As We Celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaíian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
This May, First 5 LA joins Los Angeles County in celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaíian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. Originally designated as a week-long observance in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter and later expanded in 1992 by Congress, this monthlong commemoration pays tribute to the rich tapestry of contributions made by AANHPI communities to American society while amplifying their unique and diverse stories.
This year’s AANHPI theme, Advancing Leaders Through Innovation, continues the “Advancing Leaders” series that began in 2021. While past themes in the series focused on service and collaboration, the focus this year is on the trailblazers whose creativity, ingenuity and perseverance have left an indelible mark in history and continue to change the face of the future. From trailblazing Hollywood actress Anna May Wong and labor movement leader Larry Itliong to NASA astronaut and biochemist Eugene Trinh and YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, AANHPI innovators have and continue to transform the world.
Long known as a global hub of innovation and creativity, Los Angeles is home to the largest AANHPI population in the nation, with nearly 25% of California’s Asian population and 17.4% of its Native Hawaíian and Pacific Islander population.[1] Although AANHPI individuals make up only 16% of L.A.’s total population, our county boasts an incredibly diverse mix of AANHPI communities: In addition to drawing the largest Native Hawaíian and Samoan population in the state, we are also the top county of residence for nearly every Asian American group, including Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean Japanese, Sri Lankan, Thai and more. [2]
That remarkable diversity is one of the reasons why Los Angeles ranks as the most linguistically diverse county in the state, with more than 45 AANHPI ethnic groups speaking 28 languages. In fact, over 1 million people in Los Angeles County speak an Asian or Pacific Island language, such as Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Hindi or Hmong! [3]
First 5 LA recognizes this vibrant tapestry of language, learning and culture, and we uplift the importance of bilingual education, especially in early learning, when children are most open to building multilingual foundations. Knowing more than one language has been linked to a host of benefits — including stronger brain development, higher academic achievement and positive and respectful attitudes toward different languages and cultures — that are crucial in shaping tomorrow’s leaders.
That’s why we’re honored to be working in partnership with agencies and organizations throughout L.A. on innovative projects like the Dual Language Learner Initiative. Following a successful 2023 media and family resources campaign in Spanish and Chinese, the initiative was renewed this spring and expanded into three additional languages – Khmer, Korean and Vietnamese.
To help you celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month this May, we’ve compiled a list of related activities and events in the Los Angeles area, including educational resources for young children and their families. Check them out below.
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- L.A. County Library (Quartz Hill): Paper Fans, May 8, 2024, 2:15pm – 3:00pm
- L.A. County Library (Compton): Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration Art Activity, May 8, 2024, 4:00pm – 5:00pm
- L.A. County Library (View Park-Windsor): Ocean Origami, May 9, 2024, 4:00pm – 5:00pm
- L.A. County Library (Hawaiian Gardens): Fan-Tastically Creative, May 10, 2024, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
- L.A. County Library (West Hollywood): Hong Kong Street Foods, May, 11, 2024, 11am – 12pm
- L.A. County Library (Diamond Bar): The Rythm of Inspiration, May 11, 2024, 2pm – 3pm
- L.A. County Library (East Los Angeles): Grace Lin Book Party, May 14, 2024, 4pm – 5pm
- L.A. County Library (South Gate): Make a Koinobori: May 14, 2024, 4pm – 5pm
- L.A. County Library (Norwalk): Make a Koinobori, May 14, 2024 5pm – 6pm
- L.A. County Library (Hermosa Beach): Karishma Beauty Henna May 15, 2024 3pm – 4pm
- L.A. County Library (Gardena): Sharing Folktales With Shadow Puppets May 15, 2024 3pm – 4pm
- L.A. County Library (East Los Angeles): Artist Spotlight: Ruth Asawa May 16, 2024 4:30pm – 5:30pm
- L.A. County Library (South El Monte): Kids Learning Club, May 18, 2024 10am – 12pm
- L.A. County Library (Hawthorne): Tales of Asia and the Pacific Islands with Barbara Wong May 18, 2024 12pm – 1pm
- L.A. County Library (Artesia): Children’s Art Program: Origami, May 18, 2024 2pm – 3pm
- L.A. County Library (La Puente): Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May 18, 2024 2pm – 3pm
- L.A. County Library (Walnut): Decorative Paper Fan, May 18, 2024 2pm – 3pm
- L.A. County Library (Temple City): Tale of the Lucky Cat May 18, 2024 3pm – 4pm
- L.A. County Library (Agoura Hills) Felt Ramen Bowl May 18, 2024 3pm – 4pm
- L.A. County Library (San Gabriel): Asian America, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Book Party May 18, 2024 4pm – 5pm
- L.A. County Library (Los Angeles) Anime and Origami Fun May 21, 2024 4pm – 5pm
- L.A. County Library (Bellflower): AAPI Heritage Month Movie Night: DIY Candy May 22, 2024 3pm – 4pm
- L.A. County Library (La MIrada) Family Storytime – Asian Pacific American Heritage Celebration May 22, 2024 3pm – 4pm
- L.A. County Library (Bellflower) Learn and Make: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month May 22, 2024 3pm – 3:45pm
- L.A. County Library (Marina Del Ray) Make a Koinobori May 22, 2024 4pm – 5pm
- L.A. County Library (Norwalk) Cherry Blossom Tree Activity May 22/2024, 4pm – 5pm
- L.A. County Library (Topanga) Tale of the Lucky Cat May 23, 2024 3pm – 4pm
- L.A. County Library (Los Angeles) Create a Chinese Pellet Drum 5/23/2024 5pm – 6pm
- L.A. County Library (Whittier) Children’s Billingual Book Club May 23, 2024 6:30pm – 7:30pm
- L.A. County Library (Malibu) Smarty Pants Storytime May 24, 2024 10:30am – 11am
- L.A. County Library (Claremont) MākMō: Light-up Origami May 24, 2024 3:30pm – 4:30pm
- Children’s Book World (Los Angeles) What in the World is Ezra’s Art? May 25, 2024 11am – 12pm
- L.A. County Library (City Terrace): Make a Koinobori May 28, 2024 5pm – 6pm
- A. County Library (Huntington Park) Chinese Mountain-Water Art Bookmark May 29, 2024 2:30pm – 3:30pm
- L.A. County Library (Compton) PBS SoCal Family Math Night: Patterned Paper Lei May 29, 2024 4pm – 5pm
- L.A. County Library (Westlake Village) Decorate a Paper Fan May 29, 2024 4pm – 5pm
- L.A. County Library (Whittier) Year of the Dragon May 29, 2024 5pm – 6pm
- L.A. County Library (View Park-Windsor Hill) Asian American and Pacific Islanders Month: Paper Lanterns May 30, 24 4pm – 5pm
[1] State of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in California (June 2022)
[2] Ibid
