President Biden signed a bill to establish a committee to study the creation of the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. Biden also said the move was a “big moment” in the United States. Biden on Monday incorporated research proposed by Chinese American Representative Grace Meng and Senator Mazie Hirono to establish a bill to create the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.
“Today, the battle for America’s soul clearly continues, and that’s why a museum like this is so important,” Biden said at the signing ceremony. “A museum of this size and impact will inspire and educate. That’s more than anything. All will help people see themselves in the American story.”
The bill requires majority and minority leaders in both the House and Senate to appoint a committee to study feasible issues such as the cost and ownership of the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. Biden also praised the study of the bill to create the “National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture” “at an important time,” and “long overdue.” “It’s time for a national museum to showcase the courage, character, imagination, dreams and hearts of our fellow Americans for generations,” Biden said.
Biden said it has been a year since the Atlanta massage parlour shooting that killed eight people, including six Asian women, and 80 years since the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. “I look forward to one day visiting the Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture with all of you,” Biden said. U.S. Vice President Harris said at the signing ceremony that Asian-American history is both “a story of the heroes who made our country a better place,” and “a story of some of our nation’s darkest moments,” including the history of The Chinese Exclusion Act, etc. “It’s also American history,” Harris said.
“We have to teach it because it happened so that we can learn from our best moments and from our darkest moments.” “To teach this history is to help all of us Americans understand where we came from, and to teach this history is to help us understand who we are.” President Biden and Vice President Harris celebrated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the White House last month, during which they condemned violence and hate speech against minorities.