OVERVIEW

As part of our efforts to live out our shared biblical value of unity amidst diversity and to highlight and show appreciation for our brothers and sisters from diverse backgrounds, we will host cultural heritage month celebrations throughout the year.

ŷַ celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by recognizing the experiences, beauty and strength of members in the AAPI community.

We take this opportunity to listen, learn and reflect on the cultural heritage and contributions of the AAPI community. Through this practice, we grow and build a community within the body of Christ at ŷַ. As Psalms 133:1 states, “How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God’s people to live together in harmony!”

INFLUENTIAL FIGURES

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month allows us to learn more about some of history’s significant visionaries, leaders and changemakers. In overcoming challenges, many looked to God’s word for comfort and hope, developing resilience in order to make positive changes.

The list below is meant to provide a glimpse into the rich diversity of the excellence and accomplishments of the AAPI community. We encourage you to share who you find inspirational on your social media pages by tagging #BUAAPIMonth.

"For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” Romans 12:4-6a

The views represented in the links below may be from non-Christian sources and may not fully reflect the views of ŷַ.

Art

  • (1917-2019), Award-Winning Chinese American Master Architect – I.M. Pei, is best known for designing the Louvre’s glass pyramid and the National Gallery’s East Building. Born in China, he lent his modernist style to major projects worldwide, including the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.
  • (1904-1988), Japanese American Artist and Landscape Architect – Isamu Noguchi’s six-decade career began in the 1920s. He is well-known for collaborating with the Herman Miller company in 1947 on what is one of the most influential bodies of modern furniture ever produced.

Athletics

  • (1940-1973), Martial Artist, Actor and Filmmaker – Bruce Lee transformed the portrayal of Asian characters in Hong Kong and Hollywood cinema with his acting and fighting in films like Enter the Dragon and Fist of Fury. In 1999, Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
  • (1890-1968), Native Hawaiian Olympic Gold Medalist, Surfer and Actor – Nicknamed “The Big Kahuna,” Duke Kahanamoku was a five-time Olympic swimming medalist in swimming, having competed in the 1912 and 1920 Olympics. Kahanamoku later worked as an actor, sheriff and surfer, helping to popularize the Hawaiian sport of surfing.
  • (1920-2016), Korean American Olympic Diver, Coach and Physician – Sammy Lee was the first Asian American man to win Olympic gold for the U.S. and earned back-to-back platform diving titles in 1948 and 1952. He later coached top U.S. divers, including Bob Webster, Greg Louganis and Pat McCormick.

Business

  • (1970) CEO and Founder of Zoom – Inspired by his 10-hour train trips to visit his now-wife, Eric Yuan created the video-conferencing giant, Zoom. Despite early challenges, he took Zoom public, leading to his billionaire status and recognition as Best CEO by Comparably in 2020.
  • (1968), Taiwanese American Co-Founder of Yahoo and Tech Investor – In 1994, Jerry Yang dropped out of Stanford's doctoral program and co-founded Yahoo, one of the first internet portals. Born in Taiwan and raised in California, Yang has become a mentor to numerous tech startups and an investor to more than 50 startups.
  • Sundar Pichai (1972), CEO of Google and Alphabet – Sundar Pichai, one of the most recognizable Asian American CEOs, joined Google in 2004 and rose to CEO by 2015 after leading the development of their toolbar and Chrome browser. Under his leadership, Google’s share price has more than quadrupled.

Civil Rights Leaders

  • (1915-2015), Taishanese American Author, Social Activist, Philosopher and Feminist – Grace Lee Boggs is best known for her book, The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, she is regarded as a key figure in the development of the Asian American movement and identity.
  • (1904-1994), Filipino American Labor Leader and Civil Rights Activist – Born in the Philippines, Philip Vera Cruz partnered with Mexican labor organizer, Cesar Chavez, and the United Farm Workers union to champion better conditions for thousands of Filipino and Mexican farmworkers. Afterward, he continued mentoring youth, sharing his insights on activism and fostering Filipino American political awareness.
  • (1936-2002), Japanese American Historian and Civil Rights Activist – Yuji Ichioka is largely credited with coining the term “Asian American,” paving the way for greater prominence and understanding of Asian American identity in the U.S. In 1968, he founded the Asian American Political Alliance and later helped establish the Asian American studies program at UCLA.

Literature

  • (1967), Indian American Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author – Jhumpa Lahiri won a Pulitzer Prize for her debut short-story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, and has since authored a short-story collection and three novels. Most of her work addresses the common struggles of Indian American immigrants and the stark differences between the U.S. and their homeland.
  • (1952), Acclaimed Chinese American Writer – Amy Tan has authored several best-selling novels—The Joy Luck Club, The Bonesetter’s Daughter and Saving Fish From Drowning—in which she drew on personal experiences to explore the complexities of being Chinese American. She has also written short stories, a nonfiction essay collection titled The Opposite of Fate and children’s books.

Science and Medicine

  • (1946-1986), First Asian American in Space – Ellison S. Onizuka became the first Asian American to go to space when he served as a mission specialist aboard Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-51C mission in 1985. Tragically, he died in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in January 1986.
  • (1952) Researcher, Physician and Virologist – In the 1990s, Dr. David Ho played a key role in researching the treatment and prevention of HIV transmission. He is the founding scientific director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and was named the 1996 Time magazine Person of the Year.
  • (1967), Indian American Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author – Jhumpa Lahiri won a Pulitzer Prize for her debut short-story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, and has since authored a short-story collection and three novels. Most of her work addresses the common struggles of Indian American immigrants and the stark differences between the U.S. and their homeland.
  • (1854-1922), Japanese American Scientist and Activist – In 1901, chemist Jōkichi Takamine became the first person to isolate a pure hormone—adrenalin (now known as epinephrine)—from a natural source, the suprarenal gland. Outside of science, he worked to improve the status of Japanese Americans and funded a gift of 2,000 cherry trees from Tokyo’s mayor to beautify the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

Music

  • (1838-1917), Hawaiian Queen and Composer – Lili'uokalani was the first and only Hawaiian queen regent and the last Hawaiian sovereign to govern the islands before they were annexed in 1898 by the U.S. In 1878, she composed her most famous song, Aloha ʻOe (Farewell to Thee) in a single afternoon.
  • (1955), Chinese American Classical Musician and Performer – Born to classically trained Chinese musicians, Yo-Yo Ma was a musical prodigy who began performing at the age of four. He recorded more than 90 albums, won 18 Grammys and earned multiple recognitions, including the Glenn Gould Prize, National Medal of Arts, Presidential Medal of Freedom and Polar Music Prize.

Theology

  • (1896-1966) Civil Rights Activist and Minister – Born in 1896, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee was a leader in the women’s rights movement who campaigned for women’s suffrage and led a parade of nearly 10,000 people through New York. She was also the first Chinese woman to earn a PhD in economics.
  • (1960) Professor, Theologian and Community Leader – A pioneer in writing about Asian American ministries, Dr. Peter Cha has decades of experience in Korean American churches, campus ministry, church planting and multiethnic church leadership. He is currently the director of the Thriving Immigrant Congregations Initiative (TICI) project and is a professor of practical theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
  • (1974) President, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA – In 2016, Tom Lin became the first full president to be chosen from InterVarsity staff. Tom served as a trustee and vice-chair of the board of Wycliffe Bible Translators and currently serves on the boards of Fuller Theological Seminary, the Crowell Trust, and the Lausanne Movement.

RESOURCES

Consider learning more about an area of AAPI history you aren’t familiar with yet. Below are several recommended podcast episodes, films, books, articles and museums to explore and research further. We’ve also provided a list of groups to join on campus. By opening our hearts and eyes to see and understand what we don’t already know, we can grow in our ability to serve, love and understand one another and live out God’s vision of unity.

ŷַ Library

  • Learn more about the AAPI experience in the United States by searching the Library's .

Podcasts

  • – An official podcast by the Asian American Christian Collaborative.
  • – A podcast series about the reality and beauty of living out Asian American faith, by the Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary.
  • – A conversational series about the issues confronting Asian American Christians and churches, by the Center for Asian American Christianity.

Films to Watch

  • August at Akiko’s is a 2018 film set on the Big Island in Hawai’i that centers around a traveling musician, who is a fictionalized version of actor Alex Zhang Hungtai. The protagonist travels back to Hawai’i after nearly a decade to connect with his roots and to find his grandparents.
  • Bao is a 2018 eight-minute Pixar short that touched the hearts of children of Asian immigrants. Directed by Domee Shi, Bao centers around a Chinese mother dealing with empty nest syndrome. She interacts with her little bao (pork bun) that has come to life. She experiences what many mothers go through when their children grow up and seek independence.
  • The Farewell is a 2019 heartfelt and humorous film that follows Billi, a Chinese-American woman, who returns to China where her family hides a terminal diagnosis from their beloved grandmother. As they reunite under the pretense of a wedding, Billi navigates cultural tensions and rediscovers the strength of family and unspoken love.
  • Joy Luck Club is a 1993 film about four older Chinese immigrants who regularly see each other for mahjong and storytelling. Each has an adult daughter and deals with the struggles of leaving China and their attempts to bond and connect with their first-generation daughters.
  • Minari is a 2020 film that serves as a semi-autobiographical immigrant drama, starring Steven Yeun, as Jacob, a South Korean immigrant who has recently bought a plot of land in Arkansas in hopes of becoming a farmsteader. This tender and quiet drama powerfully captures the immigrant experience, showcasing the tension between Jacob, who has gone all-in on the American dream, and his wife Monica, played by South Korean actress Yeri Han.
  • Past Lives is a 2023 romantic drama film that follows two childhood friends, Nora and Hae Sung, who reconnect years after Nora’s family emigrated from South Korea to Canada. As they reunite in New York, the film explores love, destiny, and the quiet complexities of what might have been.

Books to Read

  • “Doing Asian American Theology: A Contextual Framework for Faith and Practice” – Winner of the American Society of Missiology Book Award, Dr. Daniel D. Lee, Academic Dean of the Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary, provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how Asian American identity intersects with faith. He introduces an “Asian American quadrilateral” that considers heritage, migration, American culture and racialization.
  • “Faith in the Wilderness: Words of Exhortation from the Chinese Church” – Winner of the 2023 Christianity Today Book Award of Merit for Missions & Global Church, this book shares powerful reflections from Chinese house church leaders who have endured decades of persecution. These sermonic letters offer Western Christians a window into the Chinese Church’s deep theology of suffering and unwavering faith.
  • “Learning Our Names: Asian American Christians on Identity, Relationships, and Vocation” – Drawing from diverse Asian backgrounds, the authors share personal stories that challenge the labels imposed by society and invite readers to embrace their God-given identities. The book encourages reflection on history, faith and what it means to be truly seen by God.
  • “Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans” – Dr. Jenny T. Wang blends personal narrative with clinical insight to address Asian American mental health. She offers readers the permission to question, feel, rage, say no, take up space, choose, play, fail and grieve. This journey helps Asian Americans return to a place of acceptance, belonging, healing and freedom.

Articles to Read

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  • Data on by the Pew Research Center

Museums to Visit

  • The is an Asian art museum located in Pasadena. The museum was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased "The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art" from the City of Pasadena.
  • The is located in Los Angeles and is dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Japanese Americans. Founded in 1992, it is located in the Little Tokyo area near downtown.
  • The is a museum located in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. The first of its kind in Southern California, this museum is dedicated to the history and experience of Chinese Americans in the state of California.

Related: The is located in the Los Angeles Miracle Mile District and is dedicated to providing insights into the rich cultural heritage of Korea. Operated by the Korean government's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean Cultural Center serves as the hub for Korean heritage in Los Angeles.

Groups to Join on Campus

ŷַ student clubs and affinity groups meet regularly throughout the semester. Please connect with the contact listed for more information on how to get involved.

  • APIDA Mosaic Collective (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) – The Mosaic Collectives are vibrant communities that seek to serve as edifying social hubs for students from culturally similar backgrounds. Mosaic Collectives host culturally relevant events/experiences, offer informal mentorship and encourage meaningful connections among students. Fill out to share your interest and get plugged in! Learn more about SEID’s Mosaic Collective groups on Instagram @seidbiola.
  • Chinese Student Association – Their mission is to create a supportive and inclusive community for Chinese students and those interested in Chinese culture. They aim to foster cultural exchange, provide support and promote understanding, while celebrating the rich traditions and heritage of Chinese culture. Through social initiatives, they seek to empower their members to succeed culturally and personally during their time at ŷַ and beyond. Contact csa.club@biola.edu.
  • Korean Student Association (KSA) – Their mission is to provide a healthy and comfortable environment for ethnically Korean students inside a Christian community. Contact ksa.club@biola.edu.
  • Hearts for North Korea – Their mission is to raise awareness for the people in North Korea in love and compassion. Contact hearts.for.nk.club@biola.edu.