Importance of AANHPI Heritage Month in May: Q&A with NCBA Leader Marvin Dang

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is in May. During this month, people in the United States learn about and celebrate the important and positive impact that generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (“AANHPI”) have had on our country.

May was selected years ago partly because the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the U.S. in May 1843 (181 years ago) and because the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in May 1869 (155 years ago) using the labor of over 10,000 Chinese immigrants.

Thirty-two years ago in 1992, a federal law designated May as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month” and requested that the President issue an annual proclamation. This year President Biden proclaimed May 2024 as “Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.”

Joining us for the Q&A portion of this article is Marvin Dang, a Honolulu, Hawaii attorney. When he was appointed in 2015 as Parliamentarian (an officer position) of NCBA by then President Harvey Moore, Marvin was the NCBA’s first Asian American officer (and the first officer from Hawaii). He had been reappointed as Parliamentarian by subsequent Presidents, most recently by then President Steve Markoff for a term ending in October 2023. Marvin served as an officer for 6 years and as a director for 2 more years. He continues in NCBA leadership positions as a co-chair of both the Governance Committee and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He’s one of 5 members of the Grievance Committee. Marvin has been attending NCBA (including NARCA) conferences for 26 years beginning in 1998.

An attorney for 46 years since 1978, Marvin Dang is a partner in the California-based law firm of Nelson & Kennard (which provides services in 9 states) and he co-manages the firm’s Hawaii office. Separately, he is the managing member of Law Offices of Marvin S.C. Dang in Honolulu. A graduate of the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., Marvin is a former Hawaii state legislator.

What is the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population in the U.S.?

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported the following U.S. statistics: in 2021 there were about 24 million Asian residents and about 1.7 million Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander residents. That’s out of a total U.S. population of over 330 million people. I understand that the Asian American community is one of the fastest growing racial or ethnic groups in the U.S.

The AANHPI community is comprised of culturally and linguistically diverse people. This community includes people with ancestry from the continent of Asia and from the Pacific Islands comprising over 70 distinct ethnicities with over 100 languages and dialects.

What is the importance of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month?

Not only during the month of May, but throughout each year, Americans need to be cognizant of the positive contributions and significant influences that generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander Americans have had on our country’s history, culture, economy, and society. Among the myriad areas are business, technology, science, education, arts, literature, politics, military, and, of course, law.

Historical Information from the National Archives

Incidentally, this year is the Lunar New Year of the Dragon which began on February 10, 2024. The Lunar New Year is celebrated annually in many parts of our country and not only by the Asian American community.

How many AANHPI lawyers are there in the U.S.?

According to the American Bar Association’s “Profile of the Legal Profession 2023”, there’s more than 1.3 million lawyers in the U.S. In 2023, 6% of all lawyers were Asian American. The report notes that Asian Americans are now represented in the legal profession close to their share of the U.S. population (6.3%).

In 2022, the largest group of law partners of color in U.S law firms were Asian lawyers at 4.6%. Hispanic lawyers were at 3.0% and Black lawyers were at 2.3%.

Did you do anything special during AANHPI Heritage Month?

Yes. On May 21, I joined members of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and other community leaders from across the country in Washington, D.C. to celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month at a reception on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and their staff.

The next day, May 22, I participated with NAPABA’s 2024 Lobby Day grassroots effort on Capitol Hill. We urged members of Congress to support various legislation including the “Teaching Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander History Act” bills (HR3434 and S1702). Educators who apply for U.S. Department of Education grant funding can decide how to include AANHPI history as part of American history. These could include AANHPI’s contributions to arts, humanities, and sciences. And the economic, social, and cultural impact of AANHPIs in our country.

From my personal perspective, my father passed away last year at 99 years of age. Two years earlier on Veterans Day 2021 when he was 97 years old, my father received from a Navy Admiral the Congressional Gold Medal for Chinese American World War II Veterans. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, my father was a 17-year-old civilian employee at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard here in Honolulu and he witnessed the devastation from the attack that started the U.S. involvement in World War II. He was later drafted into the U.S. Navy. He and other Chinese Americans honorably and proudly served in our military despite the discrimination that they and other minorities faced in our country at the time.

You were elected last year as the first Asian American lawyer to be an officer of the American Bar Association in its 145-year history. Congratulations!

Mahalo ... thank you. I was elected as ABA Secretary for a 3-year term from August 2023 to August 2026. I’m also the first Hawaii attorney to be an ABA officer. I’ve been active in the ABA for about 48 years starting as a law student. Over the years I’ve held many ABA leadership positions. I’ve been fortunate to have had the friendship, mentorship, and support of numerous people over the years. I’m confident that in the future there will be other Asian American officers in the ABA ... and in the National Creditors Bar Association.

________
*This May 2024 article updates a May 2023 article published in the NCBA “Weekly Journal.”