Celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage and History This May

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and to celebrate, we’re taking a look through our City Archives & Special Collections to honor the history and heritage of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the New Orleans area.

Quong Son Platform in Manila Village, photographed on July 7, 1906, during a day trip to Grand Isle to celebrate the New Orleans Horticultural Society’s 21st anniversary.

Chung Fat Platform Manila Village, photographed on July 7, 1906, during a day trip to Grand Isle to celebrate the New Orleans Horticultural Society’s 21st anniversary.

These two photos are from 1906, which show the shrimp platforms of Manila Village –– a settlement of Chinese and Filipino sailors, fishermen, and laborers located on an island in Barataria Bay established in the 1870s.

The photos –– showing Quong Son Platform and Chung Fat Platform, respectively –– were taken on July 7, 1906, during a day trip to Grand Isle to celebrate the New Orleans Horticultural Society’s 21st anniversary.

These are some of the only known photographs documenting the raised shrimp platforms of Manila Village, which was destroyed in 1965 during Hurricane Betsy. The location is now underwater, but Manila Village’s influence on the shrimping industry, as well as its now-common stilted homes, would prove long-lasting. 

Louisiana is also believed to be home to one of the United States’ first permanent Asian American settlements. Called Saint Malo, the fishing village was established in the 1830s on the eastern shore of Lake Borgne. It was destroyed by a hurricane in 1915.

Versailles, Louisiana

Mark J. Sinclair photographed this man and woman in 1978 for his 1985 exposition “First Decade: The Vietnamese and Lao in Louisiana." The couple are pictured standing in front of an altar inside their home in Versailles, an unincorporated area in Chalmette that is home to many Vietnamese immigrants

Our Vertical Files and Local Serials Collection holds thousands of magazines, comic books, flyers, and other publications, including this program from the 1984 Asian/Pacific American Heritage Festival, which took place during the infamous 1984 World’s Fair.

It also contains issues of “Dat Hua,” a local Vietnamese-language magazine that listed resources for community organizations provided by the Associated Catholic Charities.

Dat Hua was a Vietnamese language magazine with resources for community organizations provided by the Associated Catholic Charities.

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Events at the Library

In addition to examining the past, this month we have a variety of programs and events to celebrate APAHM.

On May 14, author Liann Zhang will visit the Library via Zoom for a virtual book talk about her debut novel, “Julie Chan is Dead.”

Local historian Winston Ho will give a talk at Main Library on June 7 about the history of Chinatown in New Orleans, which was once located in the very footprint of the Main Library and the Central Business District.

Participants can attend in-person at the Main Library, or join virtually via Zoom. Visit nolalibrary.co/chinatown for details and registration.

Throughout the month, we’ll also have AAPI-themed storytimes at Library locations across the city. Check out the calendar to the right for dates, times, and locations.

Looking for something to read to celebrate AAPI history and heritage this month? Check out these suggestions from our catalog, or share your own in the comments.

APAHM Reads for Kids

Babies

Toddlers

Preschoolers

K-3

Babies

Toddlers

Preschoolers

K-3

APAHM Reads for Adults

Free Streaming on Kanopy

Kanopy is a streaming service that Library cardholders can access for free with their Library cards. This May, Kanopy is highlighting Asian American and Pacific Islander voices, stories, and histories. Use the button below to check out their AAPI Heritage Month collection and to start watching now.

Journey of Resilience Partnership

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, and the Library has been partnering with Journey of Resilience over the past few months to highlight the Vietnamese community’s many contributions to New Orleans over the past half-century. After the Vietnam War, the Archdiocese of New Orleans helped coordinate the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees. Since then, the Vietnamese and Vietnamese American population in the New Orleans metro area has grown from around 1,000 people to more than 17,000, according to 2021 census data.

Spearheaded by former City Councilmember Cyndi Nguyen, the committee has been hosting a year of events to honor the end of the Vietnam War and the arrival of the Vietnamese community in Louisiana, including several cooking workshops at the Library for kids, teens, and families.

NOLA Nite Market founder Thuy Pham is on the committee and said working with the Library is particularly special to her, because she remembers visiting East New Orleans Regional Library with her parents as a child, and seeing her parents be able to read and access materials in their native language.

“That was so important, because representation and access matter. When my parents and other Vietnamese speakers went to the Library and saw books written in Vietnamese, it made them feel welcome and like we belonged and were wanted,” she said. “All of our Journey of Resilience events are rooted in culture sharing, and being able to share our culture in an important community institution like the Library speaks volumes.”

To earn more about Journey of Resilience, visit their website vietnola50.org.