May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The special month celebrates and pays tribute to the contributions generations of Asian/Pacific Americans have made to American history, society and culture.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month originated in 1978 when Congress passed it. This law directed the President to issue a proclamation designating the week beginning on May 4, 1979 as Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. President George H.W. Bush later issued Presidential Proclamation 6130 on May 7, 1990 designating May 1990 as the first Asian American Heritage Month.
Every May, we ask our member organizations what they are doing to acknowledge and celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This is a great way to highlight some of the great work they are doing and to hopefully inspire you as you plan your own Asian Pacific American Heritage Month initiatives.
Here is what they shared:
Booz Allen Hamilton
In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, our firm is spotlighting a few different activities and communications:
- A firm-wide email will go out on May 6 calling out specific attention to this month’s tribute celebrations and related activities, among them Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (as well as Mental Health Awareness Month and Military Appreciation Month).
- Booz Allen Vice President Lea Hurley was featured on the Society of Asian Scientists & Engineers’ first episode of their podcast called “Moments.” (She is also a member of the SASE Board of Directors.) During the episode Hurley recounts her experience as a woman, mother, sister, taught, wife, and a professional. This episode is being shared among leaders and employees this month, in light of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
- Our Latin American Forum (LAF), the African American Forum (AAF), the Asian Pacific American Forum (APAF), GLOBE LGBTQ+ Forum, and the firm’s Civil Services Group (CSG) is hosting a Cinco de Mayo celebration and networking event on May 2. There will be drinks, appetizers, dancing, and a keynote address from Senior Vice President Rob Silverman.
- On May 8, the Asian Pacific American Forum (APAF) will officially kick off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a networking happy hour social at Umaya Izakaya, a restaurant in downtown DC.
- On May 16, our GLOBE and Asian Pacific American Forum (APAF) will host a night of singing and socializing at a local DC karaoke bar to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and in anticipation of Pride Month.
Baxter
Here are some of the events Baxter’s Asian Leadership Network (ALN) Business Resource Group (BRG) has planned for Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.
Our signature annual event – CELEBRASIAN CULTURAL FAIR – is an engaging employee event that incorporates a series of tables/booths, each representing a different Asian heritage, offering interesting facts about the culture and what the country is best known for, highlighting Baxter’s presence in that country, and serving traditional cuisine.
Also, some of our cafeterias will be featuring special Asian-inspired menus during the month of May.
Some additional events:
- Indian Art Class
- Healthy Asian Cuisine
- Public Speaking w/Table Topics
- Tae Kwon Do & Yoga/Meditation
- Coffee Chat with Leaders of Asian Descent
- Professional Development Workshops
Capgemini
CREATE is Capgemini’s Employee Resource Group focused on growing an engaged community around culture and professional topics related to Asia, enhance Capgemini’s leadership profile by supporting the development of diverse top talent, and ultimately diversity as an asset to support business growth in a global marketplace.
CREATE is hosting fun activities across multiple offices in the United States to celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month. Activities will include game days, martial arts demonstrations, tea ceremonies, paper crane workshops and a webinar featuring an executive leadership panel to discuss cultural differences in the workplace and how to incorporate the perspective into company culture and daily work.
CSAA
Walnut Creek Asian Pacific Islander Connection (APIC) employee resource group events:
May 9: We showcase the documentary, My Revolutionary Mother, directed by Jethro Patalinghug from our External Affairs department. His mom, Virginia, will be in attendance and will answer questions along with Jethro after the movie.
May 23: Join our panel of Asian leaders from inside and outside CSAA IG speaking on “Breaking through the Bamboo Ceiling.”
May 28-30: Growing Up Asian in America Display; see our display of winners’ essays and artwork from the Growing Up Asian in America contest.
Colorado Springs Regional Diversity Council event:
May 31: Wrap up the month with a Hawaiian barbeque celebration featuring Hawaiian dragon fruit juice.
Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bank Cincinnati’s Asian Pacific Islander Business Resource group will be hosting an executive breakfast series during the month of May that will allow its members to have an interactive opportunity to meet the company’s senior and executive leaders.
As a part of the breakfast series, there will be panel discussions that will focus on hot topics that pertain to the group, speed networking that will allow the members of the group to introduce themselves to upper management and fellowship among the participants.
In addition to this, the group is inviting members from the other seven business resource groups at the Bank to join them at the city-wide Asian food fest, which will feature Asian culture, cuisine and entertainment.
HCSC
HCSC has several activities planned in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Our Asian American Business Resource Group (AABRG), who leverages the talents of Asian American employees, fosters innovation and strengthens the HCSC brand in the marketplace, will be hosting these events. Additionally, HCSC will send out company-wide communications and leverage technology to engage employees in the activities taking place in May.
HCSC is proud to celebrate Asian Pacific American Month and the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans in the workplace. Below is a list of planned activities.
- Chicago HCSC employees will celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by hosting an event that incorporates culture, career advice and cuisine. Employees of all backgrounds will have an opportunity to learn various Asian languages and traditions. A panel discussion will feature leaders from the greater Chicago Asian community, who will share insights on their career experiences.
- An Asian Pacific American heritage banner will be displayed in the Richardson, TX headquarters during the month of May.
- Richardson HCSC employees will celebrate Asian culture with a heritage event that combines fashion, music and food. The networking event provides a great opportunity to educate employees on Asian traditions. The event will feature Asian dances and fusion foods from China and India. Employees are invited to wear traditional clothing to the
celebration.
JLL
Our Asian Americans in Commercial Real Estate are featuring notable Asian Americans write ups via email and Yammer and holding events in all the local markets.
McDonald’s
- Asian Heritage Month, May 15th
In May, we are celebrating the culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Middle Easterners in the United States. APMEN is hosting an Asian inspired lunch on Wednesday, May 15 and have invited keynote speakers and panelists to share their journeys. APMEN will also include Live entertainment at this event by Asian artists from the Chicago Civic Orchestra. The theme for the event is Better Together: Gender Balance & Diversity and will highlight navigating the Asian American experience in corporate America. - Dragon Boat Race, Saturday, June 22nd
On Saturday, June 22 APMEN will be participating in the annual Chicago Chinatown Dragon Boat Race for Literacy. This is great community event and to help showcase McDonald’s Values of giving back to our community! The proceeds are used to support literacy and the promotion of culture and diversity within the local schools. This event is held in Chicago Chinatown’s Ping Tom Memorial Park, with approximately 24 teams competing in a fast-paced Dragon Boat tournament along the Chicago River. We will be racing against other large corporations such as Pepsi, Comcast, Citiban, Harris Bank and cheered on by 10,000 visitors!
In addition, McDonald’s is sponsoring one of the non-profit organizations in Chinatown called Project Vision. This organization helps youth of Chicago’s Chinatown, Bridgeport, and surrounding communities achieve their full potentials by providing them with tools for educational, personal, and civic development.
Merck
Asian Pacific Association Heritage Food Trail: APA will explore one of Singapore’s main ethnic quarter – Kampong Glam (Malay Village), immerse in local culture, arts, heritage and taste local delicacies.
Asia Pacific Association hosts guest speaker Dr. Racquel Collins, Assistant Dean at the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Collins will share her background, her career path, and the contributions that Merck medicines make to the life-saving work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Asia Pacific Association hosts a lecture featuring Monica Chaudhari, former AVP at Merck and CEO of AdirA LLC, a health-tech startup to direct women, often the primary healthcare decision makers in their families, to a personalized suite of healthcare resources. She will be leading a discussion of “R3”, a set of principles she stands by in her professional and personal life, that led her through the Merck ranks and to her current position as a startup founder.
State Farm
On May 29, 2019, State Farm will recognize AAPI traditions and cultures through multiple office events across the country for their employees. These celebrations, which are sponsored by the Asia Network Employee Resource Group, will include cultural booths, activities, food, and not-for-profit exhibits to encourage and promote community engagement and volunteerism by our employees.
Sodexo
In recognition and celebration of Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, Sodexo, in partnership with its Employee Business Resource Group PANG (Pan Asian Network Group), has planned several workplace activities.
Internal celebrations are being promoted across Sodexo locations using various channels including: posters, internal websites and social media.
This year PANG will host its Annual Meeting virtually and at Sodexo headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD where employees will have the opportunity to explore this year’s theme: Unique and United.
The agenda features Garrett Taira, a local Asian American actor and dancer known for his comedic timing and heart felt performances, as well as, a fireside chat with senior Sodexo executives, Sarosh Mistry, North America CEO and Region Chair; Ramesh Mahalingam, North America CFO and PANG Co-Executive Sponsor; Aimee Meher-Homji, VP Talent Acquisition and PANG Co-Executive Sponsor; and Rohini Anand, Senior Vice President Corporate Responsibility and Global Chief Diversity Officer.
These executives will share unique aspects of their heritage, examples of cultural stereotyping that they have experienced, steps Sodexo is taking to ensure that employees feel a sense of community where they can bring their true selves, and how Sodexo is ensuring Asian representation among its workforce.
Other activities include a PANG booth highlighting upcoming Asian Heritage Month events. The booth will also offer membership information, healthy Asian menus and tips, and samplings of healthy Asian food options.
Verizon
Verizon is excited to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!
Our theme this year is: “All of us; elevated.” All of us are bringing our whole, authentic selves and working with one another at Verizon to deliver the very best results. As we all leverage our heritage and unique perspective, we elevate everyone’s voice and contribution.
Below are highlights of some of the activities:
- Matt Ellis – Executive Vice President and CFO, and also executive sponsor of our Asian ERGs, kicked off the heritage month: see his letter to employees, which demonstrates what inclusive leadership looks like.
- Economic inclusion: we showcase a diverse supplier in each heritage month. Employees can learn about the business impact diverse suppliers bring to the business and also the positive change Verizon brings to society through our support of these suppliers,
- MAKERS stories and discussion: MAKERS, now a Verizon brand, has the mission to accelerate the women’s movement through stories of real-life experiences that ignite passion and action. This month, we call out stories from the “Crazy Successful Asians” video playlist and encourage our employees to share their comments and experiences.
- May 20 Global webcast for all employees: we will have interesting conversations with multicultural connectivity expert Bill Imada and students from the National Millennium Community around what makes the most attractive employer brand for the next generation of talent.
We will also have a panel discussion with Asian leaders at Verizon and hear their personal stories—if they have ever felt the “bamboo ceiling” in their lives and how they are taking advantage of their background to make a difference for the business and the customers.
Viacom
Here is a listing of Viacom’s signature events for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month:
- Lunch & Learn with Melody Tan (Chief Operating Officer, Viacom International Media Networks)
- Foursquare x Asian American Journalist Association x AMP, Viacom’s Employee Resource Group present “Talk Story: Asian Americans in Media” Panel Discussion
- Speed Networking with Asian American Leaders at Viacom
- In Conversation with Ronny Chieng (Daily Show correspondent and featured actor in Crazy Rich Asians)
