In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage month, NSE sponsored a program on May 27 to underscore the importance of Asian culture in America and to address the challenges any ethnic group faces coming to a new land.

The program included several Filipino tribal dances and a martial arts demonstration by the Family Karate Center of Everett.

“It’s important that we understand and embrace diversity in our society,” said CS1 Glendon Turner, organizer of the event.  “Being in the Navy has really made me sensitive to the importance of different cultures”.

The keynote speech was given by Lin Zhou, Associate Dean of Extended Learning at Lake Washington Technical College. Zhou emphasized that her greatest fear on coming to the United States from China was not being able to communicate well.  “Learning the language any way I could was the very highest priority,” Zhou said. 

She also found that developing a reputation for hard work was extremely important in getting ahead.  “This is one area where China and the United States are very similar.  Hard work and seriousness of purpose will get you where you need to go, Zhou said.

Asian cultures have a tremendous impact on the United States, particularly on the west coast.  We are part of the Pacific Rim world and in case of Washington state, our best trading partners lie to the west.

Much like Black History and Women’s History celebrations, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Representatives Frank Horton of New York and Norman Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed.

In May 1990, the holiday was expanded further when President George H.W. Bush designated May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated with community festivals, government-sponsored activities, and educational activities for students. This year’s theme is “Lighting the Past, Present, and Future.”