Asian, Pacific Islander & Desi American Heritage Month

Here at the University of Maryland, we hold Asian, Pacific Islander & Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month during April so that we can celebrate APIDA culture and heritage as a campus community.

For many, movement is at the center of the Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American culture, identity, history, and heritage. We witness the currents of migration, from rushing through the hustle of airport lines, to waiting to hear stories and opening gifts from homelands. Here, we stand at the shoreline of family histories, watching the tide come and go.

To move is also a bodily act, in dance and in sport. Our bodies flow, twinkling in bright, cultural costumes to steady and stoic in martial arts uniforms. We move to breathe easier, to become stronger. Some move for recognition, for access, for care. Few move with militancy, and others with grace. Many rally to carry their voices for those who cannot move at all. From working in solidarity, to fighting for land back, to advancing the liberation of our people and sovereignty for our homelands, we must remember the power we hold as one. With arms clasped together, we recall – when one person in our community falls, we all fall, and when one person rises, we all rise. Our movements are only as strong as our bonds with one another.