CHPL is Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month this May!

By Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and the Library is celebrating with special events, impactful people, staff-recommended reads, and more.

This annual event recognizes the broad cultures from across the Asian continent, the Pacific islands of Melanesia, and Polynesia. With roots dating back to 1977, AAPI Heritage Month began as a weeklong recognition before Congress expanded it to a month-long event in 1990.

May was chosen to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States in 1843, as well as the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, as much of the tracks were laid by Chinese immigrants.

Influential Asian/Pacific Islander Americans

Bukang Kim is an award-winning, Korean-born American artist who received her Bachelor's of Fine Arts from Seoul National University. She would go on to study at the University of Cincinnati, where she earned a Master’s of Fine Arts. Her paintings, known for blending Eastern and Western styles, have been shown across the globe, including in New York, Seoul, Prague, and Cincinnati.

In a 2015 interview with the Cincinnati Art Museum, Bukang said she came to Cincinnati at age 27 with a three-month-old baby and her husband, who took an internship at the Good Samaritan Hospital. She had a second child while living in the Queen City, before moving to New York City, where she had her third child. Now based in Cincinnati again, she reflected that the Asian philosophy of yin and yang informs her body of work.

Wong Yie was a celebrated restauranteur based in Cincinnati. While he was not the first proprietor of a Chinese restaurant in the city, he was perhaps the most celebrated. Newspaper articles even touted him as the “chop suey king.” His iconic Gold Dragon restaurant opened in March of 1911, serving up Chinese and American cuisine. His wife, Lee Mon Wong, and daughter, Wong Gut Ting, arrived in Cincinnati a year later. Upon arrival, Lee joined a women’s activist group, the Harriet Taylor Upton Study Club. The family hosted parties and appeared in Cincinnati’s newspapers for both business and personal events. Wong Yie’s Restaurant opened in 1921 at the corner of Sixth and Main Streets. He died in 1926, and was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery, where his wife was also later laid to rest.

Vincent Hambright is hailed as Cincinnati’s first Filipino American boxer. Born in the Philippines in 1906, he later immigrated to the Queen City to study at the University of Cincinnati. Nicknamed the “Filipino Assassin,” Vincent was a powerful right-hand puncher who even beat Tony LaRosa! While his life was cut short in 1946 due to a racially motivated murder, Vincent’s legacy lives on.

Featured Events

The Library is hosting a number of AAPI-related events this May. From origami to calligraphy workshops, mark your calendars for fun, informative, and enriching events this May.

Bollywood Beat - Dances and Culture of India on Saturday, May 3, from 11 a.m.-noon at the Clifton Branch
Origami with the Japan America Society on Monday, May 5, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Loveland Branch
Shodo Japanese Calligraphy Workshop on Monday, May 5, from 6-7 p.m. at the Mariemont Branch
Shodo-Japanese Calligraphy on Wednesday, May 7, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Greenhills Branch
Art & Design of India - Rangoli and Mandalas on Saturday, May 10, from 2-3 p.m. at the Anderson Branch
Origami - Japanese Paper Folding on Tuesday, May 20, from 6-7 p.m. at the Symmes Township Branch
Shodo-Japanese Calligraphy on Wednesday, May 21, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Reading Branch

Listen: The Journey of a Young Asian American Woman

Listen to the journey of living in a multicultural society while balancing cultural heritage in this interview between Felicity Tao and Lillian Wang, youth group leader in the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Cultural Exchange Association. In this discussion Felicity and Lillian explore the topics of culture identity, growing up as an Asian American, and more.

Who are you celebrating this AAPI Heritage Month? Let us know in the comments below!