Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM) celebrates the cultures and influences of Asian American and Pacific Islander Americans in the United States of America. This month focuses on the accomplishments of our API ancestors and current-day role models and reflects on AAPI Americans' position in our society.
A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).
The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.
Read more about AAPI Americans by visiting the Library of Congress: API History Month
This guide includes library materials that are available online for all Cal State LA students, staff, and faculty. To access an eBook or film, click the links and sign in with your MyCalStateLA username and password. This guide also provides additional web resources related to black history month.