AAPI is now AANHPI Heritage Month

What used to be known in our May heritage celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI) is now known as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AANHPI).

FIn 2021, President Joe Biden expanded the name to Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, the same year that Kamala Harris became the first Asian American Vice President of the United States. This name change represents efforts by Native Hawaiians and the federal government to create a more inclusive celebration, directly recognizing the distinct history and contributions of Native Hawaiians as part of the United States.

Why is Asian American Heritage month celebrated?

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.

In 2021, President Joe Biden expanded the name to Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, the same year that Kamala Harris became the first Asian American Vice President of the United States.

This name change represents efforts by Native Hawaiians and the federal government to create a more inclusive celebration, directly recognizing the distinct history and contributions of Native Hawaiians as part of the United States. Boys & Girls Clubs across Hawaii are celebrating the new addition and the recognition of Hawaiian identity on a national level.

Historically, on May 14, 1991, a public law was passed unanimously by congress and then signed by Bush, proclaiming May 1991 and May 1992 as Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month.

Cultures celebrated under the AAPI umbrella include 75 countries from the Asian continent – East, Southeast, and South Asia – as well as the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

Questions on Filipino race arise and some concerns have been issued.

Q: What race am I if I am Filipino? Answer: Filipinos belong to the brown race, and they are proud of it. They cherish a story that accounts for the difference in the races. According to Malay folklore, long ages ago the gods who dwelt upon the earth shaped clay after their own image and baked it.

Q: Is the Philippines considered part of Asia? A: The Philippines is located in Southeast Asia, on the eastern rim of the Asiatic Mediterranean. It is bounded in the west by the South China Sea; in the east by the Pacific Ocean; in the south by the Sulu and Celebes Seas; and in the north by the Bashi Channel.

Q: What is Filipino mixed with? A: We are proud of our heritage at the rim of East Asia, the meeting point of the many Asian groups, as well as Europeans from Spain. Our culture even 100 years ago was already a mix —of Malay, Chinese, Hindu, Arab, Polynesian and Spanish, with maybe some English, Japanese and African thrown in.

Q: What race category is the Philippines? A: Filipinos are classified as Asian on Census Bureau forms based on the Office of Management and Budget’s definition, which specifically states that people whose origins are from the Philippine Islands are part of the category Asian.

Q: What ethnicity category is Philippines? A: The most populous of these groups, with populations exceeding a million individuals, are the Ilocano, the Pangasinense, the Kapampangan, the Tagalog, the Bicolano, and the Visayans (including the Cebuano, the Boholano, the Hiligaynon/ Ilonggo, and the Waray).

Q: Where are Filipinos descended from? A: The Philippines collectively are called Filipinos. The ancestors of the vast majority of the population were of Malay descent and came from the Southeast Asian mainland as well as from what is now Indonesia. Contemporary Filipino society consists of nearly 100 culturally and linguistically distinct ethnic groups.

The 2023 theme for AAPI Heritage Month has been dubbed “Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity” by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council.

Happy AANHPI Month to all, and enjoy our special Heritage Month, comrades! By Anonymous Editorialist