In the month of May, the Mayor of Baltimore's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) would like dedicate time and space to recognize Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month! Join us in celebrating the vibrant traditions of the many AAPI communities that add to the charm and diversity of Baltimore City. Rather than simple "model minorities," AAPI individuals represent all walks of life and trace their roots back to cultures spanning more than fifty different countries that are home to thousands of languages.
MIMA has a great listing of the various events, exhibitions, festivals, and feasts occurring during the month in Baltimore in their May 2025 MIMA Monthly Update newsletter. Click on this link for more details on events around town and join in the festivities!
Asian-Pacific American Heritage (AAPI) Month is a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the first Japanese immigration to America on May 7, 1843, and the Chinese migrant workers who completed the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The theme for the 2025 AAPI Heritage Month is “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience.”
Originally beginning as the first 10 days of May in 1978, it was expanded to a full month and signed into law in 1992. That same year at the First Invitational Congress of Minority Nurse Leaders in Washington D.C., 15 AAPI nurses formed the Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association (AAPINA).
The Office of Strategic Engagement and Impact encourages the UMSON community to join us in celebrating and honoring the rich heritage and contributions of the Asian American Pacific Islander community throughout the month of May and beyond.
In UniSON: together we commit, together we act.
On a particularly negative note, on January 20, 2025, the president issued Executive Order 14148, titled "Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders", which eliminated U.S. federal recognition of AANHPI Heritage Month and closed the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Read the May 2, 2025 University of Maryland, Baltimore The Elm article.
(Image courtesy of the New York City Department of Education.)
