Rochester New York Heralds the Joint Origins of National Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Hon. Ruby Moy, First Asian American Pacific Islander professional working in the White House, as former Chief of Staff to Congressman Frank Horton from Rochester NY, Hon. Norman Mineta, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and founder of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus CAPAC and Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. recount their historical efforts to proudly establish legislation and Presidential proclamation designating the month of May as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

May 26, 2015 Washington DC – Thirty eight years ago, Representatives Frank Horton from Rochester NY (R-NY) and Norman Mineta (D-CA) introduced House Resolution 540 (Pacific/Asian Heritage Week) in Congress to proclaim the first ten days of May as Pacific/Asian Heritage Week now known as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. May was denoted to commemorate the first Japanese immigrant to the U.S., and also to mark the anniversary of the completion of the trans-continental railroad, the majority of the tracks laid by Chinese workers. Subsequently President Jimmy Carter signed the Joint Resolution on October 5, 1978. In 1992, President Bush signed legislation into law designating the month of May as we know now as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Law HR-5572 originally introduced by Horton and Mineta, was unanimously approved by both the House of Representatives and Senate during the 102nd Congress.

During the first ever White House Summit on AAPIs, U.S. Surgeon Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy M.D. was installed as the new co-chair of WHIAAPI. President Obama proclaims, “The rich heritage of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders spans the world and the depths of America’s history. Generation after generation, Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders have forged a proud legacy that reflects the spirit of our Nation. During AAPI Heritage Month, we honor the perseverance of those who courageously reached for their hopes and dreams in a new land, and we celebrate the important impact the AAPI community has made to our Nation’s progress…As we commemorate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we pay tribute to all those in the AAPI community who have striven for a brighter future for the next generation. Together, let us recommit to embracing the diversity that enriches our Nation and to ensuring all our people have an equal chance to succeed in the country we love.”

The Multicultural Edge of the Rising Super Consumer

Ken Sato, Business and Social Entrepreneur Owns and Operates Small World Foods and Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President at the iconic Wegmans Food Markets Headquarters located in Upstate Rochester New York, participate in the New York State Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council

Multicultural consumers are transforming mainstream U.S. marketplace business economy. Propelled by twin engines of population growth and expanding buying power, they are at the leading edge of converging demographic and social trends, redefining the increasingly diverse consumer marketplace. By understanding the cultural landscape that drives multicultural consumer behavior today, marketers and advertisers can anticipate future business market trends and forge long-term relationships with the most robust and fastest growing segment of the U.S. consumer economy.

THE NEW MAINSTREAM

  • African-Americans, Asian American Pacific Islanders, Latino Americans et al comprise 38% of the U.S. population with U.S. Census projections forecasting multicultural populations will become the numeric majority by 2044
  • 92% of the total growth in the U.S. population from 2000-2014 came from multicultural consumers
  • U.S. multicultural buying power is currently $3.4 trillion

MULTICULTURAL BUYING AND SUPER CONSUMERS

  • Super consumers represent top 10% of a category’s household consumers and drive minimally 30% of sales, 40% of growth and 50% of profits
  • Super geos are geographic regions and metropolitan areas with very high concentrations of Super Consumers of categories

CULTURALLY DRIVEN BEHAVIORS

  • 82% of multicultural heavy consumers actively use a smartphone vs 70% of non-multicultural counterparts
  • Multicultural heavy consumers are 32% more likely to be the stop segment of mobile users averaging 73 website visits per month and more likely to use an average of 46 apps per month

Adapted from Nielsen, An Uncommon Sense of the Consumer™ www.nielsen.com

 

 

U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy M.D. Keynote Speaker at 21st Annual APAICS Awards Gala

Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President & U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy M.D. and newly appointed Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders at the 21st Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies APAICS Annual Gala Awards Dinner celebrating Asian Pacific Heritage Month in Washington, D.C.

May 18, 2015 Washington DC – Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy M.D., M.B.A. was confirmed as the 19th U.S. Surgeon General on December 15, 2014. Dr. Murthy oversees the operations of the U.S. Public Health Services USPHS Commissioned Corps, comprised of over 6,800 uniformed health officers who serve in global locations to promote, protect and advance the health and safety of our nation. Moreover, Dr. Murthy’s announcement during the first ever White House Summit on AAPIs as Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders WHIAAPI stressed the importance of connecting and mobilizing the AAPI community for collaborative goals.”We need to learn from communities across the country to make sure we’re lifting up all communities together,” Murthy remarked.

Dr. Murthy is the son of immigrants from India and discovered a love for the art of healing early in his childhood while spending time in his father’s medical clinic in Miami, Florida. He has devoted himself to improving public health through service, clinical care, research, education and entrepreneurship. Caring for patients he considers the greatest honor in his life and served thousands of patients and trained hundreds of residents and medical students as a clinician-educator.

Dr. Murthy has over two decades of perspective improving health in communities across the country and the world. He co-founded Swasthya, a community health partnership in rural India to train women to be health providers and educators. Moreover, he co-founded VISIONS, an HIV AIDS education program in India and the U.S.

Seen as a progressive leader who can use 21st century approaches and technology to modernize the role of Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy focuses efforts on building cross-sector community partnerships to resolve health issues including obesity and tobacco-related disease, reduce the stigma related to mental illness, improve vaccination rates and promote preventative health strategies. Dr. Murthy strongly believes our American nation’s greatest strength comes from its peoples. Improving the health of our peoples means strengthening our communities and our country. Unite Learn Prosper!

Konrad Ng, Director of the Asian Pacific American Center at the Smithsonian Institution, Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President and Monica Pham, Esq., U.S. House of Representatives Senior Policy Advisor celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month and the White House Summit on Asian American Pacific Islanders in Washington, D.C.

 

U.S. Dept. of Labor Deputy Secretary Christopher Lu Keynote Speaker at National ACE Conference & Awards Ceremony

China Millennium Council President Mary Ho, U.S. Dept of Labor Deputy Secretary Christopher Lu and Asian Chamber of Commerce Houston President Linda Toyota at the 2015 National ACE Conference & Awards Ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C. emphasized the Value of Collaborations of Unite Learn & Prosper.

U.S. Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Christopher Lu stated emphatically the Value of Collaborations during his keynote opening remarks at the Asian Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship 2015 National ACE Conference & Awards Ceremony held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Honorable Christopher Lu serves as the Chief Operating Officer of a 17,000 employee organization that strives to create greater opportunities for all Americans. Earlier Lu served as the White House Cabinet Secretary and Assistant to the President. As one of the highest ranking Asian Americans in the Obama Administration, Lu was also the Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

National ACE brings together the leadership and insights of business owners, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and government officials from across the country. Unite Learn & Prosper theme showcased the issue of invisibility among the AAPI community in all industry sectors including higher education, business and workforce labor areas. Establishing a pipeline with fair access to opportunities critical to ensure inclusion and success of AAPI community. Latest findings on the Asian American Pacific Islanders AAPI business and consumer communities were shared by Nielsen, CNBC and ACE leadership team. Highlights included remarks by Honorable Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration; Ken Niumatalolo, Head Football Coach at the U.S. Naval Academy; and Dominic Chu, Markets Reporter for CNBC and Cornell University School of Hotel Administration graduate.

Sach Takayasu, CEO & President of National ACE, Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President, Ken Niumatalolo, Head Football Coach U.S. Naval Academy, Linda Toyota, President Asian Chamber of Commerce Houston and Betty Lo, Vice President of Community Alliances & Consumer Engagement at Nielsen.

Pulitzer Prize Award Winning Journalist José Antonio Vargas states, “Our Equalities are Tied to Each Other” #EmergingUS #DefineAmerican

China Millennium Council President Mary Ho, Pulitzer Prize Award Winning Journalist José Antonio Vargas and ROC the film Entrepreneur Tom Crane at the University of Rochester Diversity Conference Discuss Social Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for a Modern America #EmergingUS #DefineAmerican

Kenda Gee International Award Winning Documentary of LOST YEARS: A PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE Discourses on Social Equity

 

China Millennium Council President Mary Ho and International Award Winning Documentary Lost Years Fillmmaker Kenda Gee Discuss the Vast and Diverse Diaspora of Chinese Extending to U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand including Europe and the African continent.

LOST YEARS: A PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE is an international award winning epic documentary tracing back over 150 years of the Chinese diaspora covering four generations of racism as revealed through the journey and family story of Chinese Canadian filmmaker Kenda Gee. Traveling with his father Took Gee, they return to China and retrace the path of his grandfather, who sailed to Canada in the summer of 1921, and even earlier over a century ago, his great grandfather. A journey of hope for a myriad of Chinese who quickly encountered discriminatory laws including the head tax levied on new Chinese immigrants to Canada which ultimately deprived them of their rights as citizens. The story begins with the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 20th century China circa 1911 towards the end of World War II, recounting painful decades of anti-Chinese racial prejudice in North America. Extending from Vancouver Island and Angel Island, Gee’s journey takes him across Canada and America, retracing the footsteps and experiences of the Chinese immigrants and their modern day descendants. A moving account of their personal stories capture the enormous hardships and obstacles they overcame in order to obtain citizenship in their own new countries of birth and acceptance in a modern diverse global society. www.lostyears.ca

National Asian Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship ACE Leadership Delegation Convene with Congressional Leaders at The White House

Krystal Ka'ai, Executive Director of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu, Representative (D-CA 27th District) and Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President Discuss Business, Healthcare and Immigration Concerns Impacting the Asian American Pacific Islander Communities nation-wide.

The National Asian Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship ACE Leadership Delegates assembled for their inaugural roundtable meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., undaunted by the recent federal government furlough, and successfully engaged dialogues with U.S. congressional leaders and White House officials. ACE serves as the national voice representing the multitude interests of the Asian American Pacific Islander business community, champion advocate and resource for the regional and local chambers of commerce, business associations and professional organizations in the U.S.

Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President and Bill Imada, Chairman of the National Asian Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship ACE and Chief Collaboration Officer of IW Group Inc., Convene with U.S. Congressional Leaders in Washington, D.C.