City of Jackson celebrates inaugural Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

In an inaugural ceremony at City Hall, the City of Jackson recognized the month of May as Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, celebrating the contributions and highlighting the history of the AAPI community.

Per the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, the national theme for May 2024 is "Advancing Leaders through Innovation."

Jackson Mayor Scott Conger presented the AAPI Heritage Month proclamation to Dr. Sandra Dee, a Jackson cardiologist and speaker at Friday's opening ceremony who described it as "a dream come true."

More: Jackson celebrates third Black History Month event, music and dance performance

More: Jackson's International Food and Arts Festival expands to new venue at Fairgrounds

"I think what is important or the takeaway message here is for people to understand what it is to be Asian-American living in this society," she said.

Honoring AAPI heritage is amplified in May to commemorate the first Japanese immigrant's arrival in the U.S. in May 1843.

"The City of Jackson takes pride in its growing population of Asian-American and Pacific Islander citizens, who enrich our community and are instrumental in the future of our city," Conger said.

In what Dee noted as being a "momentous occasion" in representing her city, she walked attendees through a few of the defining moments of AAPI history.

"It's not all the glamour and the beauty that people hear about," she said. "What is important is to know why we are here, the struggles that we've faced as Asian-Americans, to remember what our forefathers did for us to have a better life here in the United States."

Dr. Nivedita Prasanna, West Tennessee Healthcare's 2024 Doctor of the Year Award recipient, performed a traditional Indian dance with a message that she says communicates the bestowment of good fortune to everyone in attendance.

Nearly every detail of Prasanna's outfit had symbolism, even down to the bindi.

"This bindi that I have on my forehead, this is supposed to be the wisdom that we all have in one another, and when I said namaste, it means the divinity in me salutes the divinity in you," she said.

Decorated in chains and bangles, she explained that the jewelry represents the principles of wealth and prosperity in Indian culture.

"I hope that people took away that, here in Jackson, we have such a beautiful fusion of so many cultures," Prasanna said.

"That was the whole point of the second song, which is that when our Indian culture combines with the American culture, such beauty arises from it in terms of how much more we can depict."

In Jackson, the month-long series of events are every Friday at 4 p.m. in the lobby of City Hall. There, community members can engage with artwork from local AAPI artists and enjoy various cultural performances.

Sarah Best is a reporter for The Jackson Sun. To support local journalism, subscribe to the Daily Briefing here.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Inaugural AAPI Heritage Month features weekly events in Jackson