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The vast diversity of languages, religions, and
cultural traditions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
continues to strengthen the fabric of American society. From the
arrival of the first Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrants
150 years ago to those who arrive today, as well as those native to
the Hawaiian Islands and to our Pacific Island territories, all
possess the common purpose of the fulfilling the American dream and
leading a life bound by the American ideals of life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness.
During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we
remember the challenges and celebrate the achievements that define
our history.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have endured and
overcome hardship and heartache. In the earliest years, tens of
thousands of Gold Rush pioneers, coal miners, transcontinental
railroad builders, as well as farm and orchard laborers, were
subject to unjust working conditions, prejudice, and
discrimination——yet they excelled. Even in the darkness of the
Exclusion Act and Japanese internment, Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders have persevered, providing for their families and creating
opportunities for their children.
Amidst these struggles, Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders have contributed in great and significant ways to all
aspects of society. They have created works of literature and art,
thrived as American athletes, and prospered in the world of
academia. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have played a vital
role in our Nation's economic and technological growth by
establishing successful enterprises and pushing the limits of
science. They are serving in positions of leadership within the
government more now than ever before. And along with all of our
great service men and women, they have defended the United States
from threats at home and abroad, serving our Nation with valor.
From the beaches of the Pacific islands and the California
coast, the grasslands of Central Asia and the bluegrass of Kentucky,
and from the summits of the Himalayas and the Rocky Mountains, the
Asian American and Pacific Islander community hails from near and
far. This is the story of our more perfect union: that it is
diversity itself that enriches, and is fundamental to, the American
story.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by
the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby
proclaim May 2009, as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage
Month. I call upon the people of the United States to learn more
about the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and to
observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-third.
BARACK OBAMA
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