10.9, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

It's May 20th. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and this is the 10 News, where we get the lowdown on what's up in the world.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

It's a month that's dedicated to honoring generations of AAPI people who are a very important part of America's past, present, and future.

This community is enduring a rise of violence and hate directed at people of Asian descent right now.

So today on the 10, not only are we celebrating the contributions of AAPI people, but we're also

going to talk about how if you are not part of the AAPI community, you can speak up, use your

voice, and be an ally to support others.

Let's get to the 10.

In case you've heard the term AAPI and aren't sure what it means, we got you covered.

AAPI stands for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and there are two different groups of people.

They can come from or trace their family history to many different countries, regions, and communities.

Cool.

People who identify as Asian American can be from all over Asia, from China to Cambodia, Pakistan to the Philippines.

Pacific Islanders may hail from Polynesia, Micronesia, or Melanesia, and include Native Hawaiians,

people from Fiji, Samoa, and many other places. The AAPI community is large and incredibly diverse with many different

languages, religious practices, histories, and experiences. In fact, there are more than 24 million

AAPI residents in the United States. Wow! AAPI Heritage was started to highlight two very important events in history.

One was the arrival of the first immigrants from Japan to the United States in 1843, and the

other was the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.

What does the railroad have to do with AAPI history?

A lot.

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