May 1-31 Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month
A rather broad term, AAPI encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. The AAPI community still struggles to break stereotypes that have limited equal opportunity.
   In 2009, President Obama signed an executive order that restored the White House Initiative on Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities to address concerns in those populations. Learn more.
   This year, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center continues to expand the celebration with museum events, groundbreaking arts gatherings, and innovative digital projects. This year's theme,  #APAEverywhere seeks to increase awareness of the Asian Pacific American population and engage people throughout the United States via social media.

May 17   Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Thurgood Marshall

The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, and paving the way for large-scale desegregation. The Brown decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling instead that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." It is also a victory for NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, chief counsel for the plaintiffs, who would be appointed the first black justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1967.
   The Brown decision provided momentum to the civil-rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Learn more.