The month of May brings more than just flowers. It also offers a unique opportunity to increase awareness and celebrate a colorful bouquet of diversity events. Below is a partial list of events from our May 2017 Diversity Calendar.
For a complete list of upcoming diversity events, please see our online diversity calendar.
Older, Jewish and Asian Americans
The month of May has an abundance of monthly diversity themes. These include:
Older Americans Month
Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month
Jewish American Heritage Month
Another area that’s increasingly receiving recognition as a facet of diversity is mental illness and learning disabilities. With that in mind, May is also Mental Health Awareness Month.
Black Americans
May provides a number of multicultural opportunities to celebrate the accomplishments of Black Americans. Some notable birthdays include:
May 19 – Malcolm X – civil rights leader and activist
May 3 – James Brown – the Godfather of Soul, one of the greatest black musicians of all time
Further, May 17 marks the anniversary of the watershed in desegregation, with the landmark court decision Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (1954).
Hispanics Americans
May 5 – Cinco de Mayo – marking the defeat of French invaders by Mexico, this multicultural holidays is celebrated widely by Americans and the Mexican-American community. It’s important to note it’s not a major holiday its country of origin, Mexico.
Religious Observances
May 25 – Ascension Day, Christianity: marks the anniversary of the day Christians believe that Jesus rose to heaven. Christianity is the world’s most-practiced religion.
May 26 (sundown) – Ramadan begins, Islam – this month-long observance includes fasting from sunrise to sunset. It’s one of the most important events in Islam, the world’s second largest religion.
May 30 (sundown) – Shavout, Judaism – also known as the Festival of Weeks, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Judaism is the second largest religion in the United States.
LBGT
Finally, the month of May includes a number of important events in the LGBT community. These include these notable birthdays:
May 4 – Keith Harring – one of the most famous and iconic gay artists of the 20th century
May 22 – Harvey Milk – murdered politician, and considered a martyr and icon for the gay rights movement
Our May 2017 Diversity Calendar includes more than 150 diversity events. For great diversity awareness, please see our online diversity calendar for a complete list of upcoming diversity events.