The Asian American & Pacific Islander Affinity Club (AAPIC) was founded during the summer of 2022. In just over a year, our group has grown to play an integral role in the Beachwood community. 

The Chinese Family Affinity Group (CFAG) and Indian Family Affinity Group (IFAG) have collaborated with the AAPIC, strengthening our advocacy and outreach. 

Together, these organizations celebrated a series of events over the past year, bringing recognition to the numerous AAPI cultures represented in the Beachwood community. Because of these efforts, many of the worldwide AAPI holidays have gained more recognition, some even landing on this year’s school calendar. In the years to come, we hope that our current collection of AAPI-celebrated events will diversify, and more people in our Beachwood community will be reflected in the cultural landscape.

Our events have successfully highlighted AAPI cultures, with over 900 participants collectively attending our events. Below is a rundown of the events celebrated by the AAPI community.

Diwali

Diwali is known worldwide as the festival of lights. This five-day holiday celebrates the Hindu goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi, and symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. 

The AAPIC brought to light various traditions of the Diwali holiday such as the crafting of origami diyas lanterns and the presentation of special dishes such as mithai (sweet rice treat) at our first Diwali celebration on Oct. 20, 2022.

AAPIC leaders also provided many other traditional snacks popular in the Hindu culture. More than 40 students attended the event.

Lunar New Year

The CFAG New Year event, held on Feb. 5 of this year, was one of the largest AAPI-led events we have held at BHS, with over 275 students, parents, family and friends attending. The event featured two performances: the Dragon Dance and the Drum Dance, with many CFAG members showing up to perform wearing unique costumes for each choreographed role. 

The event also highlighted an enormous potluck table with traditional Lunar New Year dishes from many different cultures. Along with that, Lunar New Year decorations, crafts, activities and board games were all set up to entertain participants. This could not have been possible without the AAPIC-led volunteers, who were a major force in the planning and setup for the event, bringing as much fun as possible for those who came.

The AAPIC also organized a celebration for students on Jan. 30. Club members shared food including a range of specialties from each AAPI culture, such as Indian rice pudding and Chinese egg rolls. 

The club also set up Lunar New Year decorations for the event, including contributions from the different cultures that were represented. Members also organized origami activities and showcased a variety of countries celebrating Lunar New Year and the distinct traditions within each culture. 

Ramadan

Ramadan is commonly known as the holy month in which Muslims all around the world are obliged to fast from sunrise to sunset. However, the AAPIC made sure people know there is much more to this holiday, recognizing the importance Muslims place on submission to Allah as well as the mental and physical health benefits of fasting. Club members made posters in honor of the holiday, and many of the AAPIC members learned more about the origins and practices of Islamic culture, even attempting to learn Arabic words and phrases.

History of Cleveland’s Chinatown: Movie Screening Event

On May 15 of this year, the AAPIC hosted a documentary movie screening featuring Director Johnny K. Wu, Producer Lisa Wong and Editor Nick Muhlbach. This documentary covered the landscape of Chinese immigration in Cleveland from the time of the earliest Chinese immigrants to the present-day leaders of the Chinese-American community. After the documentary showing, the event also highlighted a Q&A section, where participants shared their perspectives on the issue of racial discrimination. Many of the CFAG group members were involved in this event, enabling the discussion to touch on both school life and the larger community.

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, held on Sept. 29 of this year, may have been the largest AAPI event celebrated ever at Beachwood, with over 350 participants on the day of the event, including Superintendent Dr. Bob Hardis. This event celebrates the legend of the Moon Goddess and the story of her ascension, one of the most well-known tales of the East Asian American Community. 

The scene featured a field of tables and activities, such as a tea party table, a board game and lantern-design table, an Oreo moon phase table as well as an arts and crafts table. Like the Lunar New Year celebration, this event featured a long row of potluck desserts such as cookies, rice desserts, salty snacks, and of course, mooncakes. There was an overwhelming amount of food at the event, but it did not last long, given the hundreds of participants. This event was hosted by the CFAG with planning and setup help from the AAPIC leaders and members.

Moving Forward

For the coming years, the AAPIC plans on expanding our range of celebrations, adding more depth to AAPI topics and giving further recognition to AAPI cultures. AAPIC members currently have the opportunity to taste a diverse collection of AAPI foods and learn about worldwide AAPI celebrations, history and even languages. 

We will also share more activities for the community to enjoy, such as board games, origami crafts and volunteer opportunities. We will also celebrate people and places relevant to AAPI culture. 

We also plan to initiate a Cookies with Graduates program to allow Beachwood alumni to share their knowledge and experiences with current high-schoolers. The AAPIC’s goal is to give our community the chance to delve into the rich landscape of AAPI cultures. Ultimately, we hope to help the Beachwood community celebrate all cultures.

The writer is a co-founding of the BHS AAPI affinity club.