The strength and resilience of the Asian community has been remarkable — especially in response to the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes over the past few years. In the U.S. alone, they rose 339% in 2021, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. But through this adversity, coupled with all of life’s other stresses, the Asian community has shone brighter than ever. As an Asian American, I’m proud of how our community has come together while also uplifting others along the way. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) — and all year long for that matter — is a chance to celebrate this spirit, and that’s why it’s so important for Google to show up to support the Asian community.
In my role as VP of Engineering for Google Search, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to organize and understand the information that people want and need. Through Google’s services and tools, we have an incredible opportunity to share relevant information with our users on important topics like cultural identity and history.
One great example, in honor of APAHM, the Google Assistant team has curated a collection of facts and quotes about notable people and achievements in Asian history. Just by saying, “Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month” to your Google Assistant, you can learn something new every day throughout the month of May.
Join me in celebrating APAHM and exploring some of the talented members of our community that Google is featuring this month.
Recognizing Asian culture through art and music
Throughout May, products across Google will spotlight Asian creators and heritage, showcasing the creativity and influence of these artists, musicians and entertainers on modern culture. For instance, Google Arts & Culture is launching a new iteration of its Asian Pacific American Culture Hub with a focus on community, intersectionality and inclusion. Features will range from new stories celebrating Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders’ (AAPI) joy, to inspiring contemporary artists and storytellers, to a fresh group of seven new partners who amplify voices and create space for togetherness. Organizations include the Asian American Arts Alliance, Welcome to Chinatown, Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Kearny Street Workshop, Asian Arts Initiative, San José Museum of Art and the Japanese American National Museum.
And for all the Pixel users out there, you can now carry a piece of art on your phone by downloading a new wallpaper created by visual artist Sarula Bao in the Curated Culture collection. Bao’s wallpapers illustrate the importance of community through sharing culture and celebrating one another, including a special Year of the Tiger wallpaper, all available in your wallpaper & style settings.
Over at YouTube Music, we will be spotlighting playlists featuring Asian American and Asian diasporic artists, such as keshi, Rina Sawayama, P-Lo, Lyn Lapid and Eric Nam. YouTube Music will also celebrate Asian+ artists on social channels and on billboards in select US markets.
And onGoogle TV, we’ll feature TV and movie recommendations throughout the month ranging from Asian Pride in Hollywood and Stop Asian Hate Collections to content featuring K-Dramas, Martial Arts, Bollywood, Anime and more.
Amplifying Asian history through continued learning
This year, people searched for “Asian representation” more times than ever worldwide. Search interest in “Asian cuisine” also reached a record high this year in the U.S. So to kick off the month, you’ll see a little surprise if you look up “APAHM” or other related terms in Google Search. Later this month, there will be a special Doodle celebrating a pioneer of the Asian community — keep an eye on about.google, where you can also learn about AAPI history through art collections, videos with notable members of the community, Google Doodles and more.
And as interest in Asian culture and representation continues to grow, Google is partnering with Gold House for the second year in a row on their annual A100 List — the definitive honor recognizing the 100 most impactful Asians and Pacific Islanders in American culture over the last year. We will be amplifying voices of the A100 honorees throughout the month of May.
Uplifting Asian businesses everywhere
Google is committed to helping small business owners by providing them with resources and tools to help reach new customers and show their products across Google. For example, Mother-in-Law’s Kimchi — a small business owned by Lauryn Chun that seeks to celebrate the legacy of her mother’s cooking and share a delicious, authentic, handcrafted small-batch kimchi — used Google Ads and Google Shopping free listings to grow her sales by 128%, going from nine jars to over a million sold nationwide — delivering her kimchi to kitchens all across the country. To discover more tools that help small businesses, like Mother-in-Law’s Kimchi, visit g.co/smallbusiness.
At Google, we must take these opportunities to meaningfully celebrate, uplift and appreciate Asian culture and the people across our community who are doing trailblazing work. And while there is always more work to be done, APAHM gives us the opportunity to celebrate the vast identities that make up the Asian community and recognize our talents, influence and resilience of our community together.