Share your story for APISAA Heritage Month

As part of the annual Asian Pacific Islander South Asian American (APISAA) Heritage Month celebrations at NC State, the Libraries invites you to share your stories of the Asian and Asian American experience at the university on our Virtual Wolf Tales site.

Add your voice to NC State's history and its future by recording a short (up to 10 minutes) video of yourself on your personal device, to be added to the official University Archives as part of the Libraries’ Wolf Tales collection. For your recording, consider any of the following questions:

• When did you first come to NC State? Who or what led you here?
• How would you describe yourself and your community at NC State?
• What is the most important thing that people should know about this community, years from now?
• What does Asian Pacific Islander South Asian American Heritage Month mean to you?
• Tell us about your experiences at NC State as someone who identifies as Asian or Asian American?
• ​​What did you learn about Asian American history previously in school, either in high school or in other college courses you've taken?
• What changes do you hope to see in the NC State community in the future? What do you hope stays the same?
• Anything else you’d like to share?

Sponsored by Multicultural Student Affairs, NC State’s Asian Pacific Islander South Asian American Heritage Month features events and programs that celebrate the rich history, culture, and contributions of the APISAA community. Here at NC State, APISAA Heritage Month is held from March 15 to April 15 in order to ensure celebration with our community before the end of the academic school year. This year’s celebration is themed “Consciousness, Solidarity, Liberation” and focuses on the ways in which we as people can use consciousness and various forms of accountability to lead solidarity and liberation.

In addition to the Virtual Wolf Tales opportunity, the Libraries will host an April 6 screening of the film Queer Japan (view trailer here). Other Libraries APISAA resources include a recording of last year’s Campus History Series event on Asian & Asian American History at NC State and a university Asian and Asian American Historical Timeline.

As we acknowledge the historical violence and the increase of violence towards the APISAA community during the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is important to continue to center their voices. In 1978 a Congressional resolution was passed to commemorate Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May. The week recognized the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869. In 1990 the week was extended to a month to continue to honor and center the various cultures within one community.