NEW YORK — May is Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. It's a time meant to celebrate the stories and cultures of both Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (PI), but there's a discourse expressing concerns within the Pacific Islander community that has been going on for some time.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Unity SummitMay 19, 2023 at 3:19 am EDT
Aynsley Broom is half-Samoan and currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee. There, she is an outspoken board member of API Middle Tennessee, where she has met Asian-American allies and Pacific Islanders alike. She sights reoccurring issues with how companies and people leave out Pacific Islanders, during a time that is supposed to celebrate them.
“Don't forget that we have two hashtags we're using today, #visible together, our month's theme, and #AANHPIHM,” said Phillip Kim. To which his co-host Jeannie Mai-Jenkens responded, “Nobody's remembering that. Just do the Asian Heritage Month and make sure to take pictures and post.” Aynsley Broom says that this kind of erasure impacts generations, including her own mother, who she tearfully recalled admitting that she wished for a lighter complexion.
Dwight is a Samoan-Hawaiian filmmaker based in Los Angeles, working to bring more representation to Pacific Islanders, not only this month but year-round. She’s shooting an original film with a fully PI cast, and people are taking notice. She was featured on Kickstarter’s AANHPI Creators spotlight recently, promoting her campaign to fundraise for the film.
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