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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May 2011

“Leadership, Diversity, Empowerment and Beyond”

U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionOffice of Diversity and Civil Rights (DCR)

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Asian Pacific American Heritage MonthMay 2011

At U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), we believe that our diversity is our strength. CBP is committed to providing cultural awareness activities and educational information to CBP employees to create and maintain an environment of cultural fluency. This way, we grow stronger as an organization.

This presentation is designed to provide you with a brief overview of a few notable Asian Pacific Americans who epitomize this year's 2011 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month theme, "Leadership, Diversity, Empowerment and Beyond.”

We hope you find this presentation educational and engaging.

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In 1978, a joint Congressional Resolution was passed to commemorate Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May. This date was selected due to the two important anniversaries that 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.

Congress voted to broaden the week long observance to encompass the entire month. In May 1992, May was designated as “Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.”

The Start of A New Beginning…

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Asia: Its Continent and Countries

Asian Pacific Americans come from a variety of backgrounds.

As the planet's largest continent, Asia covers about 30 percent of the world's landmass and includes 44 countries and assorted islands and/or dependencies. In addition, the continent includes the world's most populated countries, China and India; the world's longest coastline, the world's deepest lake; Lake Baykal, and some of the most important rivers on the planet.

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Asian Pacific Americans come from a variety of backgrounds. The Asian continent consists of :

Northern Asia Countries : Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Southern Asia Countries : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Eastern Asia Countries: China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan.

Western Asia Countries : Bahrain, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Yemen.

Asia: Its Continent and Countries

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Asia: Its Continent and Countries, cont.

The Asian-Pacific encompasses the Pacific islands of:

Melanesia which consists of New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

Micronesia which consists of Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia.

Polynesia which consists of New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island.

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The next slides contain a compilation of Asian Pacific Americans who help capture this year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month theme,

“Leadership, Diversity, Empowerment, and Beyond.”

Leadership, Diversity, Empowerment, and Beyond

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Queen Liliuokalani was the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian islands. She felt her mission was to preserve the islands for their native residents. In 1898, Hawaii was annexed to the United States and Queen Liliuokalani was forced to give up her throne.

Queen Lydia Liliuokalani Last Queen of Hawaii

September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917

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Mahatma GandhiIndian Nationalist Leader

Mohandas Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of India who led the country in the non-cooperation movement in 1922 and Salt march in 1930 and later in the Quit India movement in 1942 during its struggle for independence.

October 2, 1869 - January 3, 1948

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Dr. Feng Shan Ho single-handedly saved thousands of Austrian Jews during the Holocaust. Against all odds, many would survive thanks to Dr. Ho. As Chinese General Consul in Vienna, he went against his boss' orders and began issuing Jews visas to Shanghai, China. These lifesaving documents allowed thousands of Jews to leave Austria and escape death.

Dr. Feng Shan HoA True Life Saver

September 10, 1901 - September 28, 1997

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Vera Ellen Wang is an American fashion designer based in New York. Once a competitive figure skater, Wang pursued a career in the fashion industry after she failed to make the US Olympics team.

She was an editor at Vogue for 16 years. Her name is now synonymous with luxury wedding gowns.

Vera WangFashion Designer

June 27, 1949 - Present

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Tan's The Joy Luck Club, received the Commonwealth Club gold award for fiction and the American Library Association's best book for young adults award in 1989. It stayed on the New York Times’ best-seller list for nine months. Tan's second novel, The Kitchen God's Wife, was published in 1991 followed by the children's books The Moon Lady (1992) and The Chinese Siamese Cat (1994).

Amy TanAuthor

February 19, 1952 - Present

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Throughout his career, playwright David Henry Hwang has explored the complexities of forging Eastern and Western cultures in a contemporary America.

He is best known as the author of M.Butterfly, which won the 1988 Tony, Drama Desk, John Gassner, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and was also a finalist for the 1989 Pulitzer Prize.

David Henry HwangPlaywright, Screenwriter, & Librettist

August 15, 1957 - Present

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Khaled HosseiniAuthor

While in medical practice, Hosseini began writing his first novel, The Kite Runner, in March of 2001. In 2003, The Kite Runner, was published and has since become an international bestseller, published in 48 countries.

March 4, 1965 - Present

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Dwayne “The Rock” JohnsonProfessional Wrestler/Actor

Johnson's appeal was not limited to wrestling fans. He made several appearances on the late-night comedy program Saturday Night Live, and was featured on such TV shows as DAG, Star Trek: Voyager, and That '70's Show. By the mid-2000s, Johnson was a full-fledged movie star.

May 2, 1972 - Present

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Troy PolamaluStrong Safety for Pittsburgh Steelers

Polamalu was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and has been with the team ever since. He is the strong safety for the Steelers, and was a big reason that the team won the 2006 Super Bowl. But although Polamalu’s game stands on its own, he may be most famous for his long hair. Polamalu has not had a hair cut since 2000 due to his Samoan culture in which men wear their hair long.

April 19, 1981 - Present

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Rima FakihMiss USA 2010

Rima Fakih won the Miss USA pageant on May 16, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Representing the state of Michigan, she beat out 50 other contestants from 49 states and the District of Columbia to be named Miss USA 2010. Rima Fakih is a Lebanese-American who was born in Lebanon and emigrated to the United States in 1993, when she was about seven years old.

October 2, 1986 - Present

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A special protégé of the legendary Itzhak Perlman, the dynamic violin virtuoso Hahn Bin embodies the renaissance of classical music, fusing his highly evocative repertoire. Touted by the New York Times, his programs feature pop performance art in the "extraordinary, intelligent and beautiful" performances.

Hahn BinYouth Violinist Extraordinaire

August 3, 1987 - Present

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Actors/Actresses/ Comedians

Bruce Lee

Lucy Liu

Pat Morita

Keanu Reeves

Margaret Cho

M. Night Shamalan

Kimora Lee Simmons

Bobby Lee

B.D. Wong

George Takei

Military/ Political Officials

Erich Shinseki

Francis B. Wai

Patsy Mink

Elaine Chang

Gary Locke

Music

Bruno Mars

William Hung

Norah Jones

Nicole Scherzinger Yo-Yo Ma

News/Media

Connie Chung

Ann Curry

Authors/Writers

Maxine Hong Kingston

Ronald Takaki

Jeff Chang

Other Notable Asian Pacific Americans

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Asian Pacific Americans in CBP

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a total of 3,095 Asian Pacific American employees who along with the rest of the U.S. Customs and

Border Protection family are committed to protecting our nation’s borders.

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• Slide 3- http://asianpacificheritage.gov/about.html

• Slide 4-http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/as.htm

• Slide 5- http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/as.htm

• Slide 6- http://asianpacificheritage.gov/about.html

• Slide 7-N/A

• Slide 8- http:/www.uic.edu/depts/owa/history/liliuokalani.html • Slide 9-http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/mahatma-gandhi-55.php

• Slide 10-http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/asian-american/notables.htm

• Slide 11-http://www.zimbio.com/Vera+Wang?overview=open

• Slide 12- http://www.notablebiographies.com/St-Tr/Tan-Amy.htmlSlide

• Slide 13-http://www.barclayagency.com/hwang.htm

• Slide 14-http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Johnson-Dwayne-TheRock.html • Slide 15-http://www.draftdaypicks.com/Troy_Polamalu.html

• Slide 16-http://www.draftdaypicks.com/Troy_Polamalu.html

• Slide 17- http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/rimafakih.html

• Slide 18- http://hahn-bin.com/

References

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This presentation was prepared by the Office of Diversity and Civil Rights as part of the continuing series of Diversity and Inclusion Program presentations.

Audio provided by the Office of Public Affairs, Visual Communications.

THANK YOU FOR VIEWING