Senate Resolution No. 2608

BY: Senator PARKER

MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
May 2020, as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
in the State of New York

WHEREAS, Asian and Asian-Pacific Islander Americans have contributed
greatly to the wealth and cultural heritage of our great State of New
York; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to memorialize
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim May 2020, as Asian Pacific American
Heritage Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with the
observance of National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month; and

WHEREAS, Asian Pacific Islander Americans comprise many ethnicities
and languages, and their myriad achievements embody the American
experience; and

WHEREAS, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have fostered
enterprise to include many of our Nation's most successful and dynamic
businesses; these men and women are leaders in every aspect of American
life such as government, industry, science, medicine, the arts, our
Armed Forces, education and sports; and

WHEREAS, New York received some of the first Asian arrivals in the
early 1800s; sailors and traders of the China trade route became an
essential part of the port culture that formed in New York City, the
city of immigrants and the American Dream; and

WHEREAS, New York is home to Asian and Asian Pacific Islanders from
all parts of the Asian continent and Pacific Islands, including Japan,
China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Burma (Myanmar),
Cambodia, the Philippines, Samoa, Fiji, Guam, India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress passed a joint Congressional
Resolution in 1978, to commemorate Asian and Asian Pacific American
Heritage Week during the first week of May; this date was chosen because
two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of
the first Japanese immigrants in America on May 7, 1843, and the
completion of the transcontinental railroad by Chinese laborers on May
10, 1869; and

WHEREAS, In 1990, Congress voted to expand it from a week to a
month-long celebration; in May 1992, the month of May was permanently
designated as "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month"; and

WHEREAS, According to the 2010 Census, Asian and Asian Pacific
Islanders comprised 7.8% of the population of New York State and 14%,
and growing, of New York City; and

WHEREAS, Chinatown in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn form the
largest enclave of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere;

furthermore, the New York City metropolitan area is home to 15% of all
Korean Americans in the United States; and

WHEREAS, There are many notable Asian and Asian Pacific Islander
Americans from New York, some of whom include: Wataru "Wat" Misaka,
player for the New York Knicks in the 1947-48 season; Yuri Kochiyama,
Nobel Peace Prize nominee; Roger Y. Tsien, awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize
in chemistry for his discovery and development of the green fluorescent
protein (GFP) with two other chemists: Martin Chalfie of Columbia
University and Osamu Shimomura of Boston University and Marine
Biological Laboratory; Jip Chun, who worked for Otis Elevator Co. and
invented a fire safety switch in all elevators; Lucy Liu, Chinese
American actress from Woodside, Queens; Hikaru Utada, Japanese American
singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer; Bill Lann Lee, Assistant
United States Attorney General for the United States Department of
Justice Civil Rights Division under President Bill Clinton; Sheryl
WuDunn, a SUNY Trustee and writer for The New York Times and the first
Asian American to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1990; Zubin Mehta, Conductor,
New York Philharmonic Orchestra; Charles Mingus, jazz double bassist,
composer, band leader; Laura Chang, science editor, The New York Times;
Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times literary critic and author;
Jennifer Lee, journalist, The New York Times; John Liu, the first Asian
American elected to the New York City Council (representing Flushing,
Queens) in 2001 and New York City Comptroller; Grace Meng, the first
Asian American elected to the U.S. Congress from New York; Benny
Agbayani, former outfielder for the New York Mets; Yung Wing, the first
Chinese person to graduate from a U.S. college (Yale in 1854); and
Jeremy Lin, player for the New York Knicks in the 2011-2012 season, to
name a few; and

WHEREAS, According to a newly released report, Asian Americans of
the Empire State: Growing Diversity and Common Needs, from the Asian
American Federation, the Asian population in New York State grew fastest
outside of New York City; the number of Asian residents in the suburban
counties surrounding New York City grew by 47% and those in counties
outside of the New York City metro area grew by 56%; and

WHEREAS, With the population growth upstate came increased
diversity; Burmese Americans went from being too few to be reported to
the sixth largest Asian group in upstate counties in 2010; and

WHEREAS, By recognizing the accomplishments and contributions of
Asian and Asian Pacific Americans, this great Empire State reaffirms our
commitment to diversity and equal opportunity for all, thereby ensuring
a bright future for all New Yorkers and Americans; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim May 2020, as Asian
Pacific American Heritage Month in the State of New York; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of
New York.