May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, celebrating and paying tribute to the generations of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) who have enriched America's history and are instrumental in its future success.

The Asian/Pacific Islander moniker encompasses an incredibly diverse swath of people, including individuals with ancestry from all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

In recent months, there has been a surge in violence and crime directed at AAPIs all over the country, including here in Portland. In addition, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders continue to be disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Pacific Islanders having some of the highest case rates in Oregon. The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) unites Asians and Pacific Islanders to advance equity through organizing, advocacy, community development, and cultural work. APANO envisions a world where Asians, Pacific Islanders and communities who share their aspirations and struggles have the power, resources, and voice to determine their futures, and where they work in solidarity to drive political, social, economic, and cultural change.

APANO engages in community organizing, leadership building, and political advocacy to resist and shift harmful narratives and ideas at the community and city level as well as at the state and federal level. They work to advance the visibility and voice of AAPIs in every facet of life from empowering AAPI teens, to promoting AAPI artists, facilitating AAPI businesses and offering resources and support structures for the community.

During this time of acute crisis within the AAPI community, we’re showing our support by matching all in-office donations to APANO Communities United Fund to help them continue to organize, mobilize and advocate for issues that impact AAPIs.