National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

By Joan Pi, DMA

Regent University is proud to join the nation in recognizing National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Observed annually in May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month commemorates the tradition, culture, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. 

In June 1977, the effort to recognize the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the United States began as Representatives Frank Horton of New York and Norman Mineta of California requested the President to designate the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. President Jimmy Carter signed the Resolution after the House and the Senate passed it in October 1978. Each President passed annual proclamations for Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week from 1980 to 1990. The week was eventually expanded to a month-long observation by Congress. Under the George H. W. Bush administration in 1990, May was designated Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in 1992 and renamed Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2009. 

The month of May was chosen for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month for several reasons, including the commemoration of the first Japanese who came to the United States in May 1843 and also of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in May 1869 that involved the labor of over 20,000 Asian immigrants. 

It was 1587 when Filipinos arrived in what later became the U.S. Since then, immigrants have continued to come from the Asian continent and the Pacific Islands to the United States. According to a report by Pew Research Center in 2021, twenty-three million Asian American people trace their roots to more than twenty countries in Southeast and East Asia as well as the Indian sub-continent, each with unique history, culture, and languages. Currently, Asian American people comprise about seven percent of the U.S. population, and eighty-five percent of those Asian American people have origins in the following six countries: China, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.[1]

Regent University was pleased to recognize George Thomas, who is of Indian descent, as the 2023 Alumnus of the year. Born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa, to Indian parents, George graduated in 1995 with his master’s degree from Regent University’s School of Communication & the Arts and now serves as a CBN News senior international correspondent and co-anchor. 

For almost 30 years, George has traveled the globe as a television journalist, reporting from more than 100 countries. He has covered all the major wars over the past two decades—making multiple trips to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. He was most recently in Ukraine covering Russia’s invasion. George arrived in Ukraine’s capital two weeks before the war started and stayed for three months—crisscrossing the nation while documenting the bravery of ordinary Ukrainians fighting for freedom and democracy. 
When he’s not chasing ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the desert sands of North Africa, George is dodging Chinese, Iranian and Indian police as he ventures underground to meet with secret Christians trying to change the spiritual destinies of their nations or with human rights and religious freedom advocates fighting the good fight. George’s stories of faith, struggle and hope combine seasoned journalism with a deep calling to tell the inspiring stories of the people behind the news.

Deeply rooted in the history of the United States, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make our nation more vibrant through the diversity of culture and traditions. Such various contributions enrich American society and strengthen the nation’s role as a global leader. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. also contribute to the diversity of the nation’s religious landscape. In 2020, about thirty-four percent of Asians in the U.S. identified as Christians.[2]

During Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, many communities celebrate the achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with festivals and activities, commemorating the contributions and legacies of those who have helped build and unite this nation for many years.

[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-americans/
[2] https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/