--- title: The Story Behind Asian Pacific American Heritage Month description: One woman's family story was overlooked, so she turned her anger into a national observance: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, or APAHM canonical: https://time.com/5592591/asian-pacific-heritage-month-history/ author: Kat Moon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-05-23T15:45:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:47.705Z article:section: History og:title: How One Woman’s Story Led to the Creation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month og:description: The observance also commemorates two key anniversaries og:url: https://time.com/5592591/asian-pacific-heritage-month-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3bf2c673ebc7f07/69894a2e22fb857674e284a1/transcontinentalrailroad2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6356 og:image:height: 3575 og:image:alt: Transcontinental Railroad og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How One Woman’s Story Led to the Creation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month twitter:description: The observance also commemorates two key anniversaries twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3bf2c673ebc7f07/69894a2e22fb857674e284a1/transcontinentalrailroad2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How One Woman's Story Led to the Creation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: The History You Didn't Learn: The Immigrants of Angel Island [Watch (HLS stream): The History You Didn't Learn: The Immigrants of Angel Island](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/246rXtQ4.m3u8) (11:35)  _Published 2021-05-03. When students learn immigration history in school, they often learn about Ellis Island, but they rarely learn about Angel Island, the immigration station on the west coast that was a hub for people arriving from Asia._ by [Kat Moon](https://time.com/author/kat-moon/) ## Kat Moon May 23, 2019 3:45 PM UTC  Photograph of First Transcontinental Railroad, circa 1869. Photograph of First Transcontinental Railroad, circa 1869. Fotosearch—Getty Images by [Kat Moon](https://time.com/author/kat-moon/) ## Kat Moon May 23, 2019 3:45 PM UTC One persistent voice expressing frustration toward the status quo can change the way history is remembered. Case in point: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The observance now takes place every May in the U.S. and is marked by communities within the country’s [22.2 million Asians and 1.6 million Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.](https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2019/asian-american-pacific-islander.html) And yet, despite that scale, the seeds for the commemorative month originated from one woman. [During the Congressional hearing](http://webarchive.loc.gov/congressional-record/20160304132756/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r102:71:./temp/~r102kGPQ50:e0:) in 1992 in which then New York Congressman Frank Horton introduced the bill that called for May to get that designation, he made a point of singling out that woman: Jeanie Jew, a former Capitol Hill staffer who had first approached Horton about the idea in the mid-1970s — more than 15 years earlier. She had witnessed the U.S. Bicentennial celebrations of 1976 and was concerned about the lack of recognition [given to Asian Pacific Americans.](https://apasf.org/history/) “She thought, what are the different ways that we can promote public awareness of the contributions?” says Claudine Cheng, a former president of [OCA — Asian Pacific American Advocates](https://www.ocanational.org/). At the time, celebrations for Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Week were already in place. While Black History Month was [decreed by President Gerald Ford in 1976](http://time.com/4197928/history-black-history-month/) to become a national observance, Hispanic Heritage Week [was designated as a national celebration by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968](https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/about/). “The right thing to do was to push for the Asians to also have a similar time during the year for commemoration and celebration,” Cheng says. And for Jew, the lack of recognition was very personal: Her great-grandfather, M.Y. Lee, had come to the U.S. from China in the 1800s and had helped build the transcontinental railroad. He and his peers had played a [key role](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/golden-spike-utah-railroad-150th-anniversary.html) in American history but had suffered for it. In the late 19th century, U.S. federal law openly targeted Chinese immigrants. [The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882](https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882) prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the U.S. for 10 years, and was renewed by [the Geary Act](https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=47), which additionally required immigrants from China to carry permits at all times or face possible deportation. (It was not until more than 60 years later, in 1943, that Congress [repealed the exclusion](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/chinese-exclusion-act-repeal) — and even then the law allowed only 105 Chinese people to enter the country each year.) Toward those who did make it to the United States, acts of violence were common. One incident involved 17 men and boys murdered in Los Angeles in what is now known as [the Chinese Massacre of 1871](https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/chinese-massacre-1871), another involved San Jose’s Chinatown being [burned and destroyed](https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=26215). Jeanie Jew’s ancestor did not escape this fate. “\[Lee\] later became a prominent California businessman,” Horton, a primary sponsor of the resolution, said in 1992\. “When the Chinese were having difficulties in Oregon, Mr. Lee traveled to Oregon and was killed during that period of unrest. It was a time of anti-Chinese and anti-Asian sentiment. The revelations about Mr. Lee and the story of Asian Americans led this one woman to believe that not only should Asians understand their own heritage, but that all Americans must know about the contributions and histories of the Asian-Pacific American experience in the United States.” The month of May was selected for two reasons: First, to commemorate the arrival of the first known Japanese immigrant to the U.S. [on May 7, 1843](https://asianpacificheritage.gov/about/); secondly, to honor the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869 — the building of which [up to 20,000 Chinese workers](https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chang-transcontinental-railroad-anniversary-chinese-workers-20190510-story.html) participated in. [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter-history) Jew and Ruby Moy, Horton’s Chief of Staff, spearheaded the efforts to gain support for a proclamation. In 1978, Horton and former California Rep. [Norman Mineta](http://time.com/5588532/norman-mineta-history/) introduced [a bill](https://www.congress.gov/bill/95th-congress/house-joint-resolution/1007?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22hj+res+1007%22%5D%7D) that called for the week beginning on May 4 — which would include the dates of the two key events — to be designated as Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. After the joint resolution was passed by Congress, President Jimmy Carter signed it into law and thus the commemorative occasion began as a week. The law, however, did not designate the week as an annual celebration, and community organizations and advocates were required to submit new requests annually to have the bill reauthorized. In 1990, the commemorative week expanded to a commemorative month after [a new bill](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-104/pdf/STATUTE-104-Pg168.pdf) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. Even then, the proclamation did not include an annual designation, and the president had to reauthorize May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month annually in the coming years. It was not until 1992 when Horton, along with multiple co-sponsors, [introduced the legislation](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-106/pdf/STATUTE-106-Pg2251.pdf) that would permanently designate May as the commemorative month — a legislation that became law after receiving unanimous support in Congress. “I want to commend the two women who made this event possible, Ruby Moy and Jeanie Jew,” Horton said at the 1992 congressional hearing. “Mrs. Jew turned a personal tragedy in her family history into a positive force.” Former Ohio Rep. Thomas Sawyer, who also spoke at the session that presented the legislation calling for an annual designation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, addressed its importance on a larger scale. “The subject matter of the bill is of extraordinary national significance in light of the substantial demographic change sweeping the country,” [he said.](http://webarchive.loc.gov/congressional-record/20160304132756/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r102:71:./temp/~r102kGPQ50:e0:) “The United States truly continues to be a nation of immigrants, and the diversity of the population continues to contribute to the strength and progress of the Nation.” ## Transcript I teach classes in East Americans in public policy. And one of my first lessons, is actually my family history of six Generations in the US and how public policy has shaped my family's personalized. So, my family face exclusion face segregation face, being detained, face being deported. If you have the political is personal on the personal is political, When students learn about immigration history in school, they're often introduced to Ellis Island the processing center in New York Harbor, where millions of immigrants arrived in the US mainly from Europe. But the history of Angel Island is less known. Angel Island is now a National Historic Landmark, its sits in the middle of San Francisco's Bay, but it was originally an immigrant Detention Center this station, which operated between 1910 and 1940 was a hub for people arriving from Asia. When is Milan was first thing built, the newspapers had all of these really flowery descriptions, they describe Angel Island as being the future Ellis Island of the west but with palm trees, with a pleasant Sea Breeze and it really could not be more different The US has a long history of limiting immigrants from Asia exclusionary laws against babe and are seen as being prostitutes in traffic for sex. Mhhe they pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1917. There was the easy a task cards on that was created by Congress that which basically Bard 500 million people from from Asia, from entering the United States. So on Ellis Island about 20% of the immigrants are detained. When they are. Detained is for relatively short. Just one to two days. When we look to Angel Island, we see that 60% of all immigrants were detained. Chinese immigrants were the group that had the the most detentions in relation to their population. They counted them. Detentions not in one to two days, but in weeks and months, the longest attention that we have found on record was 756 days. Being equally between Beast to immigration station, since is really start when we look at the numbers, but also at the store is as well. I live in San Francisco. So I knew about Angel Island. Sweet Spot all the time when we drove across the bridge. And I probably learned about it from my family who told me that my grandmother respond to Angel Island. The Russell Jones grandmothers came through, Angel Island and were detained in the 1920s, got her immigration records where she went through, Angel Island, and they actually had to have three Witnesses or white in order to prove that my Grandfather was born in the US and was an American citizen entitled to bring a wife back, man to interview. I saw a lengthy and difficult songs. Family story is typical of the Discrimination that many Asian immigrants coming through. Angel Island faced. In fact, the walls of Angel Island are covered with lines of Chinese poetry written by detainee's that describe their hardships Immigration station was known to be overcrowded known to the unsanitary. Known to have unhealthy food, detainees were very limited and their freedom. They were not allowed to be outside for many hours of the day. And even after immigrants left, Angel Island, racism and racist laws, made building a life here, difficult, that can be seen clearly in the story of the guy family from India. There were many South Asians to come to the United States during this time. Even before the 1917, Immigration Act, and there were hardly any women. But in 1915, the Buckeye family made up of fish. No. The guy father. And husband and his wife, Paula. And there's three young boys. Came to the United States through San Francisco. And my grandmother did not know a word of English at that time. She didn't know anything about American culture. My grandfather did, he had learned English school in India, he was wearing American clothes, he had Capital. Unlike most volcanoes as laborers vaishno is also an Indian nationalist. He opposed British colonialism of his homeland that America was supposed to guarantee and that they didn't have in India established a, a business. In San francisco-based show also became a naturalized citizen. He was adopted western dress and manners. He was doing everything, right? What you're supposed to do when you come as an immigrant, but they could Not escape the virulent and violent anti-asian discrimination and racism. That was injuring in the United States. In the early 20th century, When they try to move into their home and in Berkeley, they found a group of angry white neighbors, who prevented them from moving into the home. But they had he found out that new laws in the United States. New court rulings, made him ineligible for citizenship, and government officials went around the country. Denaturalizing South Asian Americans who had already been naturalized felt by the 1920s that as he wrote in a letter, their obstacles behind me blockades in front of me, he could not find a way forward and in 1928, he took his online My grandmother on the story. Kind of to it and sometimes you just didn't even want to go there and say, all right, that's enough for now, I don't want to talk about the rest and, you know, my heart would kind of tug for her. She would take off her glasses, kind of wiped her her glasses and look away And I know that that tragedy of those early days when my grandfather took his life, just always remained with her. As you can imagine, it was incredibly difficult for this young family to to persevere. But she did, she did, she became a community leader after the laws change G and her three sons became naturalized citizens. She saw them off for college and into careers, guy story of perseverance, became such a source of inspiration that in February 2021 a street in Berkeley was named after her. The Salvation American activist who fought for the name change that they felt compelled to do so after hearing how the family was driven out of Berkeley by their neighbors in, maybe 2012 or 2013, and it's really stuck with me. So when the opportunity came up, I really wanted this to be a way to talk about those from our community, who have not been allowed to live in the city of Berkeley. You know this history of the first Indian immigrants to California is just not now and the emphasis I think I'm like Ellis Island, you know, European immigration as the Great American story of how America came together as this Melting Pot or Salad Bowl what you think is what's important. And so when we continue to highlight, you know, just the Ellis Island Story, it helps to obscure the ways in which white supremacy works and works in our immigration system. One of the reasons why the Ellis Island immigrants were able to become so successful was because existing laws in a privilege their entry into the country. Allow them to become naturalized citizens. Which meant That they had the power of the boat. It's, it's really a story about white supremacy being extended White Privilege, being extended to certain immigrant, even though they certainly face hardships and struggles as well. But when we compare it to the Angel Island Story, it causes us to question, how equal our nation of immigrants has really been my family's been here for six generation, but we're still not seen as belonging for still being excluded and attacked for being Outsiders and threats. SSA word at Angel Island, I hate tracker, Which documents the sharp rise in racist incidents against Asians in America today, the government legitimate exclusion. And also, when government uses rhetoric like the term, Chinese virus, That gives people a signal, it gives them license to hate Asians has led to increased national awareness of the issue and in April 2021 the Senate passed a bill to help combat anti-asian hate crimes. This has been going on for a long time, in some ways we have evolved but deep inside in our Humanity, how do we feel about others who look different who come from different countries or cultures that we know little about? And I feel that education helps bridge that defied. 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