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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: May 4, 2021 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-d <br /> SUBJECT: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Proclamation <br /> DEPARTMENT: Human Rights and Relations Department <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Annette Moore, 919-245-2317 <br /> Asian American and Pacific Islander <br /> Heritage Month Proclamation <br /> PURPOSE: To proclaim May 2021 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in <br /> Orange County, North Carolina. <br /> BACKGROUND: May 2021 will mark the 29t" anniversary of the enactment of Public Law 102- <br /> 450 by Congress in 1992 proclaiming the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander <br /> Heritage Month. <br /> The month of May was chosen to commemorate Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in part <br /> because the first immigration of Japanese to the United States. was in May of 1843. It also marks <br /> the completion of the Trans-Continental Railroad in May 1869 where most of the workers were of <br /> Asian descent. <br /> The importance of this month is unfortunately highlighted by the many attacks on people of Asian <br /> descent, including elders. According to a report from the organization Stop Asian American Pacific <br /> Islander Hate, there were nearly 3,000 reported incidents of racism and discrimination targeting <br /> Asian Americans nationwide. Between March and December of 2020, twenty four (24) of those <br /> accounts occurred in North Carolina. <br /> There is a long history of discrimination that people of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage have <br /> faced even at the hands of the U.S. Federal Government. In 1882 Congress passed the Chinese <br /> Exclusion Act, which was the first and only law that specifically prohibited the immigration of a <br /> group of people based on race and geographical origin. It also prevented the Chinese from <br /> becoming U.S. Citizens. Later the United States would carry out the forced internment of 120,000 <br /> Japanese under Executive Order 9066 issued on February 19, 1942. <br /> However, the story of Asian American Pacific Islanders in the United States is not just one of <br /> discrimination but also one of contributions to American History and Culture. We find this in the <br /> brave acts of the 110t"/442 Infantry Regiment, composed mostly of second generation Japanese <br /> Americans (Nesei) who fought in the European Theater during World War II while their families <br /> were held in internment camps. The 110t"/442 would go on to become the most decorated military <br />