Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2021
Citation | 86 FR 23843 |
Record Number | 2021-09570 |
Published date | 05 May 2021 |
Section | Presidential Documents |
Court | Executive Office Of The President |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 85 (Wednesday, May 5, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 5, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 23843-23844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09570] Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 5, 2021 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 23843]]
Proclamation 10189 of April 30, 2021
Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific
Islander Heritage Month, 2021
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
This May, during Asian American and Native Hawaiian/
Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we recognize the
history and achievements of Asian Americans, Native
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) across our
Nation. In the midst of a difficult year of pain and
fear, we reflect on the tradition of leadership,
resilience, and courage shown by AANHPI communities,
and recommit to the struggle for AANHPI equity.
Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians, and Pacific
Islanders make our Nation more vibrant through
diversity of cultures, languages, and religions. There
is no single story of the AANHPI experience, but rather
a diversity of contributions that enrich America's
culture and society and strengthen the United States'
role as a global leader. The American story as we know
it would be impossible without the strength,
contributions, and legacies of AANHPIs who have helped
build and unite this country in each successive
generation. From laying railroad tracks, tilling
fields, and starting businesses, to caring for our
loved ones and honorably serving our Nation in uniform,
AANHPI communities are deeply rooted in the history of
the United States.
We also celebrate and honor the invaluable
contributions the AANHPI communities have made to our
Nation's culture and the arts, law, science and
technology, sports and public service--including the
courageous AANHPIs who have served on the front lines
of the COVID-19 pandemic as health care providers,
first responders, teachers, and other essential
workers.
During this year's Asian American and Native Hawaiian/
Pacific Islander Heritage Month, our Nation celebrates
the achievements of Vice President Harris, the first
person of South Asian descent to hold the Office of the
Vice President. Vice President Harris has blazed a
trail and set an example for young people across the
country to aspire to follow, including members of
AANHPI communities and AANHPI women in particular.
In spite of the strength shown and successes achieved,
the American dream remains out of reach for far too
many AANHPI families. AANHPI communities face systemic
barriers to economic justice, health equity,
educational attainment, and personal safety. These
challenges are compounded by stark gaps in Federal
data, which too often fails to reflect the diversity of
AANHPI communities and the particular barriers that
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian, and
South Asian communities in the United States continue
to face.
My Administration also recognizes the heightened fear
felt by many Asian American communities in the wake of
increasing rates of anti-Asian harassment and violence
during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increasingly
observable layers of hate now directed toward women and
elders of Asian descent in particular. Our Nation
continues to grieve the senseless killings of six women
of Asian descent in Atlanta, and the unconscionable
acts of violence victimizing our beloved Asian American
seniors in cities across the country.
[[Page 23844]]
Acts of anti-Asian bias are wrong, they are un-
American, and they must stop. My Administration will
continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with AANHPI
communities in condemning, denouncing, and preventing
these acts of violence. We will continue to look for
opportunities to heal together and fight against the
racism and xenophobia that still exists in this
country.
Present-day inequities faced by AANHPI communities are
rooted in our Nation's history of exclusion,
discrimination, racism, and xenophobia against Asian
Americans. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and
Pacific Islanders have endured a long history of
injustice--including the Page Act of 1875, the Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882, the incarceration of Japanese
American citizens during World War II, the murder of
Vincent Chin, the mass shooting of Southeast Asian
refugee children in 1989, and the targeting of South
Asian Americans, especially those who are Muslim,
Hindu, or Sikh, after the national tragedy of 9/11. It
is long past time for Federal leadership to advance
inclusion, belonging, and acceptance for all AANHPI
communities. My Administration is committed to a whole-
of-government effort to advance equity, root out racial
injustices in our Federal institutions, and finally
deliver the promise of America for all Americans.
Vice President Harris and I affirm that Asian
Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders make
our Nation stronger. I urge my fellow Americans to join
us this month in celebrating AANHPI history, people,
and cultures.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2021 as
Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Heritage Month. I call upon the people of the United
States to learn more about the history of Asian
Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, and
to observe this month with appropriate programs and
activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
fifth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2021-09570
Filed 5-4-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P