AAPI Heritage Month
What is "AAPI?"
Definition:
AAPI is an umbrella term that includes “all people of Asian, Asian American or Pacific Islander ancestry who trace their origins to the countries, states, jurisdictions and/or the diasporic communities” of Asia and the Pacific Islands.
AAPI includes over 100 languages in addition to English, and encompasses nearly 50 ethnic groups from East and Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and the Pacific Islands and their diasporas.
Source: Voices&Bridges
Origin of the Term:
The pan-ethnic identity “Asian American” began to be popularized in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, as Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Japanese Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area fought for the inclusion of their stories in college curriculum. The term Asian American was coined in 1968 by Emma Gee and Yuji Ichioka. The phrase was meant to bring together all people of Asian descent in the United States.
Note: Scholars have argued that Asian American should be considered separately from Pacific Islander, because Pacific Islanders experience a different set of struggles than Asian Americans. While Asian Americans often deal with immigration issues, Pacific Islanders are also fighting for decolonization and sovereignty. This nuance is worth honoring in toolkit language.
Sources: Pratt Institute, Wikipedia
AAPI Heritage Month
Origins
AAPI Heritage Month began as a weeklong celebration in 1978, introduced by U.S. Representatives Frank Horton and Senator Daniel Inouye.
In 1990, it became a full month – May – through a bill signed by President George H. W. Bush.
Why May?
May was chosen to honor two major milestones:
- May 7, 1843 – The first known Japanese immigrant arrived in the U.S.
- May 10, 1869 – Mark the anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, built largely by Chinese immigrants under brutal, discriminatory conditions.
Who is Included in AAPI?
East Asian: East Asians are people from China (including Macau and Hong Kong), Korea, Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
South Asian: South Asians are people from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Ethnic groups include Sindhi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, and many others.
Southeast Asian: Southeast Asians include Bruneian, Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Papua New Guinean, Singaporean, Timorese, Thai, and Vietnamese.
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: Pacific Islanders are those whose origins are the original peoples of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Polynesia includes Hawaii, Samoa, American Samoa, Tahiti, and Tonga. Micronesia includes Guam, the Mariana Islands, Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Kiribati. Melanesia includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
Central Asian:(newly classified as Asian by Census in 2024):
Central Asians include Afghan, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgians, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Mongolian, Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek peoples.
Sources: APIGBV, Northwestern
AAPI Population in the U.S.
Population Size & Growth:
There are 25.8 million Asian Americans living in the U.S., making up 7.7% of the population. The AAPI population is the fastest growing racial group in the U.S., with a population that nearly doubled from 2000 to 2023.
The AAPI population increased from 18 million in 2010 to over 25 million in 2020. The Pew Research Center projects the Asian American population will surpass 45 million by 2060.
Largest Ethnic Groups:
According to 2023 Census data, the Chinese (except Taiwanese) population is the largest Asian group, followed by Asian Indian (5.2 million), Filipino (4.6 million), Vietnamese (2.3 million), Korean (2.0 million), and Japanese (1.6 million). There are 1.6 million Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders. The largest NHPI groups are Native Hawaiian (680,353), Samoan (243,682), and Chamorro (142,516).
Geographic Concentration:
California, New York, and Texas have the largest AAPI populations. Hawaii, California, and Washington have the highest population percentage of AAPI residents. All 3,243 U.S. counties have an AAPI population.
Sources: USA Facts, Asian Resource Hub, U.S. Census Bureau, Pew Research
AAPI Population in the U.S.
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Diversity Within the AAPI Community
AAPI Ancestry Breakdown
AAPI is not a monolith
The Asian diaspora is made up of roughly 50 ethnic groups and over 100 languages, with vast religious, class, and ideological differences.
Religion
The most common religions among Asian American adults include:
| Religion | Percentage |
|---|---|
|
Christianity |
34% |
|
Buddhism |
11% |
|
Hinduism |
11% |
|
Islam |
6% |
|
Other |
4% |
Religious affiliation varies widely:
- 95% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi Americans are Muslim
- 74% of Filipino Americans are Christian (mostly Catholic)
- 59% of Korean Americans are Christian (mostly Protestant)
- 57% of Chinese Americans are not affiliated with any religion
- 48% of Indian Americans are Hindu
- 37% of Vietnamese Americans are Buddhist
History of AAPI Immigration to the U.S.
First Wave: Gold Rush & Railroad Labor
1840s - 1880s
The first major wave of Asian immigrants arrived at American shores in the mid-1800s, and Asian Americans have since played a key role in U.S. history, while also facing discrimination and exclusion.
Chinese immigrants came to California during the Gold Rush beginning in 1848 and built much of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. Filipino and Japanese immigrants also began arriving in Hawaii to work on sugar plantations.
The Chinese Exclusion Act
1882
The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chinese nationals already in the U.S. to become citizens. It was the first and only U.S. law to explicitly bar immigration based on race and nationality.
The Restriction Era
1907–1924
The 1924 Immigration Act had a policy of total exclusion of all Asians on the U.S.’s border with the Pacific Ocean. The Thind case and the 1924 law “perfected Asiatic exclusion, baking in the ideas that started with Chinese exclusion — that Asians are always foreign, can never be loyal to the U.S.”
Japanese American Incarceration
1942
Following Executive Order 9066, the entire West Coast was designated as a military exclusion area, and all Japanese Americans who were living there were taken to assembly centers before being sent to concentration camps in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Arkansas. Over 120,000 Japanese Americans — two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens — were incarcerated.
Immigration and Nationality Act
1965
The 1965 Hart-Celler Act abolished the national-origins quota system, reopening immigration from Asia. This launched the modern growth of AAPI communities in the U.S., particularly among students, professionals, and families reuniting through chain migration.
Refugee Era
1975–1990s
Following the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and Hmong refugees resettled in the United States — a wave of immigration driven by displacement rather than opportunity.
Continued Growth
2000s–Present
The AAPI population continues to grow rapidly, driven by immigration from South and Southeast Asia, refugee resettlement, and U.S.-born second and third generations.
Shared Cultural Traits Across AAPI Communities
Despite their immense diversity, many AAPI communities share certain broadly observed values — while individual communities have deeply distinct traditions.st
Sources: NAMI, AAPI Equity Alliance
Collectivism & Family
Many cultural traditions within AAPI communities emphasize “collectivist” values, where personal identity is defined by the interconnectedness and relationships with other community members.
Community Identity as Protection
The sense of communal identity, connections, belonging, and family bonds is a strong predictor of resilience while facing life’s challenges.
Traditions & Food
Across the U.S., AAPI communities practice a range of traditions tied to their heritage. Their cuisines are equally distinctive, including chicken adobo from the Philippines, bingsu from Korea, and pho from Vietnam.
Intergenerational Tension
Second-generation AAPI immigrants may face challenges in their cultural identity, struggling to balance their familial ties to traditional cultural values with the pressure to assimilate to mainstream American society.
Hate & Bias Experienced by the AAPI Community
COVID-19 and the Surge in Anti-AAPI Hate
Between 2020 and 2023, Stop AAPI Hate recorded a total of 12,255 incidents of anti-Asian hate across the United States.
Current Data: Hate Remains Widespread
In 2024, 53% of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults reported experiencing hate, including a staggering 74% of young adults aged 18–29. This compares to 49% of AA/PI adults who experienced hate in 2023.
Seventy-seven percent of those who experienced a hate act did not report it to a formal authority or agency. Seventy percent of those who experienced hate reported frequent stress, and 59% reported frequent anxiety.
California-Specific Data
Nearly half of all AAPI adults in California — 48% — experienced hate in 2024. The report found that 31% of those who experienced hate told no one, and 72% never reported their incident to any formal authority. Harassment made up the largest share of hate acts at 44%, followed by institutional discrimination at 21%.
Key Patterns of Hate
Verbal Harassment & “Perpetual Foreigner”
AAPI individuals frequently face verbal harassment, slurs, and xenophobic comments questioning their belonging in America, including being told to “go back to where you came from.
The Model Minority Myth
The harmful stereotype that all AAPI people are universally successful erases real struggles, masks diversity within the community, and makes discrimination against AAPI individuals less visible and less addressed.
School Bullying
AAPI students experience bullying and exclusion in educational settings at elevated rates, often tied to their race, ethnicity, language, or perceived cultural identity.
Underreporting
The vast majority of AAPI hate incidents go unreported due to language barriers, distrust of authorities, cultural stigma, and a belief that reporting will not result in meaningful change.
Sources: Stop AAPI Hate, Pratt Institute, CSU, AAPI Equity Alliance