May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month -- a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. This encompasses the whole Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. It is a month to celebrate and pay tribute to the contribution’s generations of Asian and Pacific Americans have made to American history, society, and culture. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Many of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. 

Stay tuned for special posts throughout the month.