The Houston Independent School District Board of Education issued a proclamation during its regular meeting declaring the month of May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in HISD. 

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month honors the enduring legacy of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans, and also celebrates their significant contributions. Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans have played a significant role in our city and state, leading our community in such industries as education, medicine, finance, government, and international trade. The theme of this year’s May-long celebration of “This power of our stories gives power to the future.”

To join the district in celebrating APAHM, click here to download lesson plans, student activities, and guides designed for teachers seeking ways to include Asian Pacific American information in the classroom.  

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month originated with Congress in 1977, when Rep. Frank Horton of New York introduced a resolution proclaiming the first 10 days in May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, and Sen. Daniel Inouye put forth a similar resolution. Neither passed, but the following year, Horton tried again and succeeded, and a joint resolution passed by the House and Senate was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on Oct. 5, 1978.  

In the 1990s, Congress expanded the recognition to a full month. The May celebration includes 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). 

For more information, visit asianpacificheritage.gov/.  

[su_document url=”https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/05/Asian-Heritage-Concept1b.pdf” height=”840″]