The Diversity Corner: Asian- Pacific American Heritage Month

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal
• Citation: Vol. 81 No. 5 Pg. 10
• Publication year: 2012
• Pages: 10

The Diversity Corner: Asian- Pacific American Heritage Month No. 81 J. Kan. Bar Assn 5, 10 (2012) Kansas Bar Journal May, 2012

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month

By Nancy Morales Gonzalez, Office of the General Counsel, Social Security Administration, Kansas City, Mo.

Among many diverse observances, May is designated as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month — a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. In this designation, Asian-Pacific includes the entirety of the Asian continent and the Pacific Islands of New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Easter Island, Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Also, as the largest continent, Asia covers approximately 30 percent of the world's landmass, 44 countries, and various islands and dependencies.

In Kansas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.3 percent of residents are Asian and 0.1 percent of residents are Pacific Islanders. Both percentages are half the national average. The Kansas counties of Sedgwick, Johnson, and Douglas maintain the highest percentage of Asian and Pacific Islander residents at approximately 4 percent, followed by...