APAHM 2008 Calendar of Events
Know to Be Known: APAHM Opening Ceremony, Featuring Giles Li
Friday, March 28, 2008, 5:00pm
Murray Conference Room, Yawkey Center
Giles Li's performance will address the importance of both individual and cultural identity.
Dinner will be served.
Tickets are FREE, just pick one up at Robsham! (during the week of March 25).
Giles Li is a founder of the Boston Progress Arts Collective and Arts Coordinator at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. He is a spoken word artists who recently launched a national tour of college campuses with two other performance artists, Bao Phi and Kiwi, entitled "The Beats, Rhymes, and Rice Tour". Giles will be performing at the Boston College Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Opening Ceremony on March 28, 2008. He will address the importance of both personal and cultural identity to go along with APAHM's theme, "Know to Be Known".
AC Hosts Yellow Rage
Saturday April 5, 2008
CSA hosts Wong Fu Production
Monday April 14, 2008
Asian Pacific American Festival
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
O'Neill Plaza
Come see culture groups perform pieces from their respective culture shows and learn more about Asian American culture and history!
The Asian Pacific Islander Employees (APIE) Presents:
Featuring: Chef Ming Tsai, Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Murray Function Room,
SEASA/CSA Night Market
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
JCBC Spring Festival
Friday, April 18, 2008
AC Kicking Out The Silence & SEASA Culture Show
Saturday, April 19, 2008
KSA hosts Adrian Hong, LiNK
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Asian American Scholarship Banquet
Monday, April 28, 2008
KSA hosts Soon Ok Lee
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Asian American Filmmakers at Boston College
For more information about these events, contact Tina Klein at kleinc@bc.edu
Monday, March 31 – 7:00 PM
Tanuj Chopra, director
Punching at the Sun (2006)
Plot summary: A coming-of-age story about a South Asian teenager in Queens grappling with the aftermath of his brother’s murder
Website: http://www.punchingatthesun.com/
Chopra will screen his film, discuss his experiences making it, and take questions from the audience
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Higgins 300
This event is free and open to the public
Wednesday, April 9 – 7:00 PM
Karin Chien, producer
The Motel (dir. Michael Kang, 2005)
Plot summary: Thirteen-year-old Ernest Chin lives and works at an hourly-rate motel on a desolate suburban bi-way. Misunderstood by his family and blindly careening into puberty, Ernest befriends Sam Kim, a self-destructive yet charismatic Korean American man who teaches the fatherless boy all the rites of manhood.
Website: http://www.themotel-film.com/
Chien will screen her film, discuss her experiences as an independent producer in New York, and take questions from the audience
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Fulton 230
This event is free and open to the public.
Wednesday, April 23 – 7:00 PM
Socheata Poeuv, director
New Year Baby (2006)
Plot summary: Born on Cambodian New Year in a Thai refugee camp, Socheata Pouev never knew how she got there. After her birth, the family left the past behind and became Americans, hiding their story of surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide. In New Year Baby, Pouev journeys to Cambodia and discovers the truth about her family. She uncovers their painful secrets kept in shame, which also reveal great heroism
Website: http://www.newyearbaby.net/site/c.grKNIWPHIsE/b.838039/k.AFFA/New_Year_Baby_Home.htm
Pouev will screen her film, discuss her experiences making the film, and take questions from the audience
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Higgins 310
This event is free and open to the public.
Movies on BC Cable:
BETTER LUCK TOMORROW
April 5 & 6: Noon & 8:00pm, Channel 50
April 7: Noon & 8:00pm, Channel 52
EMPIRE OF THE SUN
April 23 & 24: Noon & 8:00pm, Channel 50
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
April 14: Noon & 8:00pm, Channel 52
April 16 & 17: Noon & 8:00pm, Channel 50
METROPOLIS
April 25, 26 & 27: Noon & 8:00pm, Channel 50
MONSOON WEDDING
April 28, 29 & 30: Noon & 8:00pm, Channel 53
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Introduction
The current curriculum at Boston College and many other colleges and universities do not offer enough opportunities for students to learn about the Asian Pacific Islanders (API) in the history of the United States. When we do read or hear about the APIs, we are often given information about how they were victims to discriminatory acts and torture. On occasion, we learn about how some persevered. More commonly, we hear about these “aliens” or “foreigners” who have “acclimated” and learned to “fit in.” The implicit and maybe even explicit message is that the APIs are “outsiders” trying to “fit in” to the “American” way despite the fact that Asian Pacific Islanders have lived in the United States for well over a century and have contributed significantly to its economy, culture, and history.
For this reason and more, the APAHM celebration at Boston College is an attempt to teach (or remind) every one of us that the APIs are not outsiders or “sojourners.” Further, their history in America should not be read as an “add-on” to American history. Instead, it is a large piece of American history. Without the APIs in United States, the America as we know it today will not be the same.
If you want to get involved, please contact Donna Lee.
A Brief History
The idea of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) was introduced to the House of Representatives in June 1977 by Frank Horton of NY and Norman Mineta of CA. The resolution called for the president to establish the first ten days of May as Asian/Pacific Heritage Week.
A month later, it was introduced in a similar bill to the senate by Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a resolution designating that time period as an annual celebration. In 1990, President George Bush designated the whole month of May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. May was chosen in order to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States in 1843.
The APAHM Committee Initiative
Prior to 2003, Boston College Asian student culture clubs have hosted various events to commemorate Asian Americans. The students have not, however, collectively sponsored the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), which takes place annually in May.
Realizing that the university does not celebrate this month, representatives from the Office of AHANA Student Programs, Center for International Partnerships and Programs, and the Career Center began to organize an event in honor of APAHM. At the same time, several Asian student clubs were making a similar effort. In collaboration with Asian student clubs, the three offices worked to coordinate the First Celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at Boston College in April 2003.
If you want to get involved, please contact Donna Lee.
Purpose
Too often, the memories of and efforts made by Asian Pacific Americans (APA's) are forgotten or even unknown. Below is a very short list of such contributions.
- APA's have an incredible record in the US military. The Japanese Americans, in particular, played a great part during World War II in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
- APA's have been instrumental in the construction of the western half of the transcontinental railroad.
- APA's were vital in turning the western deserts into fertile farmlands.
In addition to their efforts, the suffering and struggles of Asian Pacific Americans have also been disregarded. Here are some examples:
- The Japanese Americans were placed in what we now call Internment Camps during World War II because both countries were at war. Innocent law-abiding Japanese American citizens were unjustly subjugated.
- During the construction of the railroad system, the Chinese Americans were paid the lowest wages to do the most dangerous parts of the work, i.e., detonate explosives. Those who died from the explosives were simply forgotten. Their families back in China did not receive any compensation for their loss.
- The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was enacted because the "Government of the United States felt the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory." This was the first and only legal regulation that the US has ratified to preclude an ethnic group from entering this country.
- For centuries, APA's were discriminated against in this country because of the color of their skin.
Reality is that all people of all races and ethnic backgrounds have endured pain and triumphs. But, humans often focus on the differences instead of the commonalities due to a lack of knowledge, understanding, and sometimes respect. This is why it is crucial to educate to foster that mutual understanding and respect for one another.
In honor of the Asian Pacific Americans who have made contributions and sacrifices for the betterment of the United States and their citizens, and in an effort to educate each other, the APAHM Committee proudly organizes the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Mission
It is the mission of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Committee to promote awareness, appreciation and understanding of Asian Pacific American culture and experience. Implicit in the mission is the Committee's commitment to encourage mutual respect for cultural diversity of all racial and ethnic groups. It is also in the interest of the Committee to foster the positive growth of APA youth in developing and establishing their identity.
Check out information from previous APAHM celebrations.