WASHINGTON — Following is a statement from Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, president of the American Psychological Association, to mark Asian Pacific American Heritage Month:
“Every May, we honor the history, heritage and contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. May is significant because it commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese people to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and it marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Most of the workers who built the railroads were Chinese immigrants.
“Psychology is a field that has benefited enormously from the contributions of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, including: Alice F. Chang, PhD, a scientist and practitioner who was the first ethnic minority woman to serve on the APA Board of Directors; Harry Kitano, PhD, whose studies of juvenile delinquency, interracial marriages and mental health and alcohol abuse among Asian-Pacific Americans were groundbreaking in community research; Muninder Kaur Ahluwalia, PhD, whose work focuses on methodological issues in qualitative research, race and racism in academia and the experiences of the Sikh community after Sept. 11, and Richard Suinn, PhD, the third ethnic minority and the first Asian-American president of the APA, elected in 1999.”
APA will host an I am Psyched! for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month event on May 16, featuring a roundtable discussion with Asian and Pacific American women psychologists who have broken barriers to become leaders. This event is part of the I am Psyched! multimedia pop-up exhibit, which explores the history of contemporary contributions of women of color in psychology.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.