During the month of May, we celebrate the importance of Pacific Islanders, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians. May was chosen as the AAPI heritage month because of the first Japanese people to immigrate to the U.S. on May 7, 1843. It recognizes cultural and historical achievements. It was originally only going to be a week in May but Congress expanded the observance to a month. It received the title in 2009 and was a month to acknowledge contributions of Chinese workers. 

Asian’s have been faced with racism, violence, and bias. Chinese workers were abused, and robbed in San Francisco. The Supreme Court ruled in a case called People V. Hall that white people were able to avoid penalization for anti-Asian Crimes. Also an example of a recent situation that happened was at the beginning of COVID-19 when people were blaming Asians for the virus. They were left with harassment and bullying but in January 2021, the White House released a memorandum condemning racism against AAPI. 

The AAPI community is the fastest growing racial group in the U.S. During the 2000-2019 the population grew eighty-one percent. AAPI individuals make up about seven percent of the US population. In 2020, the Census said that there will be about 20.6 million people of Asian descent. The AAPI community makes up a good portion of the world and should be treated with respect as any other individuals.