May 1 is the start of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebrating the contributions of Asian and Pacific Islanders to America’s history and culture. We honor and appreciate the people, history, food, and cultures of our various Asian communities and what they have added to our collective American experience. And we want to make sure to include our Native Hawaiian brothers and sisters who are sometimes left out of AAPI conversations. According to the most recent census, there are 24 million people of Asian descent in the United States. And the Asian population is the fastest-growing group in America, in every state and every neighborhood working, teaching, and raising families as part of their local communities. 

This year marks some painful milestones, it is the 40th anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin, an event that ignited and united a pan-Asian American community and that demanded equal civil and human rights. It has also been a year since the tragic Atlanta shootings. And it has been a difficult time in the last few years with AAPI hate and violence on the rise across the country. We have seen that words matter, misinformation matters, and silence matters. At the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, we believe prejudice comes from ignorance. And the best way to conquer ignorance is through education. That is why the Korematsu Institute has been promoting ethnic studies curricula in all 50 states to show us how our differences only make us richer as a country. We can learn to support each other and not repeat the mistakes of our past. We also support civil and social responsibility, like promoting the flu and COVID vaccines that keep our communities safe. 

What does it mean to be an American citizen? It is so much more than just what language you grew up speaking or where your grandparents were born. Fred Korematsu’s story is not just a Japanese American story, it is an American story. And as part of our mission to educate about the Japanese American Incarceration, AAPI history, and other vital American stories and experiences, we offer a wealth of resources from films to lesson plans to curricula for educators, teachers, and students on our website all free of charge. 

The Korematsu Institute stands for civil rights, social justice, and human rights for all, and encourages us all, as Fred T. Korematsu said, to “stand up for what is right” and “don’t be afraid to speak up”. This month we stand in solidarity with the AAPI community, and indeed, all communities. And we encourage you to learn, to listen, and to speak up when you see a wrong in the world.