LibGuides: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to Celebrate

Chien-Shiung Wu
Chien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese-American physicist. She recieved the National Media of Science in 1975; she held the position of American Physical Society president and has long been internationally regarded as a one of the best experimental physicists.
Edith Kanaka'ole
Edith Ke‘kuhikuhiipu‘uoneonaali‘iokohala Kenao was a teacher, dancer, chanter, and composer who worked her entire life to preserve Hawaiian culture. She opened her own hula school, Hālau o Kekuhi. She was a member of the Imua Project which is now called the Hawaiian Studies Program’s Kūpuna Component in which Hawaiian elders share cultural knowledge in schools. In 1979, Kanaka'ole was awarded the Hawaiian Distinction of Cultural Leadership award.
Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri is an American author who writes about the immigrant experience, focused on East Indians. In 2000, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her short story collection titled Interpreter of Maladies. She was born to Bengali parents and lived in the UK as a child before moving to the United States. In 2012, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and President Barack Obama presented her with the National Humanities Medal in 2015.
Norman Mineta
Norman Mineta served on Congress from CA for almost 21 years. He was the first Asian American to serve on the cabinet as the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Transportation. He was responsible for helping to create the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Yo Yo Ma
One of the century's most-famed musicians, Yo Yo Ma is an internationally recognized cellist who began playing publicly when he was five years old. He was a student at the Julliard school in New York City and then he graduated from Harvard University. He has been known to play classical repertoire and has been commissioned by many contemporary composers to play their newly-written pieces. He also created the Silk Road Project in 1998 in which artists explore the cultural traditions from along the Silk Road. He has received 15 grammy awards, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010.
Sunisa Lee
Suni Lee is a Hmong-American gymnast who won the individual all-around gold medal at the 2020 Olympic games. She was the first Hmong American to compete and win a medal. Competing at the age of 12, she has won numerous medals and helped the US team achieve top awards.
Jack Soo
Jack Soo was a Japanese-American TV actor who broke color barriers for Asian American actors with his career in radio, television, and film from the 1940s-70s. Having just graduated from the U of CA Berkeley in 1941, he was then ordered to the Topaz Relocation Center during World War II where he performed comedy sketches making fun of camp life.

Current News

There is much to celebrate in the news surrounding Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month!

Source Citations

Cellist Yo Yo Ma performing at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival on the Mall.. Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/images/142_2336085. Accessed 3 Apr 2025.

"Chien-Shiung Wu." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 16 Apr. 2024. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Chien-Shiung-Wu/77575. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

Chien-Shiung Wu. Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/images/132_1251927. Accessed 3 Apr 2025.

Delogu, Marco. Jhumpa Lahiri, 2013. Photography, New York Times, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9 Aug. 2024. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Jhumpa-Lahiri/438973. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

"Edith Kanaka‘ole." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 16 Dec. 2024. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Edith-Kanakaole/644416. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

House Appropriations Committee. . Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/images/142_2307635. Accessed 3 Apr 2025.

"Jhumpa Lahiri." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9 Aug. 2024. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Jhumpa-Lahiri/438973. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

Salmoiraghi, Franco. Edith Kanaka'ole. Photography. Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 16 Dec. 2024. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Edith-Kanakaole/644416. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

"Yo-Yo Ma." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 Apr. 2024. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Yo-Yo-Ma/396768. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

Photograph of Jack Soo on the Barney Miller. 1978. Smithsonian, www.si.edu/object/photograph-jack-soo-barney-miller-set:nmah_2033663. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

"Suni Lee." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Dec. 2024. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Suni-Lee/639139. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

Squire, Jamie. Suni Lee. Photography. Getty Images, Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Dec. 2024. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Suni-Lee/639139. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.