Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Cal State San Bernardino will celebrate Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month in April and May with a number of virtual events honoring the accomplishments, contributions and culture of Asian and Pacific Islander communities under the theme “Not Your Model Minority, Creating Waves of Change.”

Nationally, Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month is celebrated during the month of May, but since CSUSB has a short month in May with finals and commencement, the university is starting celebrations in April.

The official kickoff will be the API Heritage Month Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, April 7 from 9-10:30 a.m. with CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales giving the opening remarks. The ceremony will feature Lori Ideta, interim vice chancellor for students at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, who will give the keynote address: Okage sama de: Becoming in This Time of Uncertainty. To register for the event, visit the Opening Ceremony registration site.

Cal State San Bernardino highlights for Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month include:

  • April 5-April 30: The Coyote Series Celebrates: API Heritage Month. Associated Students Inc. and the SMSU Asian & Pacific Islander Center will conduct a social media campaign highlighting student art, stories, photography, etc. as impacted by identities as Asian, Asian American, and/or Pacific Islander. Follow the series on @asi_csusb @csusb.smsu @smsu.ccc. Students can submit entries until April 1.  Students, please submit entries here: https://tinyurl.com/CoyoteSeriesAPIHeritageMonth
  • April 7, 9-10:30 a.m.: API Heritage Month Opening Ceremony. CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales will provide welcome remarks followed by Lori M. Ideta, interim vice chancellor for students at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, who will give her keynote address: Okage sama de: Becoming in This Time of Uncertainty. Register at the Opening Ceremony registration site.
  • April 8, noon-1:30 p.m.: CommuniTEA with Professor Dhruv Khurana. Join the SMSU Asian & Pacific Islander Center and the Queer and Transgender Resource Center for CommuniTEA with CSUSB economics lecturer Dhruv Khurana, who will speak to being Out of the Closet and Into Academia. Register at the CommuniTea with Professor Dhruv Khurana site.
  • April 13, noon-1:30 p.m.: Conversations on Diversity featuring Terisa Siagatonu. The University Diversity Committee and President’s Diversity Equity Inclusion Programming Subcommittee presents Conversations on Diversity featuring Terisa Siagatonu and her program, “Finally, the Poets: The Duty of Art(ists) as the Pulse of our Collective Healing & Greatest Hope at Justices.” Join the webinar via the Conversations on Diversity Zoom event site.
  • April 14, 2-4 p.m.: The API Heritage Month Committee panel discussion. The committee will host a panel session around the API Heritage Month theme of Not Your Model Minority, Creating Waves of Change. Register at the Inaugural API Heritage Month 2021, Discussion Panel event site.
  • April 15, noon-1 p.m.: Asian/Asian American and African American Dialogues. Join the Asian Faculty, Staff, and Student Association for a featured presentation with Duke University associate professor of history Sucheta Mazumdar on Asian/Asian American and African American Dialogues. Register at the dialogues webinar site.
  • April 17, 7-9:30 p.m.: Celebration of Pilipinx Culture. Join the Celebration of Pilipinx Culture, hosted by CSUSB’s LUBOS PASO. Registration will be updated at the API Heritage Month website.
  • April 20, 6-8 p.m.: The API Film Series. Join the SMSU Asian and Pacific Islander Center for the API Film Series, which will be featuring the documentary “Pass or Fail in Cambodia Town” followed by a discussion. Register at the API Film Series Cambodia Town documentary registration site.
  • April 21, 1 p.m.: The College of Education presents "Family-centered practices for Korean immigrant families of bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder," with speakers Jemma Kim, associate professor in the Department of Special education, Rehabilitation and Counseling; Young Suk Hwang, professor, Department of Teacher Education and Foundation; and Yeon Kim, associate professor, Department of Nursing. Sign up at the online meeting registration page.
  • April 21, 6-8 p.m.: Films & Frybread featuring the Film Boy. Join us as we screen “Boy.” Acclaimed director Taika Waititi presents a creative coming-of-age comedy set in 1984, following an eleven-year-old Michael Jackson fanatic nicknamed “Boy.” With his mother dead and father AWOL, Boy becomes the head of a household full of kids when his Nana leaves town for a funeral. Register now at the Films & Frybread film registration site.
  • April 27, noon-1 p.m.: A talk presented by the Pfau Library and the College of Natural Sciences. Catherine Ceniza Choy, a professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, will discuss her award-winning book, “Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History.” Join the talk at the discussion event zoom site.  
  • April 28, 3-5 p.m.: The Pfau Library’s Conversation on Race and Policing series. Special faculty guest, Jonathan Okamura, professor emeriti at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, will discuss his book “Raced to Death in 1920s Hawai’i: Injustice and Revenge in the Fukunaka Case.” Join the discussion at the Conversation on Race and Policing series Zoom site.
  • April 30, 5 p.m.: The Korean Culture Club will share its Korean Fest program, “Korea: Nature Within Lifestyle & Lifestyle within Nature,” on YouTube. The program will premiere at CSUSB Korean Fest 2021.
  • May 3, 6-8 p.m. “Essential Conversations: Anti-Asian Racism,” a virtual conversation to discuss the exploitation of the COVID-19 pandemic spurring violence, harassment and racism against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Register at the "Essential Conversations: Anti-Asian Racism" Zoom page.
  • May 4, noon-1:30 p.m.: CommuniTEA with Coach Casandra Renno. Come through and sip some tea with CSUSB’s head women’s basketball coach, Casandra Renno, as she shares about her various intersecting identities and how this has impacted her coaching career. Find out why her API heritage is important and how she has been able to promote education through sports. Register at the CommuniTEA with Coach Casandra Renno site.
  • May 7, 2021: API Graduation Celebration. Graduating students are welcome to register for our first-ever API Graduation Celebration. A drive-through sash pick-up opportunity is currently being planned. More information will be provided once registered. Graduating students can purchase their sash via the API Graduation Celebration site.

For more information and updates visit the CSUSB Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month webpage.