Is Mai really erasing them?

[theking]

Pacific Islanders Are Calling Jeannie Mai Jenkins "Gross" And "Shameful" For "Casually Erasing" Them

Well, Jeannie co-hosted the White House Forum on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Washington DC last night. As a Pacific Islander, I appreciated how the White House planned this big event to celebrate our heritage month. With the theme of "visible together," it featured talks and performances from public officials like Vice President Kamala Harris, artists, entertainers, community organizers, and trailblazers across various industries.

But there's one part of the night that really stood out to a lot of people. When Jeannie and White House liaison Philip Kim introduced themselves as co-emcees, Phil asked members of the audience to use two hashtags on their social media posts: #visibletogether and #AANHPIHM (Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month).

But Jeannie leaned over and told people to use the hashtag #Asianheritagemonth instead.

Now, this sparked backlash for several reasons. In the US, May — usually called APAHM for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month — combines two separate groups that already have many diverse nations beneath their respective umbrellas. Since Asians greatly outnumber Pacific Islanders, what happens every year is the focus is almost exclusively on Asian people. While it's certainly important to celebrate Asians, it usually comes at the expense of PIs. Whether it's recommendation s on books, TV shows, and movies, or a celebration of achievements, or a panel to discuss issues affecting our communities, Pacific Islanders are largely forgotten and ignored, even if it's labeled as AAPI.
Using a term like AAPI that combines Asians and Pacific Islanders has real-world consequences beyond lack of representation . The US census only began separating us in 2000, and many institutions were slow to follow, meaning important data surrounding disparities in poverty rates, health issues, and education was hidden. Since we now know that Pacific Islanders statistically have lower household incomes, lower rates of health insurance, different health issues, and less education than Asians, this suggests that additional and specifically PI-focused visibility, research, funding, and scholarships would improve PI quality of life.

So, many Pacific Islanders were appalled and disappointed by what Jeannie said — especially when the theme was ironically "visible together."
@jeanniemai casually erasing Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders… #ThePIIsntSilent #NHPI #PacificIslanders pic.twitter.co m/wuReBhVExc

— Pasifika Uprising (@PasifikaUprise) May 3, 2023

"Nobody's remembering that. Just do the *Asian* Asian Heritage month..."I never heard of this woman before. But I'll make sure every Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander I know knows who she is now. https://t.co/p0RTG8GaMz

— Toma Kīpaepae (@Lawakua_) May 4, 2023

Some said it was "not appropriate at all":
Wow.. I watched the 4hr video that the @WhiteHouse put up, but this is not appropriate at all, especially when there were obviously NH&PIs in the audience! To simply dismiss us @jeanniemai because #NHPI is too hard to remember.. or we just don’t matter?#AANHPIHeritageMonth https://t.co/IE9JlNNbFO

— Just Ikaika (@JustKaiks) May 4, 2023

While others called it "gross" and "shameful":
Well this is GROSS. @jeanniemai this is soooooooo shameful!!!! https://t.co/HB9vwsoMAV

— tamrin summer roll (@Tamrinsummer) May 4, 2023

This person saw it as an "opportunity for accountability":
Yo @WHIAANHPI @NCAPAtweets @NationalACE @jeanniemai this is not cool. At all. I don’t believe in cancel culture, but this is a prime opportunity for accountability and solidarity in combatting the erasure of Pacific Islanders. pic.twitter.co m/nI79d17j9X

— Celina Tupou-Fulivai (@CelinaDeLaSoul) May 3, 2023

And this person simply said, "So just duck us huh":
so just duck us huh @jeanniemai https://t.co/ElhC8K49N4

— tasi⁷ (@hosxxksdimples) May 4, 2023

Last night, Jeannie posted an Instagram story with a message she might have written to address the backlash, but it's unclear as it didn't include an apology. She wrote, "I also learned that it's not just about #AAPI, but that it's about the celebration of #AANHPI. We not only Asian Americans, but we honor Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders as well."
Closeup of Jeannie Mai Jenkins, along with a message from her Instagram
Jeannie Mai Jenkins / Instagram: @thejeanniemai
We'll update you if she does release an apology.
You can find more of our Asian Pacific American Heritage Month coverage here.