Celebrating Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month

Asian-Pacific American Heritage month began as a week-long celebration in 1979, falling on two important dates in cultural history. May 7th celebrates the first Japanese immigrants that migrated to the United States, while May 10th commemorates the first transcontinental railroad in the United States to be completed with notable assistance from Chinese pioneers. In 1990, George W. Bush elongated that week of appreciation to the entire month of May. It was then recognized by Congress as an annual observance in 1992 as a full month of May.

Since the first Chinese immigrants came to the United States in the 1800s, Asian-Pacific Americans have helped our country to thrive creatively, intellectually, and socially. These notable contributions have influenced Arts, Business, Government, Military, Science and Technology, and Sports and paved the way for others to follow. There have been so many Asian-Pacific Americans that have paved a way for business and highlight success in their respective fields. Jerry Yang is the co-founder of Yahoo, helping to build one of the most influential online search engines. Victor and Janie Tsao built their business from a single printer, later turning their combined genius into the brand we now know as Linksys.

Elias Jo, Co-Founder and CEO of our own Entourage Yearbooks began his own story as an entrepreneur and software developer. Now, he is the ground stone of producing books for over 6,000 schools around the country, preserving the community’s own cultures and experiences. Entourage is a communal melting pot, embracing diversity and appreciating all cultures and backgrounds.

Here at Entourage Yearbooks, we would like to take this time to celebrate and reflect on this rich history of our Asian-Pacific Americans employees as well as the members of our own community.

Featured Image: CEO Elias Jo, assisting the production team during their quality check process and posing for a quick candid photograph.