Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

House Resolution 540

"A joint resolution authorizing the President to proclaim annually a week during the first 10 days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week." This resolution as well as Senate Joint Resolution 72 did not pass through however, did lead to the passing of Rep. Horton's House Joint Resolution 1007 which passed through both the House and the Senate and ultimately signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978 to become Public Law 95-419. In 1990, George H.W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress to extend Asian-American Heritage Week to a month;^[7][8][9] May was officially designated as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month two years later.^{[5][10][11][12]} On May 1, 2009 President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation which recalls the challenges faced by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and celebrates their great and significant contributions to our society.^[13]

Philippine-American War

José B. Nísperos, PVT

Peacetime

Telesforo de la Crux Trinidad, Fireman 2nd Class (only Medal of Honor issued in peacetime).

World War II

Jose Calugas, SR, CPT Rudolph B. Davila, SSG Barney Fushimi Hajiro, PVT Mikio Hasemoto, PVT Joe J. Hayashi, SGT Shizuya Hayashi, PVT Daniel K. Inouye, 2LT Yeiki Kobashigawa, TSGT Robert T. Kuroda, SSG Kaoru Moto, PFC Sadao S. Munemori, PFC Kiyoshi k. Muranaga, PFC Masato Nakae, PVT Shinyei Nakamine, PVT William Kanzo Nakamura, PFC Joe M. Nishimoto, PFC Allan Masaharu Ohata, SGT James K. Okubo, TSGT Yukio Okutsu, TSGT Frank H. Ono, PFC Kazuo Otani, SSG George Taro "Joe" Sakato, PVT Ted "Tak" Tanouye, SGT Francis Brown Wai, CPT

Korean War

Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura, SSG Leroy A. Mendonca, SGT (youngest MOH recipient) Herbert K. Pilila'au, PFC Anthony T. Kaho'ohanohano, PFC

Vietnam War

Terry Teruo Kawamura, CPL Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith, SFC Rodney Jamus Takahashi Yano, SFC

Purpose

"To ensure that legislation passed by the United States Congress, to the greatest extent possible, provides for the full participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and reflects the concerns and needs of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities;

To educate other Members of Congress about the history, contributions and concerns of Asian American and Pacific Islanders;

To work with other Members and Caucuses to protect and advance the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans;

To establish policies on legislation and issues relating to persons of Asian and/or Pacific Islands ancestry who are citizens or nationals of, residents of, or immigrants to, the United States, its territories and possessions; and

To provide a structure to coordinate the efforts, and enhance the ability, of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Members of Congress to accomplish those goals."^[14]

Traditions

Asian Pacific and Asian Americans of all ethnicities and languages come together to celebrate their heritage through many activities such as dancing, sharing traditional meals, observing and appreciating their rich history. Many more diverse beliefs and practices come with the already diversified Asian American community, with many different religions, traditions, and practices.

Icons

Asian American actors, actresses and celebrities play a major role in the adjusting to the American lifestyle. They start trends that their kinfolk alike begin to follow along like the kanji tattoo sported by former Seattle Mariners, American League Asian of the Year and Most Valuable Player Ichiro Suzuki. Furthermore, actresses like Lucy Liu take on major female roles in movies that send a message of hope and progress in Asian American eyes.

Pan-Asian

• National Queer and Asian Conference,^[16] first begun 2007

Northeast and East:

• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Annual Gala hosted by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies in Washington, D.C.
• Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month at Altoona, PA's Penn State campus, first begun 2010
• Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month at Waltham, MA's Brandeis University campus, first became a month-long celebration in 2002
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival^[17] in New York City, first begun 1981
• Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival^[18] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, first begun 2005

West Coast:

• Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month at Portland, Oregon's Lan Su Chinese Garden^[19]
• Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego,^[20] first begun 2009
• The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival,^[21] first begun in 1983
• Pacific Rim Street Fest^[22] in Sacramento, California, first begun in 1992
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in Chinatown, Oakland, California^[23]
• Asian Heritage Street Celebration^[24] in San Francisco
• Asian Pacific Islander Festival in Seattle, Washington^[25]
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at Seattle, Washington's Wing Luke Asian Museum^[26]

South and Southeast:

• Asian Kaleidoscope Month^[27] at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
• Asian Awareness Month at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida^[28]
• Asian Festival^[29] in Dallas, Texas, first begun 1990
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival^[30] in Houston, Texas

Midwest:

• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration^[31] at the University of Illinois's Urbana-Champaign campus
• [http:// Asian Festival, Columbus, www.asian-festival.org]^[32] in Columbus, Ohio, first begun in 1995 grown to be the largest Asian Festival in the Midwest with Fourteen ethnicity participation
• Cleveland Asian Festival^[33] in Cleveland, Ohio, first begun in 2010

Specific nationalities

• Taiwanese American Cultural Festival^[34] in San Francisco, first begun in 1992