Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month – May 2025

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (designated 1990) celebrates the achievements and contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) in the United States. The AANHPI umbrella term encompasses cultures from the entire Asian continent, including East Asia, Southeast and South Asia, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.

Observed annually in May, AANHPI Heritage Month is a time to reflect upon and celebrate the remarkable role of the AANHPI community in the nation’s history. The month of May was selected to reflect the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843, as well as the completion of the first transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, which was built largely by Chinese workers. This year’s AANHPI Heritage Month theme is: “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience.”

AANHPI Trailblazers:

Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy – Born in Los Angeles, California, Cuddy’s parents were the first married couple to immigrate to the U.S. from Korea. Cuddy enlisted in the U.S. Navy during WW2 and later became the first female aerial gunnery officer in the Navy. Cuddy attained the rank of Lieutenant and went on to work for U.S. Navy Intelligence and the Library of Congress.

Former-Congressman Dalip Singh Saund – Born in Punjab, India, Saund was the first Indian American and Asian American elected to the United States Congress in 1957. He was a long-time supporter of FDR and a frequent critic of the U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East.

Actor George Takei – Born in Los Angeles, California, Takei and his family were detained at Japanese internments camps for three years starting when he was five years old. Takei would later portray Hikaru Sulu as one of the first Asian actors to portray a non-stereotyped Asian character.

Senator Tammy Duckworth – Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Duckworth has a number of firsts, including:  the first person born in Thailand elected to Congress, the first woman with a disability elected to Congress, the first female double amputee in the Senate, and the first senator to give birth while in office. She is the second Asian American woman to serve in the Senate.

Celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month:

• AAPI Restaurant Week (May 17 – 26)

• Japan’s Great Female Poets at the Art Institute of Chicago (through May)

• Culinary workshops at 2d Restaurant (May 9 – 23)

• Cyrus Tang Hall of China at the Field Museum

• Aloha, Y’all – Examining the Hawaiian steel guitar’s influence on modern music. (Smithsonian Sidedoor Episode)

• The Art of the Fist – Examining the legacy of Jhoon Rhee and his contribution to martial arts in America. (Smithsonian Sidedoor Episode)