Color Splash Out

May 19 marks National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NAPIHAAD). NAPIHAAD is a day to raise awareness and promote action against HIV and AIDS within Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities. It also emphasizes the importance of education, quality care, and addressing stigma and related health conditions.

Source: https://www.hiv.gov/blog/resources-for-2024-national-asian-pacific-islander-hiv-aids-awareness-day

Image Description: Island background with a circle shaped logo in the middle. Logo has a red ribbon, yellow flower, and green leaf with a blue circle showing the text, "May 19 National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day"

Armed Forces Day on the third Saturday in May pays tribute to the military personnel serving in the United States Armed Forces. The celebration takes place each year during Armed Forces Week.
The United States Military is composed of six branches, including the Army, Airforce, Space Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. As of 2019, more than 1.3 million active-duty service members are stationed in the United States and around the world. An additional 800,000 reservists stand ready in the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. The holiday unites the country behind the men and women who currently serve in the United States military.

Source: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/celebrations/national-armed-forces-day-third-saturday-in-may

Image Description: Armed troops silhouettes standing in front of a pride themed American flag with the text Armed Forces Day Third Saturday in May

Today we celebrate all who nurture, love, and show up with care—mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, chosen moms, trans moms, foster moms, aunties, mentors, and every person who holds a mothering role in someone’s life.

We also hold space for those with complicated relationships, those who are grieving, those longing to be parents, and those for whom today feels heavy.

However this day meets you, you are seen, valued, and loved.

In 2017, Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester from Montana introduced a resolution recognizing May 5, as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. It was in response to the murder of Hanna Harris on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and other abductions and killings of Native women across the United States. Since 2017, actions on May 5th to honor MMIW at the local, regional, and national level continue to grow across the United States and internationally. These efforts are as varied as the Indian Nations, where they are being organized. The silence of tolerance and inaction is being challenged.

Source: https://www.niwrc.org/restoration-magazine/february-2020/national-day-awareness-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-may

Image Description: Indigenous woman with red handprint across her mouth. Text reads National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls - May 5 -

May 1, 1915: Laurence Michael Dillon, the first trans man known to undergo phalloplasty, was born.

May 1959: Customers at Cooper Donuts in Los Angeles rioted against police harassment, considered a precursor to the Stonewall riots.

May 1973: The American Psychiatric Association decided to remove homosexuality from the DSM.

Image Description: Pride flag shaped heart behind text that says "This Week in LGBTQ History". Various hands at the bottom holding different Pride flags.