OCA CELEBRATES APA HERITAGE MONTH
Washington, DC – OCA, a national Asian American social justice organization with over 80 chapters and affiliates, will honor Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) at events all across the country this May.
“OCA is so pleased to be part of this year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month festivities,” said OCA National President Ginny Gong. “We have been a part of APA Heritage Month from the beginning and look forward to working with communities of all colors to expand knowledge and appreciation for the myriad Asian cultures in America.”
This year’s national theme, “Dreams and Challenges of Asian Pacific Americans,” was set by the Asian Pacific American Heritage Council. OCA local chapters will be hosting events that reflect this theme in cultural shows and banquets that will highlight the diversity of the Asians and Pacific Islanders (APAs) in America as well as educate the American mainstream public.
“There will be many opportunities for Americans to learn about the dreams and challenges of Asian Americans,” said OCA Executive Director Dorothy Wong. “All of the APAs here in the US have either descended from immigrants or are immigrants themselves. With the ongoing debate over immigration reform issues, we can re-visit the dreams of APAs as they first arrived in America, whether they were here hundreds of years ago, or if they were newly minted citizens last week. The challenge we have before us is to recognize our ethnic differences while maintaining a unified APA identity.”
OCA is proud to have played an integral role in the founding of APA Heritage Month. The first APA Heritage Month was proclaimed in May of 1990, under President George H.W. Bush, and OCA is proud that the tradition has continued strong ever since. Inspired by the proclamations for Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Week, congressional staffers Jeannie Jew and Ruby Moy, sought to have similar legislation enacted for APAs. The nationwide effort was coordinated by the National Coalition for a Pacific/Asian American Heritage Proclamation, which was founded and chaired by Ms. Jew, an OCA National Board member and included K. L. Wang, founder of OCA.
For more information on APAHM events in your local area, please contact
Anh Phan: 202 223-5500
aphan@ocanatl.org