Asian-Pacific American Heritage (AAPI) Month is a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the first Japanese immigration to America on May 7, 1843, and the Chinese migrant workers who completed the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The theme for the 2025 AAPI Heritage Month is “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience.”
Originally beginning as the first 10 days of May in 1978, it was expanded to a full month and signed into law in 1992. That same year at the First Invitational Congress of Minority Nurse Leaders in Washington D.C., 15 AAPI nurses formed the Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association (AAPINA).
The Office of Strategic Engagement and Impact encourages the UMSON community to join us in celebrating and honoring the rich heritage and contributions of the Asian American Pacific Islander community throughout the month of May and beyond.
In UniSON: together we commit, together we act.