Personal Push and Political Will

Tracing the origins of APA Heritage Month

Courting APAs: President Bush proclaimed May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in 1990 and, in 1992, signed legislation that made it a permanent, annual national observance. Above, President Bush and his wife, Barbara, tour San Francisco Chinatown on a campaign stop in 1988.

by Alethea Yip

The transcontinental railroad. The World Trade Center. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Asian Pacific Americans have contributed much to the building of the United States, but their stories have long been absent in classrooms, history books, museums, and libraries. But once a year, in May, there is a remedy: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Public law, which was created to commemorate the "history, concerns, contributions, and achievements" of APAs, mandates that state and federal government agencies must observe the month with "appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities."

So, calendar of events for May often include cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts sales, political empowerment lectures, and leadership conferences. But more importantly, the month-long observance gives APAs a chance to express a collective voice, to proudly stand under a unified identity.

"[APA Heritage Month] has provided the opportunity for different Asian groups to come together especially in those areas in the country where there are not large Asian American populations," said Henry Der, longtime community activist and a deputy superintendent of California Department of Public Instruction. "And it has become a vehicle for Asian Americans to come together and interface with non-Asians. ... It contributes to people's understanding that there are Asian Pacific Americans in America and it's one of many efforts to shore up that consciousness within our own community." And much like the APA population, the number of celebrations throughout the country has increased at a rapid rate--with more than 50 major events throughout the country and hundreds of others this year.

From Tibetan bells in New York to taiko drumming in St. Paul, Minn., to an Asian American film and video festival in Los Angeles to an APA political empowerment seminar in Washington, D.C., the APA community's celebration has become eclectic as well as far reaching.

Ruth Wong, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Council, remembers that in the beginning, there were only a handful of events going on in the country to commemorate APA Heritage Week, which was extended to a month in 1990.

In fact, her group's annual festival, which was one of a few in the early years, used to draw more than 10,000 people from throughout the country. But as more and more cities hold their own events, attendance at her one-day celebration in Washington, D.C., has dwindled down to 5,000--not necessarily something bad. It also means that different parts of the country are embracing the month-long celebration, said Wong, whose group is made up of about 35 community-based organizations.

"Now that everyone and their brother holds a festival, it's no longer a novelty like it was in the beginning," Wong said. "From our perspective, that's a good thing."

For the most part, the month-long celebration has been largely left up to individual schools, government offices, and private businesses to define, which often results in arts and crafts, food festivals, and dance exhibitions. Although these expressions of culture have been criticized for being superficial, some say it is an effective way of educating a public that often fears diversity.

"The cultural route has the highest likelihood of being accepted by the general public," Der said. "It provides a non-threatening vehicle for Asian Americans to express their history publicly and to inform the public about the Asian American experience. ... How accepted would it have been if it were called 'National Asian Pacific American Political Organizing Month?'" But, in some cases, that is exactly what it has become--a chance to mobilize the APA community and deliver a political call to action, something that has evolved with the changing needs of the community. During this time of year, prominent APAs and community leaders such as Karen Narasaki, the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, are in high demand to give speeches or talks about the state of Asian America.

Narasaki said this is a time that can be used to offset the recent campaign contribution scandals that have rocked the APA community. She also takes this opportunity to try to inform the general public about the struggles that APAs face--past, present, and future.

"This is a chance to highlight our contributions," said Narasaki, who even before Heritage Month had been booked as a speaker at eight events, including the Department of Justice and various social-service agencies. That is particularly important in light of all the controversy surrounding Asian Americans. "The community nationwide, I feel, is under siege with the campaign finance scandal, anti-immigrant sentiment, the attacks on welfare and affirmative action," Narasaki said. "This is an opportunity for the community to come together and not let all of it get us down, to keep us looking forward."

When the APA heritage legislation was first introduced two decades ago, APAs made up less than 4 million of the nation's population. Today, the APA community is approaching the 10-million mark, making up 4 percent of the nation's population. As one of the fastest growing groups in the country, both the public and private sectors are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore APAs. Initially celebrated with arts and crafts festivals, martial arts demonstrations, and cooking shows, APA Heritage Month is becoming more political in nature. In the Washington, D.C. area alone, there are more than a dozen conferences and workshops that focus on APA political involvement and empowerment--an indication as to how the community has matured and in what direction it needs to go.

"It's wonderful to have celebrations and dinners honoring people's accomplishments, but I also think that beyond that, we are starting to look at where we can be five years from now, 10 years from now," said Doris Matsui, deputy director of public liaison for the White House. "The fact that, in the next century, Asian Pacific Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans together are probably going to be the majority--that's an interesting concept. But it is going to be a reality and I think that we should prepare for that in a very positive way.

"[APA Heritage Month] should be utilized to start focusing on where we want to be," she continued. "We should use that opportunity because there are times when we lead our daily lives and we go and do our things, our business, our work, our whatever. But in that month we sort of come together and look and see where we are, what we could be doing. I think that is important." For Jeanie Jew, the driving force behind the initial proclamation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, the occasion holds a very personal meaning.

Jew's grandfather, M.Y. Lee, who, like thousands of other Chinese sojourners, came to U.S. in the mid-1800s in search of a better life and to mine Gum Saan, or Gold Mountain. After helping to build the nation's first transcontinental railroad, Lee moved to California and became a prominent businessman and respected community leader.

So, when the Chinese community in Oregon was having trouble with anti-Chinese elements that had infected the country during the late 1800s, Lee was called in to help. At the time, the Chinese laborers were scapegoated for the country's economic ills and lynchings, and beatings of the Chinese were daily occurrences. In his effort to defend the civil rights of his fellow countrymen, Lee was killed.

"It was because of my grandfather's story and stories that belong to everyone who have Chinese and Asian American parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents that shows that we have indeed contributed a great deal to the building of the United States," said Jew, national president of the Organization of Chinese American Women, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

"But stories about the APA experience should not only be told to just me and [other APAs] but to all Americans, and that we should be part of the history of America because it is important that Americans understand our past, the importance of our presence, and how critical we are to the future of America." But Jew always felt that her grandfather's story and those of other APAs were wrongfully absent from the nation's consciousness. But when the U.S. celebrated its 200th anniversary in 1976, it became apparent to Jew that invisibility was costly.

"We were excluded from those stories during celebrations of the country's bicentennial," Jew recalled. "We were literally ignored even though we were part of building this country."

An outraged and tenacious Jew knocked on every door of every member of Congress and told them about her grandfather's tragic story to try to convince them that Chinese and Asian Americans deserved recognition for their contributions to the U.S. She also approached a personal acquaintance, Ruby Moy, then personal assistant to Rep. Frank Horton, R-N.Y., with her mission. Eventually, the two women convinced Horton to take on the cause.

"I was working for a senior congressman at the time and I thought this was a wonderful idea," Moy said. "The more research we did, we found that the blacks had Black History Month and the Hispanics had something. Why not the Asians? It was due." But at the same time, Jew was faced with the formidable task of trying to explain who was an Asian Pacific American--a term she proudly said she helped coin.

"I wanted them to know that we were as much pioneers as those who crossed the U.S. in wagons and those who went out West to tame the territory. We were among them," Jew said. "Every time I met a hesitation or a reservation I would explain what the term [Asian Pacific American] meant, that we have a rich heritage here--not just a heritage overseas. It's a heritage here as Americans." With the help of groups such as the Organization of Chinese Americans and the Japanese American Citizens League, she succeeded.

In June 1977, Horton and Rep. Norman Mineta, D-Calif., introduced House Resolution 540, which proclaimed the first 10 days of May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. A month later, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced similar legislation into the Senate.

Jew and her supporters chose May because two significant events in history took place in that month: the first Japanese immigrants arrived on U.S. shores on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad was marked by Golden Spike Day on May 10, 1869. Also, school is still in session during May, which gives educators the opportunity to include APA history into the curriculum. On Oct. 2, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the Joint Resolution. And the first Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was celebrated in May 1979.

A similar law was passed each year until May 1990, when the week-long celebration was extended to a full month. But since the resolution did not contain an annual designation, Jew, who is a former congressional staff member, and her supporters had to lobby for the commemorative law to be re-authorized each year.

But that time- and energy-consuming effort ended on Oct. 23, 1992, when President George Bush signed Public Law 102-450, which permanently designates May of each year as "Asian Pacific American Heritage Month." The law won the unanimous blessing of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

"I feel very proud as I watch this continue to grow and I hope that the younger generation will continue to do a lot more with this month," said Moy, who was instrumental in getting the commemorative month re-authorized every year until 1992. "Every year there are two to three more [major] events. I think this has made the Asian American community more aware of politics and to be involved on a local level. Look what happened with Gary Locke."

And to many APA politicians, APA Heritage Month was a chance to bridge racial gaps through understanding.

"As an Asian American leader in the Congress, Senator Inouye felt that it was important for him to support something that honored the contributions of Asian Americans," said Jennifer Goto, spokeswoman for Inouye. "He felt that people of all backgrounds should honor the cultures and accomplishments of all Americans. ... That just brings us one step closer to decreasing the racial strife in this country." But APA Heritage Month is an ever-evolving political experiment. It seeks to involve and acknowledge a people who were once excluded and neglected. But the application of that mission will largely be left up to the emerging generation, Jew said.

"What started out as a dream in a young woman's eye has become, I think, the single-most significant event to honor Asian Pacific Americans," Jew said. "It may have started in Washington, but it now crosses each state and every state has its own significant manner in which to celebrate it. Whatever is appropriate for that state or that particular group, we support it. "My dream continues," Jew added. "Hopefully I'll live long enough to see more of my dream realized. It is a journey, it is a dream, it is an Asian American dream for us to continue because each generation puts their stamp on what this month means to them."

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