Honoring APIDA Heritage Month
Throughout the month of May, UMBC, Maryland and the Country celebrate the history, resilience, and cultures of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) communities worldwide as a part of APIDA Heritage Month. 

APIDA Heritage Month started as a week-long celebration in 1977 and later was expanded to a full month. The Month of May carries significance as it commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the transcontinental railroad completion on May 10, 1869 - honoring the majority Chinese Immigrants who laid the tracks. 

APIDA Heritage Month is a celebration of Asians, Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. APIDA encompasses people from all of the Asian continent, India, and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island). 

Today, there are approximately 20 million Asian Americans that trace their roots to more than 20 countries, each with their own unique histories, cultures, languages, and norms. While this diverse group is often treated as a monolith, significant differences exist by income, education, religion, etc. 

Throughout U.S. history and over the past year, we know our APIDA community has been impacted by Asian American hate crimes and anti-Asian sentiment. But even as we navigate these ongoing pains, we must also find/create and center spaces for joy, intentional rest, and shared community. Honoring APIDA Heritage Month is more than ordering Chinese or Indian food, it’s about amplifying lived experiences, uncovering challenging histories and recommitting to shared action and justice. Resources for you to learn more can be found below:

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Recently, four Asian-owned Maryland restaurants were broken into and burglarized at the start of the Lunar New Year. Urban Hot Pot, Kung Fu Tea and Bonchon in the Columbia Mall, and East Moon Asian Bistro in Ellicott City were all victims of Anti-Asian xenophobic hate crimes. These harmful events are not only happening in our backyard. Over the past year, we have been witnessing a dramatic uptick, by 1900%, in Anti-Asian xenophobic hate crimes against the broader Asian/American, Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. In particular, East Asian Americans and immigrants have been repeatedly blamed for the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to harm, exclusion, and emotional distress.


Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion & Belonging (i3b) actively stands with our AAPI community, and strongly denounces hate and violence in all its forms. We know that toxic misinformed scapegoating has dangerous impacts on marginalized communities, like the ones we see now and throughout our country’s history. It’s more than just a broken window or harmful anti-AAPI jokes, these events symbolize patterns and are symptomatic of systemic racism and xenophobia. We also know that daily experiences with racism and xenophobia can lead to racial trauma, excessive stress, hypervigilance, physical illness, and so much more.

 

To our AAPI community, we see you, you matter, and we are here to offer support in any way that we can. Your pain is not going unseen or unheard. Please reach out to us as you feel comfortable. Stay tuned for continued conversations from i3b in the upcoming weeks highlighting our AAPI community. You can also connect with the Asian American Faculty and Staff Council on myUMBC and find this post on Instagram (@umbc_i3b).

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Dear UMBC Community,

We hope you and your families are safe and healthy during these uncertain times. We are inspired by the strong sense of community that UMBC has shown throughout the COVID-19 crisis, despite the physical distance we now maintain to help ensure our safety. We know that the current situation is very difficult for many. We want to offer our unwavering support for each of you and your larger communities as you navigate these challenging times. We encourage you to stay connected, ask for help if you need it, and help others when you can.

Asian and Asian American communities are experiencing an unwarranted rise in discrimination, xenophobia, hate speech, and hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian and Asian American communities are a vital part of UMBC and it is essential in these times to affirm our commitment to our shared values of equity and diversity and the premise that UMBC is a safe and accepting community for all our members. Racism, discrimination, and xenophobia are not tolerated in our community, and we will work together to address these challenges within UMBC and beyond. If you feel you have been affected by racism or discrimination, please know that the Office of Equity and Inclusion is available to support you. Access their online reporting form if you would like to make a formal complaint.

We are proud that members of our UMBC community are responding to the rise in anti-Asian racism by offering opportunities for discussion as well as resources. This includes the Asian and Asian American Faculty and Staff Council (AAAFSC) and the Counseling Center. Dr. Tamara Bhalla, chair of AAAFSC, has put together an excellent list of resources and reading materials on anti-Asian discrimination that is available on the COVID-19 website. Interested faculty and staff can learn more about the AAAFSC on the group’s website.

In addition, clinical staff at the Counseling Center, including Dr. Whitney Hobson, Dr. Soonhee Lee, Jen Martinez, M.A., and Ishita Arora, M.A., offer a series of webinars including Coping with Racism and Xenophobia, Women of Color Coping Circle, and International Connections during Travel Restrictions. Resources available on their website include the Counseling Center’s Statement on COVID-19 and Xenophobia written by the Counseling Center Multicultural Committee. 

We are grateful for the contributions of these and many more faculty and staff who are deeply engaged in supporting our community. It is more important than ever to be caring and consider the ways in which our thoughts and actions may impact fellow Retrievers and others in the broader community. We share a responsibility for one another now more than ever.

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