Lea Salonga, Phillipa Soo, President Biden and VP Harris to Celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month on PBS

In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and celebrity guests will join the Center for Asian American Media, Pacific Islanders in Communications, and PBS for "A Celebration of the AA and NHPI Community: Highlighting Our Diverse Tapestry."

The one-hour program will stream live on Facebook and YouTube on May 31 at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT/2 PM HT.

The event will feature a musical performance by Yo-Yo Ma and a reading by poet Sally Wen Mao. Celebrities making appearances include Daniel Dae Kim, Auli'i Cravalho, Lea Salonga, Kal Penn, Phillipa Soo, and Tamlyn Tomita. Members of AA and NHPI communities across the country will also share their personal reflections from the past year and express their hopes for the future.

Following a year of immense challenges for AA and NHPI communities, this event will bring AA and NHPIs together to celebrate the diversity of experience and culture across their communities, uplift AA and NHPI voices, acknowledge the harm and suffering anti-Asian violence has caused this year, and look toward a future of continued healing, strength, and solidarity.

Hosted by Amna Nawaz of the PBS NewsHour, the celebration will feature pre-recorded video addresses from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first person of Asian descent to be elected vice president.

They will be joined by their spouses, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Remarks will be provided by elected officials and public servants Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), Secretary Elaine Chao, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, and others.