03.04.08
U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Feature: Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: May 2008
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.
The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important
milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United
States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of
Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, completed
on May 10, 1869. In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a month long
celebration. Per a 1997 Office of Management and Budget directive, the
Asian or Pacific Islander racial category was separated into two
categories: Asian and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
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