Honoring Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month
A message from Lorenley Báez, Associate Provost for Equity & Belonging
Dear Students,
Today, we celebrate the beginning of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APID/A) Heritage Month. The origins of this heritage month dates back to the 1970s when a congressional staffer approached Representative Frank Horton of New York with the idea to honor Asian Pacific Americans. In 1977, Representatives Horton and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a resolution to proclaim the first ten (10) days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. A month later, Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga, both from Hawaii, introduced a similar bill. Neither of these resolutions passed. In 1978, Representative Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007, which passed and proposed a week beginning in May 1979.
The proposed resolution determined that May would be the designated month for two (2) reasons. The first Japanese immigrant arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843, and on May 10, 1869, the golden spike was driven into the first transcontinental railroad, which was built using Chinese labor. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a joint resolution for the celebration, and on May 1, 2009, President Barack Obama signed Proclamation 8369 recognizing the month of May as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
As we embark upon this month-long celebration, I invite you to be curious, reflective, and introspective about Asian American and Pacific Islander history, contributions, and culture. We continue to witness ongoing assault and violence on the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. It is imperative that we continue to support and advocate to eradicate ignorance, bias, and hatred. Additionally, I recommend we give consideration to the role of race, cultural and linguistic disenfranchisement, and citizenship and the context it plays in history, which continues to oppress and marginalize this community.
In our pursuit of inclusivity, we sometimes inadvertently cause harm by lacking depth and meaning in our actions. Language, therefore, is significantly important as a means to prevent and diminish harm. Throughout this communication, I have predominantly used the term “Asian American Pacific Islander.” However, the term “Asian Pacific Islander and Desi American” emerged in the 2010s as a way to include the South Asian community. Language, in fact, is powerful and the identification of affinity groups are connected to institutional systems, structures which are inherently political. I encourage us to engage in open dialogue with one another as we commemorate this month. Each of us brings our unique experiences, and the aspiration is to cultivate spaces where we can come together in community.
At The New School, the following clubs and organizations are doing incredible belonging work, and I encourage you to learn more about them and become actively engaged with them.
- Chinese Students and Scholars Association
- Indonesian Student Organization
- Taiwanese Student Organization
- Japanese Creatives
- IN2M2
To kick off the month, I would like to invite you to the First Annual Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Mixer on Thursday, April 4, 2024, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the University Center on the Social Justice Hub, room 514. This will be an opportunity to connect with each other and celebrate this community. Light refreshments and snacks will be provided.
I encourage you to visit the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month website for the full list of events, community resources, and student organizations on campus.
If you have any questions, please reach out to me at baezl@newschool.edu. I look forward to celebrating this month with you!