On May 13, 2013, the Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus is hosting the 2013 Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Gala to celebrate the accomplishments of Asian & Pacific Islander Americans and to benefit the new Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Foundation, a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization (FEIN 46-1937273).

One of the honorees is Sammy Lee, who could only use a pool in Pasadena only on the one day of the week designated as the 'non-white' day. In 1948, he became the first American of Asian descent to earn an Olympic gold medal by winning the men's platform." You can read more of his story on the Los Angeles Times Web site at http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/30/sports/la-sp-crowe-20110530.

The event starts at 5:00 PM. If you would like to go, please register online at http://apilcfgala.eventbrite.com/. Tickets are $100. You can request information by writing to apilcf@gmail.com.  

Other honorees include:

Leadership & Vision Award

John A. Pérez, Speaker of the Assembly

And

APIA Heritage Month Honorees

Excellence in Law

Goodwin Liu, Associate Justice, California State Supreme Court

Excellence in Education

Frank Wu, Chancellor & Dean - UC Hastings School of Law

Excellence in Public Service

Sharon Hoshida, Acting Director, UC Santa Barbara Women’s Center

Excellence in Labor

Angie Wei, Legislative Director, California Federation of Labor

Excellence in Sports

Sammy Lee, U.S. Olympic Double Gold Medalist In Diving

President Obama proclaimed May 2013 Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In the proclamation, he wrote:

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/AAPI and www.AsianPacificHeritage.gov to learn more about the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities."

An interesting read is the comprehensive inventory of the Public Laws, Presidential Proclamations, and congressional resolutions related to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on the Library of Congress Web site at http://www.loc.gov/law/help/commemorative-observations/asian.php.

If you knew me, you would know that I am Filipino American and that I graduated with a BA in Asian American Studies from the University of California, Davis (UCD). If you really knew me, you would know that I only became shallowly aware of my Asian American identity my sophomore year of high school, when I did a project on the landmark Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court case regarding bilingual education, and then in my senior year when I learned that Filipino World War II veterans were denied their benefits from the United States Armed Forces, even though they were conscripted into those same armed forces during World War II. Then, at UCD, when I got involved with the different Filipino American organizations Today, I encourage you to take a look at May from a different perspective, because Asian American history is American history.

Here is a description of the commemoration from the Asian American Pacific Heritage Month Web site at http://asianpacificheritage.gov/index.html:

"May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. 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).

"Like most commemorative months, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration. Twelve years later, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension making the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law.

"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."