FUSE TV - Join Our Future Asian & Pacific History Month Celebration

Forty years ago this year marks the first of several propositions Congress introduced to find a week to honor Asian and Pacific heritage. Yet it wasn't until 15 years later that we'd officially designate May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. And before we move forward with our celebration, it's important to note how we got here.

In 1977, two different resolutions called to mark the first 10 days in May—yes, they originally only wanted 10 days of celebration—as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week, but neither passed. A year later, a resolution proposing the president annually choose a week in early May to honor Asian/Pacific American culture was passed and signed by Jimmy Carter in October 1978. The celebration was expanded to a month in 1990 and later, in 1992, Congress officially declared May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. After the Stonewall riots, that took place in response to a police raid at Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn, the LGBTQ community and its supporters decided they would meet in June in New York City to march and remember the incident. Originally called Christopher Street Liberation Day took place on June 28, 1970 with similar demonstrations spreading annually around the country and world. In 2000, President Bill Clinton declared June as "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month" with President Barack Obama later declaring the month as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month every year of his presidency.

While the history is important and certainly a part of the celebration, here at Fuse we're using the next 31 days to look forward. We're celebrating Future Asian and Pacific History.

Each day during the month of May, we'll spotlight the future of Asian and Pacific history by showcasing the world's most talented, creative and influential people on the rise. Some are young and at the start of their journey; others are already commanding the world's attention. What brings these people together is the promise of inspiring change for years to come.