May 1, 2024
May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
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Commissioners congratulate Longmont resident Rita Liu on Asian-American Heroes of Colorado Award
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Boulder County, Colo. -- The Boulder County Commissioners have proclaimed May 2024 as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Boulder County and encouraged residents to learn about the culture and contributions of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
This year’s proclamation was written with contributions from Rita Liu, Founder & President at Asian-Pacific Association of Longmont, and Alice Liu, Asian-Pacific Association of Longmont founding member. During the reading of the proclamation at Tuesday’s Business Meeting, the commissioners congratulated Rita, who is one of eight people being honored with an Asian-American Heroes of Colorado Award in May. The awards, established in 2009, recognize Asian Americans in Colorado, who selflessly reach out to help those around them.
Resources
The Smithsonian Museum of American History website and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center website have many online exhibits available, including resources for K-12 classrooms. The Smithsonian “Standing Together for AAPI Heritage Month” website provides links to exhibitions and resources from across the Smithsonian museums focusing on Asian-American and Pacific Islander voices.
The History Colorado website has a collection of oral histories and articles, including an online exhibit about Camp Amache, where approximately 10,000 Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned during World War II. You can read about Colorado Governor Ralph Carr (mentioned in the proclamation below) on the Denver Public Library website.
The Commissioners’ Office is a proud sponsor of 2024’s Nepali Jatra, an annual celebration of Nepali culture, taking place on Saturday, July 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Longmont Downtown. It is free to attend and open to the public.
A Proclamation Declaring May 2024 as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Boulder County
WHEREAS, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, which include more than 60 ethnicities with widely varying identities, cultures, and histories, are an integral part of the American story, and the story of our state and county; and
WHEREAS, the United States has drawn strength, labor, philanthropy, and insights from Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander scientists, scholars, soldiers, doctors, entrepreneurs, athletes, and public servants at the highest levels of Federal, State, and Local governments, and our culture has been enriched by the art, food, literature, and creativity of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities; and
WHEREAS, the Boulder County Commissioners condemn all bias-based crimes and acts of discrimination and harassment against Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander individuals and communities; and
WHEREAS, we condemn the historical injustices perpetrated upon the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, including, but not limited to, the 125,000 Japanese Americans who were relocated and incarcerated in internment camps during World War II, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first significant law restricting immigration of a working ethnic group, the dire conditions for the Chinese laborers in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, and the unjust treatment and racial segregation experienced by Native Hawaiians; and
WHEREAS, we recognize the power of the individual and the community to prevent injustices through empowered action, such as when Colorado Governor Ralph Carr, a champion of cultural diversity, sacrificed his political career by refusing to place Japanese American Coloradans in internment camps; and
WHEREAS, Boulder County supports the creation and adoption of fully inclusive, nondiscriminatory multicultural policies at the state and local levels, and believes it is the moral responsibility of the county and its employees to interrupt institutional discrimination when it manifests through policy, practices, and behaviors both internally and externally to the Boulder County organization.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County hereby proclaim May 2024 as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Boulder County and encourages residents to learn about the culture and contributions of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, and to commit themselves to creating an environment free of bias, exclusion, and harassment.
ADOPTED this 30th day of April 2024
Commissioner Claire Levy
Commissioner Marta Loachamin
Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann
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