Hello, APID Month!
Come learn about APID and the life-changing events at Pacific!
This country was built by minorities. It was people of color that did the job that the White men did not want to do. The African-Americans were enslaved on plantations doing field work, but they were not alone, they worked alongside Latin and Asian migrant workers. In the month of May, we celebrate and honor the history and contributions of those with Asian heritage. We recognize May as Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi (APID) Heritage Month to honor the first Japanese who migrated to America on May 7, 1843 followed by the Chinese a decade later. They were both fleeing the economic downfall in their respective countries, coming to the U.S. looking for peace and prosperity, a better future, and job opportunities in America. They worked in the gold mines, on the plantations, and in the factories. It is also recognized in May nationally because the Transcontinental Railroad was finished on May 10, 1869, which a lot of Asian Americans contributed to the building.
Pacific continues the APID Heritage Month tradition to celebrate and honor the great contributions of the APID community to America. At Pacific, we celebrate APID heritage in April, so we can get the chance to celebrate, honor, and educate ourselves on APID culture. We started off the month with a kick-off event on April 5th on the DUC Lawn where we had tabling from different organizations, food, and music to start this heritage month off right. On April 9th, APID hosted a lunch hangout in their lounge located in McCaffrey 2nd floor where students brought their lunch and hung out with the community. Then, on April 11th there was a life-changing discussion panel of APID women leaders at their Breaking Barriers event. The panel encompassed a group discussing societal and cultural obstacles that they face as APID women, and how they overcome those obstacles to become the strong and independent leaders today. On April 18th was a documentary film screening: Sikhs in America. At the film screening there was a documentary film and panel discussion about Sikh American history. The film had depictions of the struggles that Sikh Americans have had to face in California. It examines the Sikh Americans’ journey from being immigrants to business people within a generation. We also saw the balance between the Sikh culture and the American dream. Finally, APID will finish off the month with a Global Voices discussion on April 30th at the Bechtel International Center. Here there will be discussion about the transitions and struggles that the international students face coming to America.
This is such a huge heritage month here at Pacific because it is the biggest affinity group on campus. Asia alone is a massive continent that has 48 countries including China, which is the highest populated country in the world. Asia also includes Desi Americans that are affiliated with South Asia (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) culture. While the Pacific Islands include 14 different countries and cultures. It is important that we do not just focus on one culture, when the APID affinity incorporates 62 different cultures. So come out and join us in all the amazing events that APID is hosting and learn about the amazing contributions of the APID community. Hope to see you there!
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