To get straight to the vote, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
But to celebrate Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’ve included some facts you may find as interesting as we have.
Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month…
Takes place in May to mark the arrival of the 1st Japanese immigrant to the US & the completion of the US transcontinental railroad:
According to Mental Floss, the earliest known Asian immigrants arrived in what’s now the US in 1587 sailing to California’s coast.
The oldest Asian American settlement in the US was created by Filipino sailors who settled in Louisiana in the 1700s, but Asian immigration didn't really pick up steam until the 1800s.
The US transcontinental railroad completed on May 10, 1869 connected the nation, but would have never been realized without 10,000 - 20,000 Chinese laborers, who were paid practically nothing to work six days a week from 1864 to 1869. The hazards of the job led to the deaths of thousands of Chinese workers.
Was driven by the US Bicentennial celebrations:
In 1976, a former Capitol Hill staffer named Jeanie Jew proposed creating an Asian American Pacific heritage month. Jew—whose ancestor was a Chinese immigrant worker on the transcontinental railroad—believed that the US Bicentennial celebrations which paid tribute to events leading up to the creation of the US had not adequately celebrated the contributions of Asian & Pacific Americans.
In 1977, there were several resolutions introduced with the goal of honoring these Americans including one put forth by the senator of Hawaii. But none passed.
Finally in 1978, a bill designated "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week", but it wasn't until 1992 that legislation passed making it a month noting that "Asian & Pacific Americans have contributed significantly to the development of the arts, sciences, government, military, commerce, & education in the US."
Is still erroneously called “AAPI Heritage Month” by some though the name of the celebration has officially changed to “AANHPI Heritage Month”:
According to the Filipino Chronicle, what originally was created as “Asian Pacific American Heritage Month” changed to “Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month” in 2009 to specifically include Pacific Islanders.
In 2021, a Presidential Proclamation added “Native Hawaiian” to distinguish between someone who is ethnically Hawaiian as opposed to someone who was just born, raised, or is currently living in Hawaii or the other Pacific Islands.
Was originally meant to unify a wide range of people with shared experiences, but there are some who feel it can erase cultures if not fully explained:
The Office of Management & Budget notes that the AA and NHPI populations consist of over 50 distinct ethnicities in the US.
Asian American is defined as “a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent.”
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander is defined as “a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.”
In gathering together a list of books, we were very careful to ensure we selected books from a range of cultures & looked into how the author defined themselves.
THE VOTING
You can vote from now until Fri., April 28 at 11:30PM on which book you’d like the club to read next. (That's NYC time. See this converted to your local time below.)
To participate:
1. Review the books.
2. Then, click here to vote.
We'll publish the anonymous results afterwards.