May 2010

May:
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month began in 1979 as Asian Heritage Week, established by congressional proclomation.  It was initially held during the first week of May; this date was chosen because two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869. President George H. W. Bush, on October 23, 1992, signed legislation into law that made May of each year Asain/Pacific American Heritage Month.  

May 5:
Cinco de Mayo, Mexican holiday
The holiday is primarily a regional and not an obligatory federal holiday in Mexico.  The date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.  A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day; Mexico's Independence Day is actually September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish), which is the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

May 17, 1954:
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
On this date, the Supreme Court unanimously issued its historic decision holding that segregation in public education was a denial of the right to equal protection under the law and directing the lower courts to oversee the desegregation of the nation's schools "with all deliberate speed".  This decision, which established the principle that segregation is unconstitutional, formed the legal basis for the civil rights movement of the late 1950's and 1960's.