During AANHPI Heritage Month, Let's Celebrate Asian Americans, Not Just Asians

Often, the attempts at honoring Asian Americans' contributions fizzle out because people don't distinguish between Asian Americans and other Asian communities outside the US.

Every May, the nation celebrates Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. While this is a time to recognize the contributions and resilience of AANHPIs, it's also crucial to address a common misconception that often undermines these efforts.

Many people tend to conflate Asian Americans with other Asian communities outside the US, rendering the attempts at honoring AANHPIs less impactful. To clarify, the second "A" in "AANHPI" stands for American, distinguishing this group from Asians living in other parts of the world.

For instance, this year, Billboard featured South Korean DJ-producer Peggy Gou on their cover for the first-ever "AAPI" issue. However, Gou was raised in Europe and currently resides there, making her part of the Korean European community rather than Asian American.

Similarly, the publication celebrated AAPI Heritage Month with a chart highlighting 10 Billboard achievements by various Asian artists. While this list included well-known Asian stars like Psy and K-pop sensations BTS, only one of them—Mark Tuan of the K-pop group GOT7—is an actual Asian American.

Another example can be seen in GRAMMY.com's "genre-spanning playlist" released to "celebrate AAPI artists." Upon closer examination, it becomes evident that most artists featured were from Asia or Europe; for example, the South Korean K-pop boy band ATEEZ and Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey.

This tendency to highlight Asians who spent their lives outside the US is a pervasive issue that extends beyond print and digital media.

For instance, last year's "Good Morning America" television segment paid tribute to Asian American Heritage Month by discussing the soaring popularity of the Korean language. However, K-culture blogger Kat Turner noted that the segment didn't feature a single individual from the AANHPI community.

Instead, it focused on two white women discussing their Korean language learning experiences and the South Korean CEO and co-founder of the Korean language learning platform Talk To Me In Korean, Hyunwoo Sun.

"Imagine if the story had profiled Korean Americans learning their ancestral language," Turner remarked. It's disheartening that AANHPIs are usually overlooked in American media, prompting outlets to reach out to non-Americans instead.

Furthermore, a study by the Asian American Foundation found that over 50% of Americans couldn't name a single famous Asian American. Among those who could, Jackie Chan, who isn't even an Asian American (he's from Hong Kong), was mentioned most frequently. The same goes for Chinese-Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, despite her being of Asian descent.

This misclassification of Asian Americans with Asian communities elsewhere or with diasporas outside the US leads to an unfortunate reality where Asian Americans continue to be perceived as outsiders in their own country.

If media organizations continue to publicize Asian folk beyond the US during Asian American Heritage Month, they miss out on countless instances to spotlight and uplift the AANHPI community, ultimately contributing to the general public's lack of awareness of Asian Americans' accomplishments.

There are plenty of Asian Americans with breakthrough achievements, like Lulu Wang, the Chinese-American filmmaker who directed "The Farewell," and Mindy Kaling, the Indian-American icon who has acted in, written, and directed various shows, including "The Office" and "The Mindy Project."

Moreover, Steven Yeun, a Korean-American actor, is well-known for his leading roles in "The Walking Dead" series and the award-winning show "Beef." He also has impressive works in the cinema.

In the music industry, we have massive names like Bruno Mars and Olivia Rodrigo, along with indie favorites such as Mitski and Japanese Breakfast, and up-and-coming artists like Sarah Kinsley, keshi, Lyn Lapid, and Audrey Nuna.

I hope that by May, media outlets will acknowledge that there's no need to search for Asian talent abroad since there is so much talent right here in the United States.