May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to highlight the achievements that of these communities in the United States. Initiated in the late 1970s, May was chosen due to the first wave of Japanese immigrants moving to this country, along with the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

Did you know that “Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) women have the second highest fertility rate among all races and are the fastest-growing group in the United States with a 46% increase in population between 2000 and 2010”? [1]  With that being said, “many states with the fastest growing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations are among those that limit coverage of abortion to the narrowest circumstances.” [2] When society continues to perpetuate the false notions of the model minority myth, AAPI populations are grouped as a monolithic identity. This makes it difficult to collect accurate data, erasing the realities of over 50 ethnic communities under the AAPI umbrella who suffer from staggering health disparities and unequal access to reproductive health care.

The Reproductive Health Access Project is proud to highlight trailblazers that are doing their part to combat oppression within the movement in our year-long reproductive justice campaign, “A Common Thread: Weaving Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice.” You will get to read more about people like Eveline Shen, whose work at Forward Together has been instrumental in bridging different movements together to amplify the urgencies communities of color have to provide reproductive rights and justice, and Lisa-Factora Borchers, the Filipina writer and former editorial director at the feminist publication Bitch Media, whose work covers topics ranging from racism, sexual violence and spirituality.