ATLANTA — The nation's largest group of Asian American legislators gathered Tuesday to cement the Year of the Rabbit into Georgia's history.
Lawmakers from Georgia's Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus and community members were on the Capitol steps to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Among the crowd were Korean Vietnam War veterans, women dressed in qipaos and áo dàis, as well as other traditional garbs to celebrate the 15-day holiday.
"As you can see we have different Asian Americans at the Capitol today to celebrate Lunar New Year," State Rep. Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville) said.
Hong and other AAPI lawmakers honored prominent members of the various Asian communities in Georgia by presenting a resolution.
"As you know, we've had a growing number of Asian American communities here in Georgia. They have contributed so much culturally and economically to our state so we want to make sure that we're recognizing these community members as well as the leaders," Hong said from the podium.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, people who identify with Georgia's AAPI community now make up more than 4% of the state population, which amounts to nearly 500,000 people.
To recognize the importance of this group, Hong presented House Resolution 39, which recognizes the Lunar New Year and offered a copy to leaders from the Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Laotian and Taiwanese communities -- all of who were recognized as part of the annual celebration.
The resolution also mentions the diverse ethnicities that makeup Georgia's AAPI population. Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Indonesian, Iu-Mien, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese cultures are present in Georgia, according to the resolution, and Hong said this piece of legislation serves to help observe their contributions.
"The Asian and Pacific Islander American community has contributed to the social, cultural, civic, economic, and academic success of the State of Georgia," the resolution reads.
Hong said the resolution is a testament to the growing communities and the growing representation they now have in Georgia's General Assembly.
"Georgia made history being that we have the largest number of (AAPI) representatives and we had a lot of help along the way," Amy Chomthakham, a representative of the Laotian American Society said.
Chomthakham nodded to the state's first AAPI Caucus, a bipartisan group of legislators who were present at the ceremony and aim to advance issues that directly impact the ethnic communities that fall under the AAPI umbrella.
"All these people helped support our community," she said, pointing to the crowd at the Capitol. "I want to personally thank the Asian community and all of Georgia as a whole."
One by one, Hong called community leaders up and gifted them a framed resolution while wishing them a happy new year. She extended a happy new year to the crowd as well.