AAPI Heritage Month: Leaving our mark on American democracy

This AAPI Heritage Month, we’re telling the untold stories of women, women of color and LGBTQ+ people. Subscribe to our daily newsletter .

The term Asian-American/Pacific Island (AAPI) – a demographic category that covers people from the subcontinent, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the islands that dot the Pacific Rim – has been around for decades. And in a rapidly diversifying nation, it’s carrying the weight of wildly different cultures and experiences.

Despite the breadth of the term, this group of people is still limited in its influence over American politics. AAPI people make up 6 percent of the electorate – a number that can be even smaller in some states. And many AAPI people didn’t have full access to the ballot until at least 1975, when the minority languages provision of the Voting Rights Act was passed, requiring the translation of ballots and other voting materials. There’s room to carve out space, and room to grow in influence, as the nation gains new citizens and another generation of American-born AAPI people comes of age.

Here are our stories about how AAPI people are making their mark on American democracy. This page will be updated with our coverage throughout May.

The 19th staff reflects on AAPI Heritage Month

From their neighborhoods to the ballot box, several AAPI staffers at The 19th share the stories of making their voices heard in democracy.

Why Asian-American voters are so key to elections in Georgia

Politicians are just beginning to pay more attention to how to reach — and listen to — AAPI voters, says Dr. Michelle Au, The Democratic legislator representing key suburbs northeast of Atlanta.

‘A game changer’: AAPI researchers celebrate new standards for collecting race and ethnicity data

For decades, Asian Americans have typically only had one box to check to describe their ethnicity on federal forms — and that’s caused problems for everything from health care to politics. AAPI researchers are celebrating the federal government’s new standards for collecting more detailed race and ethnicity data, in which respondents are able to report their country of origin.

Listen to The Amendment podcast: Destigmatizing sex work with Yin Q

Asian massage workers and sex workers have long been the targets of violence in America – but their stories often get pushed to the margins. As AAPI Heritage Month kicked off, The 19th’s Editor-at-Large, Errin Haines, spoke with Yin Q – one of the core organizers of Red Canary Song, a collective organizing with and for Asian and migrant sex workers – about the stories of their community, break down the history of violence against Asian sex and massage workers, and sketch out what a future where sex work is decriminalized would look like.