Asian American Festival

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: May

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1978 a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, completed on May 10, 1869. In 1992, Congress expanded the 10-day observance to a month-long celebration. Per a 1997 Office of Management and Budget directive, the Asian or Pacific islander racial category was separated into two different categories: "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander."

Asians -- 14.0 million
The estimated number of U.S. residents in July 2004 who said they were Asian or Asian in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised 5 percent of the total population. 3.4% Percentage growth of the Asian population between 2003 and 2004, the highest of any race group during that time period.

Education 49%
The percentage of Asians, age 25 and older, who have a bachelor's degree or higher level of education. Asians have the highest proportion of college graduates of any race or ethnic group in the country.

Income and Poverty $57,518
Median household income for Asians in 2004, the highest among all race groups.

9.8%
Poverty rate for Asians in 2004, down from 11.8 percent in 2003.

Businesses 1.1 million
Number of businesses owned by Asian-Americans in 2002, up 24 percent from 1997.

Languages 2.3 million
The number of people age 5 and older who speak Chinese at home. After Spanish, Chinese is the most widely spoken non-English language in the country. Tagalog and Vietnamese also have more than 1 million speakers.

Coming to America 8.7 million
The number of U.S. residents who were born in Asia. Asian-born residents comprise one-fourth of the nation's total foreign-born population.

52%
The percentage of the foreign-born from Asia who are naturalized U.S. citizens.

1.8 million
The estimated number of foreign-born people from China. Following Mexico, China is the leading country of birth for the nation's foreign-born. Other nations contributing at least 1 million foreign-born to our nation include India and the Philippines. The estimate for China includes Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Age Distribution 26%
Percent of people on July 1, 2004, identifying themselves as either Asian or Asian in combination with one or more other races who are under 18; 8 percent are 65 or older.

The Future 33.4 million
The projected number of U.S. residents in 2050 who will identify themselves as Asians. They would comprise 8 percent of the total population by that year.

1st Saturday of June
Martin Regional Library
2601 S. Garnett Road Tulsa, OK 74129
(918) 669 - 6340