Happy Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month!

As May comes to a close, we reach the end of another successful Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM). What was first established as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week in 1978 has since grown into an annual month-long celebration observed across the country. While we know that our community’s achievements and contributions warrant recognition every month, APAHM stands as a unique opportunity to uplift one another and highlight the individual stories that comprise our collective voice.

At Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Asian Law Caucus, we celebrated this year’s APAHM by honoring changemakers like Eddy Zheng, a formerly incarcerated activist advocating for restorative justice and an end to mass incarceration as co-chair of the Asian Prisoner Support Committee…

…by sharing moments in APA history that demonstrate our power, resilience, and fortitude on social media…

…by contributing to the ongoing discussion of APA identity through this publication, ALC Voices, and as always, by continuing to advocate for the civil and human rights of our community.

Ours is a multifaceted and complex community. Too often, our discussions center a select few narratives that unintentionally alienate countless others, including those most marginalized among us. In order to meaningfully build upon the work of all those who came before us, it is essential that we ensure our advocacy includes all those who have, in various ways, been left behind. As you commemorate our community’s achievements this month, we hope that you’ll also reflect upon and celebrate all the diverse identities encompassed in our acronym.

Our Executive Director Aarti Kohli is many things: in addition to being a courageous advocate in the fight for justice, she is also a wonderful poet whose haiku written in honor of APAHM perfectly captures the spirit of this month’s celebration. Her haiku is inspired by her recent visit to DC and the Japanese American Memorial during cherry blossom season:

“We Admit a Wrong”

etched in stone and forgotten

under pink blossoms

petals and grief float

through the cascading water

lifted by the breeze

Manzanar, Topaz

behind us and we wonder

what more lies ahead

At a time when so many forces seek to undo the gains we’ve made thus far, these moments of reflection and celebration are all the more valuable for the ways in which they remind us that we are not alone; in fact, we have never been more united.

From all of us at Advancing Justice — Asian Law Caucus, happy Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month!