 243 (PDF, 124 KB)
Pub. L. 102-450, 106 Stat. 2251 (PDF, 203 KB ) currently codified in 36 United States Code 102.
Executive Branch Material
Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders have been used by presidents to rule on substantive issues of law; to administrate the executive branch of government; and to make general announcements to the public. These general announcements which exhort the public to observe a holiday such as Thanksgiving or honor a particular group of citizens as in National Black History Month are usually issued in the form of a Presidential Proclamation. On many occasions Congress will pass a law specifically requesting the President to take certain action such as proclaiming the recognition of a particular group of citizens as Jewish or Hispanic Americans.
Listed below are links to the Presidential Proclamations for Asian/Pacific Heritage Week or Month along with the citations to the Code of Federal Regulations or the Federal Register the official publications for Presidential Proclamations.
Proclamation Number 4650, C.F.R. 26 (1979)
Proclamation Number 4727, 3 C.F.R. 22 (1980)
Proclamation Number 4837, C.F.R. 24 (1981)
Proclamation Number 4927, 3 C.F.R. 39 (1982)
Proclamation Number 5036, 3 C.F.R. 28 (1983)
Proclamation Number 5178, 3 C.F.R. 36 (1984)
Proclamation Number 5325, 3 C.F.R. 37 (1985)
Proclamation Number 5465, 3 C.F.R. 49 (1986)
Proclamation Number 5647, 3 C.F.R. 65 (1987)
Proclamation Number 5807, 3 C.F.R. 64 (1988)
Proclamation Number 5972, 3 C.F.R. 50 (1989)
Proclamation Number 6130, 3 C.F.R. 75 (1990)
Proclamation Number 6288, 3 C.F.R. 76 (1991)
Proclamation Number 6557, 3 C.F.R. 44 (1993)
Proclamation Number 6686, 3 C.F.R. 49 (1994)
Proclamation Number 6795, 3 C.F.R. 39 (1995)
Proclamation Number 6892, 3 C.F.R. 33 (1996)
Proclamation Number 6998, 3 C.F.R. 64 (1997)
Proclamation Number 7089, 3 C.F.R. 32 (1998)
Proclamation Number 7189, 3 C.F.R. 32 (1999)
Proclamation Number 7299, 3 C.F.R. 69 (2000)
Proclamation Number 7434, 3 C.F.R. 75 (2001)
Proclamation Number 7550, 3 C.F.R. 78 (2002)
Proclamation Number 7668, 3 C.F.R. 56 (2003)
Proclamation Number 7781, 3 C.F.R. 35 (2004)
Proclamation Number 7894, 3 C.F.R. 50 (2005)
Proclamation Number 8008, 3 C.F.R. 45 (2006)
Proclamation Number 8133, 72 Fed. Reg. 24,173 (May 1, 2007)
Proclamation Number 8247, 73 Fed. Reg. 24, 133 (May 1, 2008)
Presidential Proclamations for the annual observances of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week and Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month can be browsed through American Presidency Project by selecting the year and clicking on the Display button.
Presidential Proclamations from 1995 to the present for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month may be searched through the Government Printing Office’s Federal Register's Advanced Search page.
Presidential statements, messages, remarks and proclamations from 1993 to the present about Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month may be found through the Weekly Compilation of Presidential page.
Last Updated: 09/17/2008