May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a time to pay tribute to Asian and Pacific Islanders who are an integral part of America's history and future.
President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 95-419 in 1978 to commemorate a week long celebration of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. In 1990, Congress passed Public Law 102-450 to make the entire month of May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, opens a new window.
Visit AsianPacificHeritage.gov, opens a new window to read biographies, check out videos, exhibitions and more.
Musicians, Artists and Actors
- 2022 film Everything, Everywhere, All at Once brought the contribution of Asian Americans in the film industry to the spotlight, winning over 260 awards including seven Academy Awards, opens a new window.
- Bruno Mars was born in Hawaii and is well -known for several chart-topping songs including "Just the Way You Are," "Uptown Funk," and "That's What I Like."
- Jason Momoa was born in Hawaii and is known for his many acting roles such as Aquaman, Kal Drogo in Game of Thrones and Declan Harp in Frontier.
- Yo-Yo Ma was born in Paris to Chinese parents and moved to New York when he was four. At nine he made his debut at Carnegie Call. He has over 50 music albums, opens a new window and won more than a dozen Grammy Awards.
- Pat Morita was born in Northern California and spent some of WWII in a Japanese internment camp. He appeared in Happy Days and Sandford and Son, but you probably know him best as Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid.
- Japanese-American actor George Takei is probably best known for his role as Mr. Sulu in Star Trek. Catch him in To Be Takei which is all about his early life and his rise to pop culture fame or read his outstanding graphic novel They Called Us Enemy detailing his experience in Japanese-American concentration camps.
- M. Night Shyamalan, opens a new window is an Indian-born American director whose movie The Sixth Sense made him one of the most famous directors in America.
Streaming Videos
- Stream a film from Kanopy, opens a new window to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Authors
- Michelle Zauner, author of Crying in H Mart.
- Alexander Chee, author of Queen of the Night.
- Jhumpa Lahiri, author of Pulitzer Prize winning novel Interpreter of Maladies.
- Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club and sometimes member of Stephen King's band, opens a new window.
- Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Sympathizer.
Books
- Want more? Search for novels about Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Indian Americans, Pakistani Americans and Philippines Americans.
- Explore staff recommended lists.
Athletes, Scientists and More
- Duke Kahanamoku, the father of international surfing, was born in Honolulu in 1890 and later won several Olympic medals in swimming before his surfing caught the eye of Hollywood.
- Michelle Kwan has 37 perfect scores in her ice skating career. She wore a Chinese good luck charm when competing.
- Maya Lin, daughter of Chinese refugees, was born in 1959 and studied architecture at Yale. She designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, opens a new window in Washington D.C. at the age of 21.
- Dwayne Johnson, one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, began his career wrestling as "The Rock." His mother's side is Samoan and he recently voiced the Polynesian demigod Maui in Moana, Disney's first film with a Polynesian princess.
From History
- Dr. Ho Feng-Shan, opens a new window, the Chinese Consul-General in Vienna, issues Chinese visas to Jews who hoped to leave Nazi Germany during WWII. He never told his wife or children or friends; after he passed away in San Francisco in 1997, a single sentence in his obituary hinted at his past. In 2000, he was awarded the title of "Righteous Among the Nations."
- Thousands of Chinese laborers laid 1,776 miles of track from America's East to West Coasts beginning in 1863. Hundreds of men died due to the dangerous work but America became the first continent to have a coast-to-coast railroad.
- Queen Liliuokalani was the first female monarch of Hawaii and the last sovereign of the Kamehameha dynasty until the US annexed Hawaii in 1898. Sadly, Queen Liliuokalani thought her throne would be restored.
- Add more books to your to-be-read pile from Asian American history or check out Pacific history.
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