In 1992 Congress designated the month of May annually as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
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. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.
Asian Pacific Heritage Month is a very special web portal, a collaborative project of the Library of Congress, the National Archives, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian and other government agencies. Take a look!
The Smithsonian Institution has also developed a Care Package, 21 pages of "Poems, meditations, films and other cultural nutrients for times like this." It is a collection of creative offerings by artists, writers and scholars with whom collaborations are in place.
111 New Book titles by Asian Pacific American Authors
The Somers Library has also pulled together a small display of works in our collection by Asian Pacific American authors. Please stop by next time you come!