May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America's history and are instrumental in its future success.
Stories from the Veterans History Project: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American Veterans
Today there are more than 300,000 living Asian American, Native Hawaiian,
and Pacific Islander American veterans. The Library of Congress's Veteran's History Project honors those veterans who have shared their stories, veterans such as
Kurt
Chew-Een Lee, Jaden
Kim, Kenje Ogata,
Maginia Sajise Morales,
Peter Young and
Veasna Rouen. The
digital collection Asian Pacific
Americans: Going for Broke highlights additional stories from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and
Iraq. (Library of Congress)
Left image credit: [Detail of] Kenje Ogata in uniform, Sterling, Illinois. 1943. (Library of Congress)
Right image credit: [Detail of] Jaden Kim in flight gear, beside a plane.
Standing Together Against Hate
Online resources to uplift Asian and Asian American voices, encourage self-education, and offer solace from the
Smithsonian Institution. Resources for educators, exhibitions, videos, activities, blogs and more available from museums and
units within the Smithsonian.
(Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center)
Visit the site »
Image credit: [Detail of] “Our Shared Future, Reckoning with Our Racial Past.” Dr. Felicia Bell, Smithsonian.
National Park Service Celebrates Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a rich heritage thousands of years old and have both shaped the history of the United States and had their lives dramatically influenced by moments in its history. Every May during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and throughout the year, the National Park Service and its partners share those histories and the continuing culture thriving in parks and communities today.
Visit the site »
Image Credit: [Detail of] Statue of Liberty National Monument, courtesy of National Park Service.
Ansel Adams's Photographs of JapaneseAmerican Internment at Manzanar
In 1943 Ansel Adams, America's most well-known photographer, documented the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California and the Japanese Americans interned there during World War II. For the first time, digital scans of both Adams's original negatives and his photographic prints appear side by side, allowing viewers to see his darkroom technique and in particular, how he cropped his prints.
Image credit: Entrance to Manzanar, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Library of Congress.
For Teachers
Put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom. Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids.
Educational Resources »
Image credit: Five Asian children holding up small barbells (Library of Congress).
2021 Event Highlights
Online Event
May 5
CULINASIA: The Future of Asian Food in America: Saving Chinatown and Our Legacies
Join a panel of chefs, advocates, and activists
who discuss the future of Chinatowns across the country. CULINASIA is a dynamic,
free series of virtual conversations that explore food legacies and the ways in which Asian Diaspora
cuisine continues to change and enrich our lives. Panel members' experiences span the complex spectrum
of Asian Diaspora identities in the U.S. as they discuss the successes, challenges, and future of Asian food in America.
Program on Zoom, Registration required
(Smithsonian Institution)
Online Event
May 6
Jim Lee and Asian American Superheroes
This event celebrates the life work of DC Chief Creative Officer and Publisher Jim Lee. He will appear in conversation with illustrator Bernard Chang ("Generations Forged") and writers Sarah Kuhn ("Shadow of the Batgirl") and Minh Lê ("Green Lantern: Legacy"). Moderated by former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Gene Luen Yang ("Superman Smashes the Klan").
This presentation will premiere on both Facebook and YouTube .
(Library of Congress)
Online Event
May 19
CULINASIA: The Future of Asian Food in America:
Southeast Asia Got Something to Say
Hear from celebrity chefs and restaurateurs Jet Tila, Food Network star and chef partner in Pei Wei Restaurant Group, and Christina Hà, the first blind contestant of "MasterChef" and winner of its third season in 2012, and owner of The Blind Goat and Xin Chào in Houston. Then, follow along as Genevieve Villamora, co-owner of the award-winning restaurant Bad Saint and Vilailuck "Pepper" Teigen, author of the forthcoming The Pepper Thai Cookbook: Family Recipes from Everyone's Favorite Thai Mom, demonstrate a recipe from the new cookbook.
Program on Zoom, Registration required
(Smithsonian Institution)
Lecture
May 19
“'A Gift to Be Simple': Japanese American Influence in Appalachian Spring”
Professor Marta Robertson looks at the iconic ballet Appalachian Spring 1994
through the lens of Japanese American influences, especially via the dancing of Yuriko [Kikuchi] and set design
of Isamu Noguchi. Having been detained in incarceration camps, Yuriko and Noguchi offer political and cultural
perspectives that contrast with those of choreographer Martha Graham and composer Aaron Copland. This presentation
will premiere on YouTube
and then be available afterward both there and in the Library's Event Videos collection.
(Library of Congress)
Panel Discussion
May 20
Youth in Action: Ecological Knowledge in Pacific Coastal Communities
How can traditional knowledge inform responses to current environmental challenges? Join us in conversation with young Indigenous activists from across the Pacific who are using traditional ecological practices to combat threats to the ocean resources their communities have protected and thrived on for thousands of years. Moderated by Gabbi Lee (Kanaka 'Ōiwi). Panelists include Franceska De Oro (Chamoru/Taotao Tåno Ginen Guåhan), Kammie Tavares (Kanaka 'Ōiwi) and 'Qátuw̓as (Gahtuwos) Brown (Haíɫzaqv [Heiltsuk] and Nuučaan̓uł [Nuu-chah-nulth]).
(National Museum of the American Indian)
Additional Events
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