Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2022 Proclamation

WHEREAS, Asian Pacific American Heritage month started as a commemorative occasion that broadly applies to but not limited to all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island); and

WHEREAS, the first celebration originated in Congress in 1977 by Rep. Frank Horton of New York and Rep Norman Mineta of California. The proclamation was introduced with House Joint Resolution 540 which proclaimed the first ten days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week. During the same year, Senator Daniel Inouye introduced a similar resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 72. After two failed attempts, Rep. Horton went back and introduced House Joint Resolution 1007 in June of 1978. This resolution proposed that the President should “proclaim a week, during the first ten days in May of 1979 as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week”. This joint resolution was passed by the House and then the Senate and was signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978 to become Public Law 95-419; and

WHEREAS, Over the next decade, presidents passed annual proclamations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week until 1990 when Congress passed Public Law 101-283 which expanded the observance to a month. Finally in 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-450 which annually designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month and was signed by President George H.W. Bush. That same year the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers which are mostly union members and allies for advancing worker rights on both immigration and civil rights. APALA has addressed over 660,000 AAPI workplace issues. They serve as the bridge between the labor movement and the AAPI community, and

WHEREAS, The month of May is significant and was selected as it commemorates the first immigration by the Japanese in 1843 as well as the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 where most of the workers were Chinese immigrants. and

WHEREAS, The City of Kyle, acknowledges these past wrong doings on the Asian Pacific American people and urges it citizens to practice inclusivity through celebrating the contributions of its Asian Pacific American community by honoring their history, people, and culture.

THEREFORE, be it proclaimed by the City of Kyle, that the month of May 2022 should be celebrated as

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

in appreciation of the many achievements of Kyle’s Asian Pacific American community and those across this nation and its history.

SIGNED AND ENTERED THIS 17th DAY OF May, 2022.

Travis Mitchell, Mayor
Robert Rizo, Mayor Pro Tem, Council District 3
Dex Ellison, Council District 1
Yvonne Flores-Cale, Council District 2
Ashlee Bradshaw, Council District 4
Daniela Parsley, Council District 5
Michael Tobias, Council District 6