UHCL celebrates National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
The month of May is dedicated to the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM). In June of 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution making the first 10 days of May a time to commemorate Asian Americans.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush extended this observance to include the entire month of May. This observance is meant to recognize, celebrate and honor the culture, history, achievements and contributions that Asian-Americans have made to the United States.
“UHCL will honor and celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month across the UHCL campus,” said Aliya Beavers, director of the Office of Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, “It is a great opportunity to learn more about the diversity, customs, and the culture, language, and history of Asian and Pacific Islanders.”
UHCL decided to celebrate APAHM starting in the month of April and going through the second or third week of May. This decision was made so that this heritage could be honored before school let out.
“The heritage month is during the month May, but we feel like the month wouldn’t have gotten as much attention had we chose to do it in May, that’s why we did it in April,” Beavers said.
Beavers said that UHCL is recognizing Asian Pacific American heritage in many ways. One of the events hosted by this office was called “Wedding Traditions around the World.” Amy Lucas, Assistant Professor of Sociology led a discussion on wedding traditions in western and Asian countries.
There is a bulletin board illustrating who APAHM is for and where the people who celebrate it are from. This bulletin board can be seen in the Student Lounge near the Office of Student Diversity. Beavers also said that students will see cranes in their office window. Folding cranes was one of the activities SDEI completed during the past month to celebrate APA heritage.
Beavers went on to explain that the folding cranes are in honor and memory of a young girl who survived the WWII bombing of Hiroshima. Sadako Sasaki was 2 years old and about a mile away from where the bomb went off. Sasaki survived the initial bombing, however, when she was in the 7th grade it was discovered that she had leukemia, called the “A-bomb disease” at the time.
One of Sadako’s friends told her about the legend of the crane being a sacred bird in Japan. Her friend said that if Sadako would fold 1,000 paper cranes, she would get well. Unfortunately, after folding 644 paper cranes, Sadako passed away. The paper cranes displayed at the UHCL campus are in celebration of the Asian culture and of Sadako’s life.
In the fall of 2014, there were 228 Asian students attending UHCL. The 2017-2018 school year showed an increase of 37%, to 613 Asian students.
Sociology professor for the University of Massachusetts C.N. Le writes that it is important for Asian-Americans to be proud of their heritage. He talks about some of the history surrounding Asians in America.
For example, Chinese miners died while building the Transcontinental Railroad, the railroad which linked the eastern and western United States. He also remembers the time that Japanese-Americans were illegally imprisoned during WWII.
“Asians have been in the U.S. for a long time,” Le said. “The history of Asians in the U.S. is the history of dreams, hard work, prejudice, discrimination, persistence, and triumph.”
The City of Houston is celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with many local events. On May 4, the Houston Dragon Boat Festival will take place at Houston’s Buffalo Bayou. Teams of people will paddle their boats down the bayou and there will be many other activities in celebration of APAHM.
Asia Fest 2019 is being held at the Asia Society Texas Center on Southmore Blvd, May 11, 2019. This is a free festival that will celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage with food, arts and crafts, an international bazaar, performances and live demonstrations.
“The beautiful thing about Asia Society’s mission and this festival, is that the diversity of Asia shines through,” said Stephanie Todd Wong, director of performing arts and culture for the Asia Society of Texas Center. “Guests can taste a boba tea while watching Bollywood dance and then try their hand at Chinese calligraphy after purchasing a modern kimono. AsiaFest celebrates all of Asia and allows guests to travel through multiple cultural experiences while never leaving Houston.”
For more on National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, check out:
INFOGRAPHIC: Facts and statistics of Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in America
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage week. Click the infographic to find out more about the importance of the history month and when and how it all began.
