May 2023 marks the 31st anniversary of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month (APIDA).

APIDA Heritage Month celebrates the vast history, cultures, and collective accomplishments of Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi-American communities! From local events to podcasts and reading recommendations, here are some ways you can celebrate APIDA Heritage Month in and around the DMV region.


Check out these sites to learn more!

H Street and the Friendship Arch in Chinatown, Washington D.C.

AAPI Heritage Month Celebrations Around DC – Washingtonian

https://www.asianpacificheritage.gov/


AAPI Books

2023

  • Horse Barbie, Geena Rocero
  • The Bad Muslim Discount, Syed M. Masood
  • All This Could Be Different, Sarah Thankam Mathews
  • This Is Paradise Kristiana Kahakauwila
  • Your Driver is Waiting, Priya Guns
  • If I Had Your Face: A Novel, Frances Cha
  • Natural Beauty, Ling Ling Huang
  • Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, T Kira Madden
  • Know My Name, Chanel Miller
  • The Good Immigrant Nikesh Shukla

2022

  • Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu
  • Things We Lost to the Water, Eric Nguyen
  • The Bad Muslim Discount, Syed M. Masood
  • Heart of Fire, Mazie K. Hirono
  • Time Is a Mother, Ocean Vuong
  • The Swimmers, Julie Otsuka
  • Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner
  • Dream of the Divided Field, Yanyi
  • Speak, Okinawa, Elizabeth Miki Brina
  • Good Talk, Mira Jacob
  • The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
  • House of Many Gods, Kiana Davenport
  • Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri

Podcasts

2023

  • Southern Fried Asian – Listen
  • Deep Pacific
  • Long Distance
  • en(gender)ed
  • Dear White Women
  • My Very Own Bully
  • Root Cause Remedies
  • King of the World

2022

  • Self Evident: Asian America’s Stories – Listen
  • Asian Enough – Listen
  • Long Distance – Listen
  • Southern Fried Asian – Listen
  • They Call Us Bruce – Listen
  • Saturday School – Listen
  • AAWW Radio: New Asian American Literature – Listen
  • At the Moment: Asian American News – Listen
  • Asian Americana – Listen
  • Modern Minorities – Listen
  • Moving Oolong – Listen

Support a Local Business

For the best Japanese restaurant information, read our DC Japanese Restaurant Guide.

Click here to find AAPI-owned businesses in the DMV region.