Celebrating Asian Heritage Month in May
(Above: Carl Van Vechten’s photographic portrait of Anna May Wong, considered to be the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star)
May is a month for celebrating the many societal contributions and achievements of overseas Asian communities in North America. It marks the observance of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the United States, and Asian Heritage Month in Canada.
The commemorative month for Asian American and Pacific Islanders originated first as a Heritage Week with the US Congress in 1977, and was officially designated as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month in 1992. May was chosen to mark the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States in May, 1843, as well as to celebrate the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 1869. Most of the tracks were laid by young Asian men recruited as contract laborers from Southern China.
Asian Heritage Month, as it is known in Canada, was officially declared in May 2002 to honor Asian Canadian’s contribution to Canadian culture and history. Similarly, it was also the building of the railways, that first brought large numbers of young Asian men to Western Canada from 1880 from China and Taiwan.
Asian Heritage month is about honoring past generations of Asian immigrants that came before us. It is also about highlighting the richness of Asian cultures and traditions, but perhaps most importantly, it is about celebrating the Asian-American or Asian-Canadian experiences, and honoring the legacy and contributions of Americans and Canadians of Asian descend.
Here are some ways you can also celebrate Asian Heritage Month in your community:
- Read about famous Asian Americans, including Amar Bose, chairman and founder of Bose Corporation; Perry Chen, founder and CEO of Kickstarter; and David Chang, founder of the Momofuku restaurant group, among others. You can also learn more about Noteworthy Historical Asian Canadians, including the much love Sandra Oh and David Suzuki.
- Watch Crazy Rich Asians with an Asian friend and try to appreciate this experience through their eyes.
- Catch couple episodes of ‘Fresh Off the Boat” a comedy series about a Taiwanese immigrant family in the 90’s, and “Kim’s Convenience” about a Korean Canadian family who run a convenience store in Toronto. Kim’s Convenience is the first Canadian sitcom to feature Asian Canadian family members as lead characters.
- Check out “20 BEST THINGS ABOUT BEING ASIAN” by Fung Bros for some laughs
- Go to a local Asian Heritage Month event this May that celebrates a different Asian culture than one that you are familiar with. Visit a Buddhist shrine, a Sikh temple, a mosque, or an ethnic church to learn about the diverse Asian communities and their values and believes.
- Learn to cook Asian cuisine with a friend using unfamiliar ingredients. Check out blogs such as www.justonecookbook.com by Namiko Hirasawa Chen, and www.cookwithmanali.com by Manali.
- Pick up a book by these amazing Asian American and Asian Canadian authors.
- If you happen to be in NYC check out the American Asian Latino Film Festival NYC, on from May 17th to 23rd, 2019. The lovely Jackie Dallas, creator of PROUD (www.ProudShortFilm.asia) will be there for the screening of her new films! PROUD is about an Asian American woman who learns to embrace her ethnic heritage while trying to discover her identity as an American.
- And finally, we hope you’ll share your Asian Heritage story on a .Asia domain. .Asia is the designated web address for Asia and Asian communities worldwide. Come hangout with us on Facebook and Twitter this May to celebrate the unique narratives and rich traditions of Asian-American and Asian-Canadian communities.
Join us in celebrating May by share this .Asia Asian Pacific American Heritage Month badge below!
Why Get a .Asia Domain?
.Asia is the designated web address for Asia and Asian communities world wide.
When you register a .Asia domain you are joining an online, global community that supports and brings together Asians from every part of the world. Show your Asian pride whether you are from Los Angeles, Beijing or New Delhi.
You might also like...
AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Mou Mukherjee
In some ways, I abandoned my culture when I was young because I was trying so hard to fit in. My parents were, and still is very cultural. Growing up, there was always Indian music playing, our house was full of Bengali literature, my Dad’s hero was poet Rabindranath Tagore, and he also loved the films of Satyajit Ray. I was surrounded by culture and yet I couldn’t fully embrace it at the time.
AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Zhou Fang
Celebrating May as Asian American Pacific Islander Month has become an important tradition here at .Asia. We are excited to present an interview series featuring some of our Asian American and Asian Canadian friends and partners from the domain name industry. Through...
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – A Conversation with Todd Han, President and CEO of Dynadot.com
Asian Americans contribute significantly to the development of small and medium size businesses in the U.S. In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May, we are dedicating our post to our channel partner Dynadot.com, founded by Asian...
My Favorite Asian American Artists in 2021
Here are some of my favorite Asian American artists and entertainers in films, music, and performing art. I’ve followed their journey for many years. During the pandemic, art became a form of therapy for me.
Other posts in this series...
AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Mou Mukherjee
In some ways, I abandoned my culture when I was young because I was trying so hard to fit in. My parents were, and still is very cultural. Growing up, there was always Indian music playing, our house was full of Bengali literature, my Dad’s hero was poet Rabindranath Tagore, and he also loved the films of Satyajit Ray. I was surrounded by culture and yet I couldn’t fully embrace it at the time.
AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Zhou Fang
Celebrating May as Asian American Pacific Islander Month has become an important tradition here at .Asia. We are excited to present an interview series featuring some of our Asian American and Asian Canadian friends and partners from the domain name industry. Through...
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – A Conversation with Todd Han, President and CEO of Dynadot.com
Asian Americans contribute significantly to the development of small and medium size businesses in the U.S. In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May, we are dedicating our post to our channel partner Dynadot.com, founded by Asian...
My Favorite Asian American Artists in 2021
Here are some of my favorite Asian American artists and entertainers in films, music, and performing art. I’ve followed their journey for many years. During the pandemic, art became a form of therapy for me.
Asian American Sustenance and Food Culture
Food is a vital part of culture. Through food we are joined via a shared experience. It is a connection to our earliest memories, our heritage and some say, an intercultural communicator.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – A Conversation with Raymond King
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the U.S. and Asian Heritage Month in Canada. Whether you are Asian American or Asian Canadian, May is a time to celebrate and take joy in Asian culture and community.
This May, we are dedicating our post to our channel partner Porkbun.com, founded by Asian American tech entrepreneur Raymond King.
A Conversation with Director Feng-I Fiona Roan – Winner of HBO Asian American Visionary Award
JIEJIE, Mandarin for sister, is directed by Asian-American writer and director Feng-I Fiona Roan. Her film won the prestigious HBO Asian Pacific American Visionary Award in 2018. At its heart, JIEJIE is an Asian American story of first-generation immigration experience from the view of a child. We caught up with Fiona to discuss what it was like growing up Asian-American in both Asia and the US, and her next big project – AMERICAN GIRL.
Catching up with Jackie Dallas – Proud Short Film
Last year we wrote about the PROUD Short Film created, produced and directed by Asian American actress Jackie Dallas. Since then, PROUD (www.proudshortfilm.asia) has been chosen to be screened at numerous film festivals both in the U.S. and internationally. It is also...
How Some Are Finding Creative Ways To Encourage Asian Representation in Media
With 2018 being a banner year for Asian representation in media, 2019 is gearing up to be a blockbuster sequel. Promoting inclusion and representation in mainstream media is a job that is never really finished. For decades Asian-American actors and actresses have worked hard to gain the opportunities in front of the camera that is now giving rise to the more realistic portrayals of Asian-Americans in television and films.
PROUD of your heritage? So are we!
It’s been inspiring to read the outpour of support for Asian representation in Western pop culture since the Crazy Rich Asians movie’s blockbuster success this August. Dubbed as #AsianAugust, the summer of 2018 has seen more Asian actors celebrated in Western media than ever before. From the big screen to small screen, from movies such as ‘Searching’ starring John Cho; to Netflix’s ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ starring Asian teenager Lana Condor; to Canada’s ‘Kim’s convenient store’; Asian actors dominated conversations regarding diversity and representation in the West.
