R-304 Page 1 of 1
2024
No. R-304. House concurrent resolution recognizing the month of May 2024 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in Vermont.
(H.C.R.238)
Offered by: Representatives Roberts of Halifax, Anthony of Barre City, Austin of Colchester,
Bos-Lun of Westminster, Brown of Richmond, Burrows of West Windsor, Campbell of St.
Johnsbury, Carroll of Bennington, Chapin of East Montpelier, Christie of Hartford, Coffey of
Guilford, Cole of Hartford, Dodge of Essex, Dolan of Essex Junction, Dolan of Waitsfield, Farlice-
Rubio of Barnet, Garofano of Essex, Goslant of Northfield, Gregoire of Fairfield, Howard of
Rutland City, Hyman of South Burlington, Krasnow of South Burlington, Labor of Morgan, Leavitt of Grand Isle, Lipsky of Stowe, Logan of Burlington, Maguire of Rutland City, Masland of
Thetford, McCann of Montpelier, Minier of South Burlington, Mrowicki of Putney, Nicoll of
Ludlow, Ode of Burlington, Priestley of Bradford, Small of Winooski, Stebbins of Burlington,
Waters Evans of Charlotte, White of Bethel, Williams of Barre City, and Wood of Waterbury Offered by: Senators Collamore, Hardy, Hashim, McCormack, Perchlik, Ram Hinsdale,
Vyhovsky, and Wrenner Whereas, the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States reflects both rejection and success, and Whereas, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843, and the Transcontinental Railroad, which was largely completed with Chinese labor, was opened on May
10, 1869, and Whereas, in 1882, Congress passed the first of several Chinese Exclusion Acts, and this continuing exclusionary policy was not formally repealed until 1943; and, in 2011–2012, the U.S.
House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate adopted separate condemnations of their predecessors’ actions, and Whereas, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066
forcing Japanese residents, including Japanese Americans residing on the Pacific Coast, into internment camps, and, in 1988, Congress passed Pub. L. No. 100-383, acknowledging the injustice of the internment policy and paying cash reparations, and Whereas, in 1978, Congress declared a more welcoming policy, adopting Pub. L. No. 95-419
proclaiming “the 7-day period beginning on May 4, 1979, as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week,’” and Pub. L. No. 101-283 extended the 1990 observance to a month; and, in 1992, Congress adopted Pub. L. No. 102-450, making this an annual month-long observance, and Whereas, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, now also unofficially referred to as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, celebrates the cultural contributions and personal and professional achievements of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans;
and, as the Pew Research Center documented in a 2023 report, this observance also calls attention to the historic—and regrettably current—discrimination that Asian and Pacific Islander Americans continue to encounter, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly recognizes the month of May 2024 as Asian/ Pacific American Heritage Month in Vermont, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Asian Cultural Center of Vermont.
VT LEG #376927 v.1