Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
APAHM, or Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, is an annual series of events taking place in the month of April to celebrate and promote Asian American and Pacific Island culture. The monthly celebration was established at Columbia University in 1991. The series was known as Asian Pacific American Awareness Month (APAAM) until 2011, when the name was changed.
Barnard College and Columbia University APAHM is organized by a committee that dedicates itself to organizing a wide range of programs for the month of April. The goal is to bring broader awareness of the Asian American/ APIA community and its rich history to campus. During that month, APAHM celebrates the culture, investigates the issues, and showcases the talents of Asian Pacific Islander Americans within and beyond the Columbia community. Every April, APAHM organizes and cosponsors up to a dozen events and presents a calendar of events for the month.
The first event of the month, which usually takes place on the first weekend of April, is called APAHM Opening Ceremony. The exciting event brings in a keynote speaker--usually an influential Asian/Pacific Islander American in the community--and showcases student group talent along with a free dinner for all attendees.
The monthly events following Opening Ceremony are broad in content, ranging from concerts to interactive panels to poetry slams to film screenings to social galas. Beginning in 2015, APAHM has also created its own self-published Zine every April (Issue 1: Rice Paper, Issue 2: Compass). Previous events have covered topics such as Asians in Comics, Asian American Cuisine, Lantern Festivals, and more!
Contents
APAHM Board
- Composed of an Executive Board and Event Chairs, each of whom takes charge of their own event.
- Past notable APAHM members of fame include Harrison / Daddy, Xinni aka Beyonce, Princess Paulina, PrezTang, Dchow, Edmund PikaQIU, Ni, Sanch, Bryceratops, yung g randy z, Ivysaur, M
APAHM Themes & Opening Ceremony Guests
APAHM Opening Ceremony was established in 1999.
- 2018: In(di)visible ft. Christine Ha (The Blind Cook)
- 2017: Impressions ft. Steven Lim (BuzzFeed, Worth It)
- 2016: DisOriented ft. Conrad Ricamora (Actor, How to Get Away With Murder)
APAHM Previous Year Calendars
