Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month recognized at Crafton Hills College

Publish Date: May 2, 2023

An outdoor celebration on Tuesday, May 2, helped usher in Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (API) at Crafton Hills College.

The quad served as the destination of choice for the event, which was open to all Crafton students, faculty and staff looking to learn more about Asian and Pacific Islander culture, its people and food.

The event was a collaboration between Crafton and its sister college, San Bernardino Valley, and helps amplify part of the “fabric” that makes the U.S., explained Chloe de los Reyes, an associate professor of English at the Yucaipa-based college and multilingual faculty lead.

“We want to highlight all the things that we are doing, from our joys and our hardships, and the challenges the communities API face,” de los Reyes explains. “And I say ‘communities’ because many Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and native Hawaiian folks are forced into one category, but we are struggling to represent and honor each other’s voices.

“For example,” she continued, “with Asian Americans, we represent in California alone 48 ethnicities and 300 spoken languages, but we tend to be put into this one category.”

Crafton is no stranger to hosting API Heritage Month events on campus. But at the peak of anti-Asian hate during the pandemic, the Asian Pacific Islander Association was created to help represent all voices within the API community at both Crafton and Valley, de los Reyes said. Association members are composed of reps from both community colleges.

Event highlights included remarks by Jimmy Grabow, the association’s vice president, and de los Reyes; an open mic session; and a culture attire showcase. Valley held their kick-off event a day earlier, on May 1.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is recognized annually. To learn more about the celebration or for resources, visit www.asianpacificheritage.gov