Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2009
During the month of May our nation celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and recognizes the valuable contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) to every aspect of American life. With 16.2 million residents, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States.
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two key anniversaries: the arrival in the U.S. of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (May 10, 1869). In 1992, Congress expanded the week to a month-long celebration.
In science and technology, arts and media, business and social work, immigrants from Asia, native peoples of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and generations of their descendents have contributed so much to the development of our nation.
The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is a fast-growing minority group in the United States. In fact, the Census Bureau estimates that by 2050 more than 33.4 million Asian Americans will live in the United States. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are making valuable contributions to every aspect of American life – from business to education to the arts to the military. For example, there are approximately 1.1 million AAPI-owned small businesses across the country employing 2.2 million workers and there are hundreds of thousands of AAPI servicemembers and veterans.