Asian/American Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2024

(Celebrated at Duke during April)
May is Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A broad term, AAPI encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island). Typically celebrated in May, we at Duke choose to honor it in April to allow a full month of festivities and events on campus, reflecting on the histories, accomplishments, and diversity of the AAPI community. Student organizations, offices, and academic departments are all encouraged to host events and contribute to our annual calendar of events for A/APIHM!

AAPI stands for Asian American Pacific Islander and started formally being used in the 1990s as a category in the U.S. Census. The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs defined Asian-Pacific Islander as "A person with origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East (i.e. East and Southeast Asia), Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands." Around 2010 a newer term, “APIDA” has been used [in an effort to] be more inclusive of South Asians. APIDA stands for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American, with the Desi term representing South Asian identifying people (U of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023).

Resources on the terms:

• Inclusive Language Series: APIDA vs. AAPI-University of Wisconsin-Madison, University Housing
• Remapping a Theoretical Space for Hawaiian Women and Indigenous Women- Lisa Kahaleole Hall, PhD*******
• Why some have mixed feelings about the terms Asian American and AAPI- CNN
• Are You “AAPI” or “Asian American”? It's Complicated. | A People's History of Asian America - PBS Voices 
• "What ‘AAPI’ Means to Me"- Nikki Whang, Yale SOM'22
• Pan-Pacific identity: A skeptical Asian American response- Young Mi Pak*******
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month- The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Asian Heritage Month: What’s in a Name?- Siena Iwasaki Milbauer, Asian American Organizing Project

*******To view at no personal/added cost, you must be a Duke-affiliated person with a valid netID login and access to Duke Libraries. If you are not, we highly encourage you to support these authors and their work in whatever ways you are able and willing.

• Submitted resources
  • AANHPI Resource Center: [via the The Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC)] "Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month is observed annually in May to celebrate the contributions that generations of AAPIs have made to American history, society, and culture. The following information has been curated by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) to educate the public about AAPIs and celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month."
• A/API BASE
• The Center for Multicultural Affairs & the Identity and Cultural Centers
• Duke Asian Alumni Alliance (DAAA)
• Duke Pacific Islander Alumni (PAIA)

• Asian Athletes Network
• Asian Students Association (ASA)
• Duke Chinese Student Association (CSA)
• Duke Chinese Theater (DCT)
• Duke Diya (South Asian Students Association)
• Duke East Asia Nexus (DEAN)
• Duke KAjok! (Korean-American Student Association)
• Duke Nepali Students Association (NSA)
• Duke Pamilya (Filipino Students Association)
• Hong Kong Student Association (HKSA)
• Japanese Culture Club (JCC)
• Korean Undergraduate Student Association (KUSA)
• Pakistani Students Association (PSA)
• Singapore Students Association (SSA)
• Taiwanese American Student Association (TASA)
• Vietnamese Students Association (VSA)
• alpha Kappa Delta Phi (akDPhi) [MGC]
• Lambda Phi Epsilon (LPhiE) [MGC]
• Duke Chinese Dance Troupe **
• Duke Deewana**
• Duke Dhamaka**
• Duke Lasya**
• Duke Rhydhun**
• Temptasians A Capella Group**
• Duke Asian-Pacific American Medical Students Association [G/P]
• Duke University Bangladesh Society [G/P]
• Duke University Chinese Students and Scholars Association (DCSSA) [G/P]
• Duke University Indian Students Association [G/P]
• Korean Graduate Student Association (KGSA) [G/P]
• Duke Taiwanese Student Association (DTSA) [G/P]
• Asian American Studies Working Group (AASWG)^^

** selective membership

[G/P] graduate/professional

[MGC] Multicultural Greek Council

^^ AASWG is housed within AADS. Reestablished in 2016, the Asian American Studies Working Group (AASWG) is the latest iteration of the decades-long push for Asian/American Studies at Duke. In 2018, after years of mobilizing students, staff, and faculty, the Asian American & Diaspora Studies (AADS) program was established.

The organizations listed here aren't the only A/API identified/affiliated organizations! Find these organizations on Duke Groups or Instagram! Want your organization to be added to this list or need to make an edit? Please email a.espaillat@duke.edu.

Thank you to our contributors who shared events, resources, and more.

Duke University A/APIHM logo designed by Aida Guo T' 26

Banner designs collaboration: Kristin LoBiondo Pfieffer, Communications Strategist, and Duke Student Affairs Communications

Stay tuned