Topline
The House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would create a committee to research creating a national museum dedicated to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the first step required to build new federal museums.
Key Facts
The bill was unanimously approved by representatives Tuesday, three years after Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) first introduced it.
If signed into law, the bill would create an eight-person committee of museum or research and culture specialists to determine the feasibility of creating the first federal museum dedicated to preserving the history, culture and accomplishments of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Under the bill’s provisions, the committee would estimate the museum’s cost, study how it would acquire a collection, determine who would run the facility, propose possible locations, develop plans for fundraising and establish how to involve the AAPI community.
Next, the bill will move on to a Senate vote.
Tangent
In late 2020, Congress green-lighted the development of the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women’s History Museum. Both will be part of the Smithsonian system, the largest consortium of museums, research centers and educational institutions in the world. Smithsonian facilities receive funding from the U.S. government and are largely located in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture opened to great fanfare in 2016, and has remained one of the most popular museums in the system ever since.
Key Background
Meng says she has worked for years to create a museum dedicated to AAPI culture and history. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been pivotal in contributing to the growth and prosperity of our nation since its founding . . . but unfortunately many remain unaware of the crucial role we’ve played throughout our history,” Meng said in a statement after the vote. Reported hate crimes against Asian Americans have surged in the U.S. since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which some people baselessly linked to Asian Americans. Last year, one in three Asian Americans said they feared rising rates of threats, physical attacks and violence against them, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Nearly half (45%) of Asian adults said they experienced incidents tied to their race including threats, racial slurs and jokes since the pandemic began.
