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11 <br /> 1 said it is important to take time to recognize the contributions of the community towards the well <br /> 2 being of older adults. She thanked the BOCC for its support, on behalf of the board and her <br /> 3 mother. <br /> 4 Commissioner Bedford said Janice Tyler's department exemplifies how County <br /> 5 departments did not miss a beat in providing services during the pandemic. <br /> 6 Commissioner Greene thanked Janice Tyler and her department. She said10,000 baby <br /> 7 boomers turn 65 every day. <br /> 8 Commissioner Hamilton thanked Janice Tyler. She said it is important to support <br /> 9 institutions you will need in the future. <br /> 10 Chair Price said she misses going to the Department of Aging and seeing people. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 d. Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Proclamation <br /> 13 <br /> 14 The Board considered voting to approve a proclamation recognizing May 2021 as Asian <br /> 15 American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Orange County, North Carolina. <br /> 16 <br /> 17 BACKGROUND: <br /> 18 May 2021 will mark the 29th anniversary of the enactment of Public Law 102-450 by Congress in <br /> 19 1992 proclaiming the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 The month of May was chosen to commemorate Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in part <br /> 22 because the first immigration of Japanese to the United States. was in May of 1843. It also <br /> 23 marks the completion of the Trans-Continental Railroad in May 1869 where most of the workers <br /> 24 were of Asian descent. <br /> 25 <br /> 26 The importance of this month is unfortunately highlighted by the many attacks on people of <br /> 27 Asian descent, including elders. According to a report from the organization Stop Asian <br /> 28 American Pacific Islander Hate, there were nearly 3,000 reported incidents of racism and <br /> 29 discrimination targeting Asian Americans nationwide. Between March and December of 2020, <br /> 30 twenty four (24) of those accounts occurred in North Carolina. <br /> 31 <br /> 32 There is a long history of discrimination that people of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage have <br /> 33 faced even at the hands of the U.S. Federal Government. In 1882 Congress passed the <br /> 34 Chinese Exclusion Act, which was the first and only law that specifically prohibited the <br /> 35 immigration of a group of people based on race and geographical origin. It also prevented the <br /> 36 Chinese from becoming U.S. Citizens. Later the United States would carry out the forced <br /> 37 internment of 120,000 Japanese under Executive Order 9066 issued on February 19, 1942. <br /> 38 <br /> 39 However, the story of Asian American Pacific Islanders in the United States is not just one of <br /> 40 discrimination but also one of contributions to American History and Culture. We find this in the <br /> 41 brave acts of the 110th/442 Infantry Regiment, composed mostly of second generation <br /> 42 Japanese Americans (Nesei) who fought in the European Theater during World War II while <br /> 43 their families were held in internment camps. The 110th/442 would go on to become the most <br /> 44 decorated military unit in U.S. History. There are numerous contributions to the arts such as <br /> 45 Charles Yu who won the most recent 2020 National Book Award for Interior Chinatown, cellist <br /> 46 Yo Yo Ma, actress Sondra Oh, and comedian Awkwafina to name but a few. UNC is home to <br /> 47 many accomplished scholars of Asian descent such as Professor Kihyun "Kelly" Ryoo in the <br /> 48 School of Education and Hedi Kim, Director of the UNC Asian American Center, and Associate <br /> 49 Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature. <br /> 50 <br />