Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Month!

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Month! This month celebrates the numerous Asian/Pacific communities within the United States. Initially introduced to Congress in the late 1970s as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, the first 10 days of May were selected to honor the cultures and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It was not until 1992, that the entire month of May was designated and annually proclaimed AAPI month. 

Image from Hawaiian Schools Photo Album

To celebrate and observe Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, the State Library has curated a selection of titles related to Asian American and Pacific Islander history, experience, cultures, and communities within Massachusetts and beyond. Please contact the Reference Department if interested in any of the below titles.

• Southeast Asians: A New Beginning in Lowell (1986) by James Higgins
• Chinatown (1976) by May Ling Tong
• My Legacy is Simply This. Stories from Boston's Most Enduring Neighborhoods Vol. II Charlestown, Chinatown, East Boston, Mattapan (2008)
• The Rise of Asian-owned Businesses in Massachusetts (2007) by Paul Watanabe and Michael Liu
• Asian American histories of the United States (2022) by Catherine Ceniza Choy
• The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes, Chinese Migration, and Global Politics (2022) by Mae Ngai
• An Inconvenient Minority: The Attack on Asian American Excellence and the Fight for Meritocracy (2021) by Kenny Xu
• Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War (2012) by Stephen R. Platt
• Snow Falling in Spring: Coming of Age in China during the Cultural Revolution (2008) by Moying Li
• Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans (1998) by Ronald Takaki

In addition, our Special Collections department has put on display in our main reading room images of Hawaiian schools, teachers, and students from a period between 1897-1922. The album of photographs was donated to the State Library in 1924. You can view the full digitized album on our Flickr account! 

Finally, on May 9th, the State Library hosted author, researcher, and Asian American activist, Michael Liu. Liu spoke on his book, Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity, and Survival in Boston's Chinatown, 1880-2018. You can view the entire recorded talk on our YouTube channel!

For more information and events happening this month, please visit AsianPacificHeritage.gov. 

April Pascucci
Reference Librarian