First conceived and introduced into Congress in the late 1970s, what we know today as Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (APIHM) began as a week to be celebrated in the first 10 days as “Asian Pacific Heritage Week”. In 1991, the week was expanded upon, and May was officially designated as “Asian Pacific American Heritage Month”. Traditionally honored in May to commemorate the migration of the first immigrants from Japan, Elon celebrates APIHM in April. This year’s APIHM, focuses on the theme of “unity and community”.

With the Black Power & Civil Rights movements, the 1960s marked an inflection point for Asian communities in the US: the birth of the Asian American movement. Students from UC-Berkeley are said to be the first to utilize the term “Asian American” and did so to create a rallying point for Asian diaspora in the US.

Since then, the Asian American movement has continued to evolve, and the continued use of the term “Asian American” can be thought of as a legacy from previous Asian American activists who endured to create a better and more just society. This year’s APIHM will honor this part of Asian American history and identity.

EVENT CALENDAR

API Month Kickoff

Join us on Medallion Plaza as we kick off our celebration of API month! We will be featuring various foods from different regions of Asia, as well as local vendors, community organizations, and businesses. In addition, there will be a chance to win some prizes!

For more information about the kick-off, please view our APIHM 2023 pamphlet.

Time: April 4th, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Location: Medallion Plaza

Guest Speaker: Yellow Peril, Black Power – Asian & Black Connections, Past & Present

Description: Aligning with our theme for APIHM, Dr. Zhihong Chen from Guilford College will be coming to speak on the necessity of interracial solidarity and the need to talk about the nature of racism and oppression as it affects all marginalized groups. Dr. Chen is a faculty for the History department at Guilford College and the faculty fellow at Guilford’s Center for Principled Problem Solving and Excellence in Teaching (CPPSET). Her past teaching has focused on AAPI history and identities, with a specific focus on communities in the Greensboro area. Her more recent work examines Asian & Black relations in the US. Keep reading for more background on the event!

Time: April 6th, 5:30 PM
Location: Moseley 215

Background: The public discourse on race and racial relations in the U.S. has primarily focused on the binary narrative of whites vs. blacks. However, this binary obscures the complexity of America’s racial mosaic. According to a Pew Research Report (April 9, 2021), Asian Americans were the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the U.S. from 2000 to 2019, followed by Hispanics. In addition to demographic shifts, the traditional lens of focusing on one specific minority group – African Americans, Asians, or Latinx, etc. – can also become restrictive when it comes to an understanding of the systemic nature of oppression and inequity. Without looking at the connections among the different groups, we won’t fully understand how some seemingly positive descriptions of one particular group, such as the Asian “Model Minority” myth, can become a wedge against another disadvantaged group, particularly black people. Since the system we face is the same, we have much to gain by examining the historical and contemporary connections among different groups and the intersectionality of their experiences.

APSA & Unity and Communications: Minari Movie Screening

Description: A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American as he and his family start a farm in 1980s Arkansas.

Time: April 6th, 7 pm – 9 pm
Location: Turner Theatre

APSA: Boba Bar

Description: Boba has undoubtedly become a staple in many East Asian and Asian American experiences. Come join APSA in our own version of a boba bar, featuring milk tea and a few different toppings.

Time: April 7th, 5 pm – 7 pm
Location: Moseley 215

APSA: Ramen Across Asia

Description: Celebrate the cuisines within the API community by trying ramen from different countries across Asia!

Time: April 11th, 6 pm – 8 pm
Location: Moseley Kitchen

Asian Studies: Nightingale Movie Screening

Time: April 11th, 7 – 9 pm
Location: Global Media Room

API Community Lunch

Description: We will be hosting a community lunch in McEwen as a chance for students to get to know faculty and staff who identify with, or who have an interest in/teach, API identities, cultures, and experiences. Lunch will be provided, courtesy of the CREDE.

Students, faculty, and staff without a meal plan can let the dining staff know they are attending the community lunch. Students, please RSVP in advance here. Faculty & staff should RSVP here.

Time: April 12th, 11 am – 2 pm
Location: McEwen Dining Hall, Room 125

Kappa Phi Lambda: Cultural Fashion Show

Description: A fashion show featuring clothing from various different cultures! For those interested in participating in the fashion show themselves, please scan the QR code below for more details.

Time: April 12th, 7pm – 9pm
Location: Moseley 128 (McKinnon)

 

Chinese Club: White Snake Movie Screening

Time: April 14th, 7pm – 9pm
Location: Global Commons Media Room 103

Food For Thought With Friends: “What’s in a Name?”

Description: Food For Thought is our monthly gathering in the CREDE where we hold informal discussions around a variety of topics that affect Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander students; both here on campus and in the larger society. This month’s gathering will focus on the experiences of transracial adoptees* and going through the name change process. This is a collaboration with our Gender & LGBTQIA+ Center. We invite all to come out and learn more!

*transracial adoptees – those adopted into a family of a different racial or ethnic background

Time: April 18th, 5:30 PM
Location: CREDE (Moseley 221)

APSA: Basil Pot Decorating

Take some time off from your day. Relax and come decorate some pots for a new basil plant.

Time: April 17th, 7 – 9 pm
Location: Moseley 215

Asian Studies: Asia in Your Heart, Mind, and Imagination: A Collage Workshop by Alyssa Hinton

This is a workshop where you will explore collage and your own understanding of Asia with Alyssa Hinton, a Native American artist with extensive training from China. You will discover connections and awaken your own artistic expression through this versatile art form while building and sharing with community during this special month! Bring an image that you think best represents Asia to the workshop. If you have some old magazines to cut up, bring those as well! All are welcome and no prior art training is required.
To read more about Alyssa and her work, please visit: https://www.alyssahintonart.com/bio.

Time: April 19, 6 to 7:30 pm
Location: Carlton Commons

Closing Speaker: Putting the “Pan” into “Pan-Asian” with PAVE NC

PAVE NC is a is a nonpartisan, volunteer-led initiative created to educate by sharing real stories and experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in NC. Co-producers of PAVE, Christie Soper and Tina Firesheets will be coming to talk about their own stories and what it means to be Asian American. Read more about their work on the PAVE website, or their bios below!

Christie Soper is a double alumna of Elon University and currently serves on the advisory board for the Doherty Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is also a former Lincoln Financial executive and founder and CEO of the travel and concierge services company, Suncierge, Christie Soper represents a second generation of women and minority entrepreneurs in the Triad. Currently, she is actively engaged in supporting other local women and POC business owners and nonprofit leaders through her consulting company, Maunaleo Ventures, Inc. Her passion is connecting people to create awareness, understanding, and opportunities, hence her work as co-founder and co-producer for PAVE NC.

Tina Firesheets is a former journalist, magazine editor, and school communications professional. She’s currently an associate creative director at Pace Communications, an integrated marketing agency based in Greensboro. She’s a Korean adoptee and the co-founder and a co-producer for the AAPI storytelling initiative, PAVE NC. For nearly 15 years, she was the only Asian American journalist in her
newsroom. In fact, for most of her career, she’s been the only Asian American/Asian American female wherever she has worked. In all of her roles, she has strived to ensure that there was representation across differences in her storytelling.

Time: April 20th, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Location: Oaks 212 (McCoy Commons)

Chinese Club: Food Workshop – Spring Rolls

Time: April 21st, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: Moseley Kitchen

The Missing (PI)ece: Pacific Islanders and the Environmental Justice Movement

More details coming soon!

Time: April 24th, 6:00 PM – 7:15 pm
Location: CREDE (Moseley 221)

Kappa Phi Lambda: History of Henna

Time: April 27th, 6pm – 8pm
Location: Spence Pavilion 201

SUB & APSA: Weathering With You Movie Screening

A high-school boy who has run away to Tokyo befriends a girl who appears to be able to manipulate the weather.

Time: April 28th, 8pm – 10 pm
Location: Turner Theater