Each year, the President of the United States issues a proclamation recognizing May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. The AANHPI community is a diverse community - tradition, language, religion, and history vary based on where someone is from. But often the way the community is depicted in films and books not created by those with lived experience can create unconscious stereotypes about the overall community.
Over the past year, we've started to build out our Diversity Awareness Calendar to ensure we are capturing the diverse and unique holidays of the community. We will continue to expand upon that information as we continue our own research and receive feedback from employees. For this year's AANHPI Heritage Month communication, we will take a look at how the AANHPI community feels about being combined into the umbrella term Asian American and ways in which anyone can support the AANHPI community throughout the year.
PBS Voice: Are You “AAPI” or “Asian American”? It's Complicated.
In this 11-minute video, diverse voices from the AANHPI community explore the pros and cons of disaggregating Asian American as a statistical category. This video is part of the "A People’s History of Asian America" series of thoughtful visual essays and explainers by Emmy award-winning journalist, Dolly Li, and Asian studies scholar and professor, Adrian De Leon. Each episode offers informed and empowering perspectives, helping to break down common microaggressions and racist stereotypes through the tools of ethnic studies.
How to Support the AANHPI Community throughout the Year
- Attend free online bystander training through the RightToBe. They are currently offering a monthly interactive training entitled, "Bystander Intervention to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment." The next session will be held on Wednesday, May 24, 2:00-3:00 p.m. eastern.
- Complete the "Understanding and Supporting Asian Employees LinkedIn Learning Course." In this course, Dr. Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn explains why lived experiences matter in the workplace and goes over several issues that impact Asian employees at work. She points out that the Asian community is not a monolith and discusses ways to build a more meaningfully inclusive workplace culture.
- Read about the many cultures and stories within the AANHPI community. Check out this Penguin Random House AANHPI Book List that includes authors of Asian, East Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage and cultures.