SDSU Celebrates APIDA Heritage Month

May is Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month, which serves as a national celebration of the history, contributions, and achievements of APIDA communities.

This month was designated to commemorate the first Japanese immigration to the United States on May 7, 1853, while also honoring the Chinese immigrants who worked to complete the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.

“We are excited for the opportunity to welcome the SDSU campus community to take part in the numerous events we are hosting,” said Virginia Loh-Hagan, director of the APIDA Resource Center. “Though the pandemic has made it more difficult to engage and interact with one another, these events ensure community members can authentically connect and learn through their intersectional identities.”

In efforts to promote visibility of current issues in the APIDA community, the SDSU APIDA Resource Center is hosting a series of events to celebrate APIDA activism. 

Due to social distancing guidelines as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all events will be hosted virtually. Below is a full list of events:

• May 1 at 4 p.m.: Filmmaker Panel on "Sovereign Cinema: The Political Documentary of Na Maka o ka ‘Aina"
• May 3 at 4 p.m.: Screening of "Radical Care" and Convo with Valerie Soe
• May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 at 5 p.m.: SDSU Sewing Squad
• May 5 at 3 p.m.: Asian-Black Solidarity with Simmy Makhijani
• May 6 at 2 p.m.: Conversation with Jenn Le and Benson Quach from Wongfu Productions
• May 11 at 5 p.m.: Zentangle with Li-Shan Hsu
• May 12 at 5 p.m.: "Avatar" Trivia Night
• May 13 at 5 p.m.: APIDA Radical Self Care (Yoga) with Rona Maglian (Please review before participating: Informed consent form)
• May 14 at 4 p.m.: APIDA Graduation Celebration (Speaker: Kristina Wong)
• May 18 at 1 p.m.: Farming as Activism with Mai Nguyen
• May 20 at 2 p.m.: Filipinx Beauty Pageants as Activism with Stacey Salinas
• May 20 at 5 p.m.: APIDA Alumni Celebration
• May 21 at 1:30 p.m.: Cultural Ed Program about Chinatown as Center of APIDA Activism
• May 21 at 2:30 p.m.: Watercolor Painting Event - Paint Chinatown
• May 31: APIDA Love in the Time of Hate

For more information on these events, please view the full APIDA History Month Events flyer.

The SDSU community is encouraged to sign the #SDSUAPIDAPledge and commit to creating a safe and welcoming campus climate for  APIDA students, faculty, and staff. You can follow the SDSU APIDA Resource Center on Instagram (@sdsuapidacenter) and on Facebook.