Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Innovative mathematics professor to speak with Norfolk District employees

Posted April 27, 2010
By Jerry Rogers
Norfolk District Public Affairs

04/27/2010 - NORFOLK, Va. — Throughout May, Americans will reflect on and honor the richly diverse and historical accomplishments made by fellow citizens, Asian and Pacific Islanders, who have shaped our country's history.

This year, Norfolk District employees can reflect on those accomplishments with Dr. Arun Verma, a native of India, and professor of mathematics at Hampton University, Hampton, Va., during a presentation 1:30 p.m., May 19, in the multipurpose room of the Waterfield Building.

This year's theme, released by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, is "Diverse Leadership for a Diverse Workforce."

The Federal Asian Pacific American Council, or FAPAC, was founded in 1985 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization representing the civilian and military Asian Pacific American employees in the federal and District of Columbia governments. The primary purpose of FAPAC is to serve as an interagency association, providing a focus for more than 30 ethnically distinct groups originating from Asian and Pacific regions as recognized by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

In researching this year's FAPAC national theme, Peter Hemmer, an illustrator with the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, Patrick A.F.B., Fl., said his inspiration for the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month poster was very simple.

"I went with something purely decorative using the colors of the American flag, a modern looking typeface for the header and a script typeface for the theme," explained Hemmer. "The circle is an enso, often used in Japanese calligraphy. It symbolizes enlightenment, strength and elegance and represents the diversity of all of the individual Asian cultures uniting into a single, yet diverse workforce. The stars in and around the enso refer back to the flag reference and signify individual people and cultures, but with a common goal," Hemmer added.

Much like Black History Month and Women's History Month celebrations, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill.

In June 1977, Representatives Frank Norton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first 10 days of May as Asian/Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both bills passed Oct. 5, 1978. President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration.

In May 1990, the holiday expanded when President George H.W. Bush designated May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. May commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated with community festivals, government-sponsored programs, such as the district's annual observance, and educational activities for students at all grade levels.