Several important observances are held each year during the month of May, and the Law Library is featuring new displays to highlight these observances:
May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, designated by law in 1992 to recognize the "history, concerns, contributions, and achievements of Asian and Pacific Americans" (
106 Stat. 2251). The month of May was chosen in light of two important historical dates: May 7, 1843, the date that the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States, and May 10, 1869, the date of completion of the first transcontinental railroad, which was built with significant contributions from Chinese pioneers. More information is available from the Library of Congress
here. The Law Library's display includes information from the Library of Congress, as well as several titles from the library's collection that discuss the history of Asian and Pacific Americans in the United States, including:
A Legal History of Asian Americans: 1790-1990, by Hyung-chan Kim;
The Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook, edited by Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie;
Democracy and Race: Asian Americans and World War II, by Ronald Takaki;
Jewel of the Desert: Japanese American Internment at Topaz, by Sandra C. Taylor; and
In Search of Equality: The Chinese Struggle Against Discrimination in Nineteenth-Century America, by Charles J. McClain.
May is also Jewish American Heritage Month, an annual celebration of Jewish Americans' contributions to American history, culture, and society. The
Library of Congress website offers additional information about Jewish American Heritage Month as well as an online exhibition titled "
From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America." The Law Library is featuring a display that offers information from the Library of Congress exhibition, as well as the following titles from the library's collection:
Faith and Law: How Religious Traditions From Calvinism to Islam View American Law, edited by Robert F. Cochran, Jr. (featuring Part 5 on Judaism);
Defending the Human Spirit: Jewish Law’s Vision for a Moral Society, by Warren Goldstein; and
Torah and Constitution: Essays on American Jewish Thought, by Milton R. Konvitz.
In addition, May is Older Americans Month, a time to "acknowledge the contributions of past and current older persons
to our country" and for the nation to pay tribute to older persons in our communities (from the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Older Americans Month website). Statistics from 2013 on older Americans as a population group are available
here from the DHHS Administration on Aging. In 2013, about one in every seven members of the population was an older American (65 years or older), up from one in eight in 2012. These changing demographics highlight the importance of older Americans and their need for legal services. Accordingly, the Law Library is featuring a display which offers many of the library's print and electronic resources on elder law.
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