This thirty-first day of Filipino American History Month (FAHM) brings more detailed information on the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), which first celebrated FAHM.
Founded on November 16, 1982 by Fred and Dorothy Cordova, the FANHS is a community-based organization whose mission is “...to preserve, document, and present Filipino American history and to support scholarly research and artistic works which reflect that rich past...”
The FANHS commemorates the arrival of Luzones Indios in California on October 18, 1587 by celebrating FAHM in October every year. In 1987 the National Pinoy Archives was established by the FANHS in Seattle, Washington. The Archives is the world's largest collection of Filipino American historical and cultural materials.
There are more than twenty-eight chapters across the United States of America which serve as the primary informational resource on Filipino Americans. For example, the FANHS produced the award winning video Filipino Americans: Discovering Their Past for the Future and the renowned book Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans, which was published in 1983. FANHS members publish and create new sources of Filipino American history every year.
Since 1987, FANHS has sponsored biennial national conferences where community folks of all ages and from all walks of life gather to share and present research, network with other Filipino Americans, and honor those who have produced ground-breaking innovative work in the field of historical research and analysis. The 2010 conference, "A Quest for Emergence: A Retrospective," will be held in Seattle, Washington.
In addition, long range goals include the establishment of the National Pinoy Museum in Stockton, California, and the National Pinoy Library in Seattle, Washington.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Filipino and Filipino American Writing
This thirtieth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on the printed word of and about Filipinos and Filipino Americans.
As early as March 31, 1883, when the article of Lafcadio Hearn about Manila Men at St. Malo, Louisiana was published in Harper's Weekly, the printed word has had a dramatic effect on Filipino Americans and their place in America.
Some of the most famous writings are those of Jose Rizal, who published Noli Me Tangere in 1887 and El Filibusterismo in 1891. These writings reinforced the ideologies of political independence and equality. Today, a translation of Noli Me Tangere can be found as part of the Penguin Classics collection.
The first issue of the Filipino Student Bulletin in Berkeley, California was published on April 1, 1905. In 1923, the Filipino Student Bulletin was the first to use the term "Pinay" to refer to a woman of Filipino descent in the United States of America. When, in 1990, maganda magazine began its publication at the University of California, Berkeley, it traced its origins back to the original Filipino Student Bulletin.
On January 22, 1921, the Philippine Independent News, the first Filipino American newspaper in the United States of America, was published in Salinas, California.
Filipino publications were also printed in other languages. For example, on February 2, 1924, Ti Silaw (The Light) was published in English and Ilocano in Honolulu.
On March 10, 1946, Carlos Bulosan's semi-autobiographical novel America is in the Heart was published. Today, it is studied in most Asian American studies classes
On August 30, 1961, the first issue of Philippine News was published by Alex Esclamado. The paper became the longest-running Filipino American newspaper.
In June 1971, the first issue of the Kalayaan newspaper was published by the Kalayaan Collective of Filipino Activists in the bay area, leading to the establishment of the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino in 1973. The publication ushered in an era of Filipino collectives and groups in San Jose, New York, San Diego, Seattle, and other cities and college campuses.
Around 1975, Liwanag, a collection of Filipino American art, photography, fiction, and poetry was published in San Francisco. The book represented the radical and passionate work produced by young Filipino American artists in California in the 1080s. Many formed the Kearny Street Writers Workshop and made music in bands like Dakila and drum groups like Ating Tao. Pioneering FIlipino American writers such as Jessica Hagedorn, Al Robles, Jeff Tagami, Jaime Jacinto, Virginia Cerenio, Oscar Penaranda, and Shirley Ancheta, among many, many others, emerged from the region and period.
In 1983, Fred and Dorothy Cordova's landmark book, Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans was published. This too is a foundational book studied in Asian American Studies and Filipino American Studies courses.
The widely popular Filipinas Magazine was launched in May 1992 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco.
To house and showcase Filipino American literature, the Pilipino American Reading Room (PARRAL), now the Filipino American Library, was established in Los Angeles in 1994.
Filipino American writing also has received much acclaim. In 1997, Byron Achido and Alex Tizon of the Seattle Times won Pulitzer prizes for journalism. Other writers, like Jessica Hagedorn and Tess Uriza Holthe have also received awards for their writing. In the theatre realm, playwrights like Jeanne Barroga and Chris Millado have also received critical acclaim for their plays.
All over the country, local newspapers allow Filipinos and Filipino Americans to share stories, news, not only with one another but from the Philippines as well.
Each and every form of these writings comprise a vital niche in the Filipino American culture, history, and heritage.
As early as March 31, 1883, when the article of Lafcadio Hearn about Manila Men at St. Malo, Louisiana was published in Harper's Weekly, the printed word has had a dramatic effect on Filipino Americans and their place in America.
Some of the most famous writings are those of Jose Rizal, who published Noli Me Tangere in 1887 and El Filibusterismo in 1891. These writings reinforced the ideologies of political independence and equality. Today, a translation of Noli Me Tangere can be found as part of the Penguin Classics collection.
The first issue of the Filipino Student Bulletin in Berkeley, California was published on April 1, 1905. In 1923, the Filipino Student Bulletin was the first to use the term "Pinay" to refer to a woman of Filipino descent in the United States of America. When, in 1990, maganda magazine began its publication at the University of California, Berkeley, it traced its origins back to the original Filipino Student Bulletin.
On January 22, 1921, the Philippine Independent News, the first Filipino American newspaper in the United States of America, was published in Salinas, California.
Filipino publications were also printed in other languages. For example, on February 2, 1924, Ti Silaw (The Light) was published in English and Ilocano in Honolulu.
On March 10, 1946, Carlos Bulosan's semi-autobiographical novel America is in the Heart was published. Today, it is studied in most Asian American studies classes
On August 30, 1961, the first issue of Philippine News was published by Alex Esclamado. The paper became the longest-running Filipino American newspaper.
In June 1971, the first issue of the Kalayaan newspaper was published by the Kalayaan Collective of Filipino Activists in the bay area, leading to the establishment of the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino in 1973. The publication ushered in an era of Filipino collectives and groups in San Jose, New York, San Diego, Seattle, and other cities and college campuses.
Around 1975, Liwanag, a collection of Filipino American art, photography, fiction, and poetry was published in San Francisco. The book represented the radical and passionate work produced by young Filipino American artists in California in the 1080s. Many formed the Kearny Street Writers Workshop and made music in bands like Dakila and drum groups like Ating Tao. Pioneering FIlipino American writers such as Jessica Hagedorn, Al Robles, Jeff Tagami, Jaime Jacinto, Virginia Cerenio, Oscar Penaranda, and Shirley Ancheta, among many, many others, emerged from the region and period.
In 1983, Fred and Dorothy Cordova's landmark book, Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans was published. This too is a foundational book studied in Asian American Studies and Filipino American Studies courses.
The widely popular Filipinas Magazine was launched in May 1992 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco.
To house and showcase Filipino American literature, the Pilipino American Reading Room (PARRAL), now the Filipino American Library, was established in Los Angeles in 1994.
Filipino American writing also has received much acclaim. In 1997, Byron Achido and Alex Tizon of the Seattle Times won Pulitzer prizes for journalism. Other writers, like Jessica Hagedorn and Tess Uriza Holthe have also received awards for their writing. In the theatre realm, playwrights like Jeanne Barroga and Chris Millado have also received critical acclaim for their plays.
All over the country, local newspapers allow Filipinos and Filipino Americans to share stories, news, not only with one another but from the Philippines as well.
Each and every form of these writings comprise a vital niche in the Filipino American culture, history, and heritage.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
September 11 and Filipino Americans
This twenty-ninth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on the effects of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Filipino American community.
In coordinated suicide attacks planned by Islamist fundamentalist group al-Qaeda, planes were hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center in New York, and into field in Pennsylvania. With almost 3,000 killed in the attacks, many Americans reacted with shock and distress; however, the attacks represented the first major terrorist attacks on American soil.
In reaction, President George Bush declared a "War on Terror." The xenophobic atmosphere post-9/11 fueled extreme racism, backlash, violence, and suspicion. In the weeks after the attacks, hundreds of Filipino airport workers, many of them permanent residents, were laid off when the newly formed Transportation Security Administration overhauled airport security and replaced immigrant laborers with citizens.
Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-South Asian sentiment and violence increased dramatically after the attacks. American witnessed an erosion of civil liberties (The Patriot Act). The Immigration and Naturalization Service, now housed in the newly formed Department of Homeland Security, increases deportations and harassment of political dissidents and radicals, Arab Americans, Muslims, South Asians, and Filipino Americans.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her administration became staunch allies of the Bush Administration's War on Terror, and American troops were sent to the Southern Philippines, ostensibly for the purpose of "training" Philippine troops.
Today, these events continue to both positively and negatively affect Filipino Americans.
In coordinated suicide attacks planned by Islamist fundamentalist group al-Qaeda, planes were hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center in New York, and into field in Pennsylvania. With almost 3,000 killed in the attacks, many Americans reacted with shock and distress; however, the attacks represented the first major terrorist attacks on American soil.
In reaction, President George Bush declared a "War on Terror." The xenophobic atmosphere post-9/11 fueled extreme racism, backlash, violence, and suspicion. In the weeks after the attacks, hundreds of Filipino airport workers, many of them permanent residents, were laid off when the newly formed Transportation Security Administration overhauled airport security and replaced immigrant laborers with citizens.
Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-South Asian sentiment and violence increased dramatically after the attacks. American witnessed an erosion of civil liberties (The Patriot Act). The Immigration and Naturalization Service, now housed in the newly formed Department of Homeland Security, increases deportations and harassment of political dissidents and radicals, Arab Americans, Muslims, South Asians, and Filipino Americans.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her administration became staunch allies of the Bush Administration's War on Terror, and American troops were sent to the Southern Philippines, ostensibly for the purpose of "training" Philippine troops.
Today, these events continue to both positively and negatively affect Filipino Americans.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Filipino American Cultural Renaissance
This twenty-eighth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on the Filipino American Cultural Renaissance.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, a great many developments occurred for and by the Filipino American community, spurred by advanced research and creativity and the formation of a more distinct identity.
In the 1990s, a San Diego study found that Filipino girls had the highest rate of suicide and unwanted pregnancy among Asian ethnic groups. During the same time, Filipinos were found to have the highest rate of HIV/AIDS among Asian Americans.
In education, Filipinos eventually were found to have the lowest admission rate of any ethnic group in the UC system, and few Filipino American professors had tenure nationwide. Filipino undergraduates at colleges and universities nationwide rallied for the hiring and tenure of Filipino American professors, Filipino American Studies courses, higher admissions and retention for Filipino college students, and ethnic studies courses.
In the community, youth activists created summer camps and programs to develop Filipino American youth leadership in Sacramento and at Stanford University. Pilipino Youth Coalitions were created in Northern California cities. National Filipino American organizations such as the Filipino Civil Rights Advocates (FilCRA), the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NAFFAA), and the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) were established.
With respect to politics, Daly City, Milpitas, Stockton, Vallejo, Union City, and Carson elected Filipino American city officials.
In fashion, clothing companies Downright Pinoy, Pinay, and Tribal Pinoy were established in Los Angeles around this time.
As far as arts, the San Francisco Bay Areas’ Represent and Los Angeles’ Our Path to Follow poetry and spoken word events bring Filipino American poets and performance artists to wide audiences. The Rock Steady Crew, composed of DJs Qbert, Apollo, and Mixmaster Mike, won the DMC World Championship three years in a row. Their crew, the Invisibl Skratch Picklz, continued to dominate and influence turntable jazz and hip=hop culture in general. In Los Angeles, the Beat Junkies formed.
The digital media revolution and the Internet allowed Filipino Americans to produce, publish, and disseminate their own books, magazines, zines, CDs, and independent films and documentaries, and to create their own independent record companies, film production companies, and music festivals.
All of this resulted in a unique and celebratory time of Filipino American history.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, a great many developments occurred for and by the Filipino American community, spurred by advanced research and creativity and the formation of a more distinct identity.
In the 1990s, a San Diego study found that Filipino girls had the highest rate of suicide and unwanted pregnancy among Asian ethnic groups. During the same time, Filipinos were found to have the highest rate of HIV/AIDS among Asian Americans.
In education, Filipinos eventually were found to have the lowest admission rate of any ethnic group in the UC system, and few Filipino American professors had tenure nationwide. Filipino undergraduates at colleges and universities nationwide rallied for the hiring and tenure of Filipino American professors, Filipino American Studies courses, higher admissions and retention for Filipino college students, and ethnic studies courses.
In the community, youth activists created summer camps and programs to develop Filipino American youth leadership in Sacramento and at Stanford University. Pilipino Youth Coalitions were created in Northern California cities. National Filipino American organizations such as the Filipino Civil Rights Advocates (FilCRA), the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NAFFAA), and the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) were established.
With respect to politics, Daly City, Milpitas, Stockton, Vallejo, Union City, and Carson elected Filipino American city officials.
In fashion, clothing companies Downright Pinoy, Pinay, and Tribal Pinoy were established in Los Angeles around this time.
As far as arts, the San Francisco Bay Areas’ Represent and Los Angeles’ Our Path to Follow poetry and spoken word events bring Filipino American poets and performance artists to wide audiences. The Rock Steady Crew, composed of DJs Qbert, Apollo, and Mixmaster Mike, won the DMC World Championship three years in a row. Their crew, the Invisibl Skratch Picklz, continued to dominate and influence turntable jazz and hip=hop culture in general. In Los Angeles, the Beat Junkies formed.
The digital media revolution and the Internet allowed Filipino Americans to produce, publish, and disseminate their own books, magazines, zines, CDs, and independent films and documentaries, and to create their own independent record companies, film production companies, and music festivals.
All of this resulted in a unique and celebratory time of Filipino American history.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Great Boxers of Philippine Descent
This twenty-seventh day of Filipino American History Month brings more detailed information on great boxers of Philippine descent.
The most recognizable boxer of Philippine descent today is Manny Pacquiao. Other current boxing champions of Philippine descent are Nonito Donaire, Jr., Marvin Sonsona, Brian Viloria, and Donnie Nietes. Filipinos have a long and illustrious history with boxing. As far back as the early 1900s, when American soldiers first occupied, the Philippines, they taught boxing to young Filipinos in towns throughout the islands.
The natives had no problems understanding and accepting the rules of boxing, as handed down by the Marquis of Queensberry in 1865, but it was the style of boxing the Americans taught that the Filipinos could not or would not follow.
The American soldiers taught the Filipinos to “keep their dukes up,” describing the motion of their arms and their fists pointed upwards in the style of heavyweight boxing champion “Gentleman Jim” Corbett. The Filipinos, who grew up learning the Filipino self-defense art of Arnis de Mano (harness or armor of the hand), had other ideas, preferring to constantly move their bodies and weave their arms in angular and circular motions, thereby acquiring and mastering the flow.
A great many boxers of Philippines descent truly dominated boxing from 1920 to 1941. The greatest boxer was a pugilist from Negros Occidental, who was born on August 1, 1901, under the name Francisco Guilledo. He stood 5 foot 1 and weighed 114 pounds. Before he died at the age of 24, this fighter, who was better known as “Pancho Villa,” fought in 109 matches with an amazing record of 92 wins (24 KOs), 8 losses, 4 draws and 5 no-contests. This fighter was never knocked down in any of his fights and, like Manny, even went out of his class to fight featherweights and even lightweights.
After winning the Philippine flyweight title from Terrible Pondo in 1919, Villa received an offer in 1922 to fight in the United States, where he made a name for himself with victories over Abe Attel Goldstein, Frankie Mason and Young Montreal, which set the stage for a shot at the American Flyweight title against Johnny Buff. He defeated Buff via an 11th round TKO in 1923. By coincidence, Buff’s grandson, Jimmy Buffer (well known for his trademark “Let’s get ready to ruuuuumble” announcements in wrestling) was the ring announcer for the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight. After defeating Buff, Villa’s next fight was with Jimmy Wilde, a hard-punching British boxer, who was the world flyweight champion.
On June 18, 1923, before 20,000 screaming fans at the Polo Grounds in New York, Villa knocked out Wilde in the 7th round with a single right that broke Wilde’s jaw to capture the World Flyweight title and cause Wilde to retire permanently from boxing.
Villa returned to the Philippines and received a hero’s welcome in Manila and a victory party in Malacanang Palace. He returned to the United States of America for a non-title fight with Jimmy McLarnin that was scheduled for July 4, 1925, at Ewing Field in Oakland, CA. Days before the fight, Villa’s face swelled due to an ulcerated tooth. Villa fought McLarnin, despite the swollen jaw and lost. The infection worsened and spread to his throat, which eventually caused him to die in a hospital on July 14, 1925.
Another great Pinoy boxer was Ceferino Garcia (August 26, 1912—January 1, 1981) who was born in Tondo, Manila, Philippines. He was renowned for his “bolo” punch, which was executed by winding up like an uppercut, hook, and cross. This helped him achieve 57 knockouts. Garcia also won another 24 bouts by decision. He won the middleweight title in 1939 by knocking out Fred Apostoli in seven rounds in New York. When Garcia was asked how he came to develop his “bolo” punch, he recounted that when he was young, he used to cut sugarcane with a bolo knife, which he wielded in a sweeping uppercut fashion.
After Garcia, the next great Filipino boxer was Gabriel “Flash” Elorde (March 25, 1935—January 2, 1985) who was the WBC junior lightweight/super featherweight champion from March 1960 until June 1967 and WBA super featherweight champion from February 1963 to June 1967—making him the longest-reigning world junior lightweight champion ever.
Elorde retired in 1974 with a record of 87 wins (33 KOs), 27 losses, and 2 draws and was named “the greatest world junior lightweight boxing champion in WBC history.” In 1993, he became the first Asian inducted into the New York-based International Boxing Hall of Fame. He was also enshrined in the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Many of these fighters and their stories can be remembered and celebrated in the movies The Great Pinoy Boxing Era and World Champions of the Great Pinoy Boxing Era.
The most recognizable boxer of Philippine descent today is Manny Pacquiao. Other current boxing champions of Philippine descent are Nonito Donaire, Jr., Marvin Sonsona, Brian Viloria, and Donnie Nietes. Filipinos have a long and illustrious history with boxing. As far back as the early 1900s, when American soldiers first occupied, the Philippines, they taught boxing to young Filipinos in towns throughout the islands.
The natives had no problems understanding and accepting the rules of boxing, as handed down by the Marquis of Queensberry in 1865, but it was the style of boxing the Americans taught that the Filipinos could not or would not follow.
The American soldiers taught the Filipinos to “keep their dukes up,” describing the motion of their arms and their fists pointed upwards in the style of heavyweight boxing champion “Gentleman Jim” Corbett. The Filipinos, who grew up learning the Filipino self-defense art of Arnis de Mano (harness or armor of the hand), had other ideas, preferring to constantly move their bodies and weave their arms in angular and circular motions, thereby acquiring and mastering the flow.
A great many boxers of Philippines descent truly dominated boxing from 1920 to 1941. The greatest boxer was a pugilist from Negros Occidental, who was born on August 1, 1901, under the name Francisco Guilledo. He stood 5 foot 1 and weighed 114 pounds. Before he died at the age of 24, this fighter, who was better known as “Pancho Villa,” fought in 109 matches with an amazing record of 92 wins (24 KOs), 8 losses, 4 draws and 5 no-contests. This fighter was never knocked down in any of his fights and, like Manny, even went out of his class to fight featherweights and even lightweights.
After winning the Philippine flyweight title from Terrible Pondo in 1919, Villa received an offer in 1922 to fight in the United States, where he made a name for himself with victories over Abe Attel Goldstein, Frankie Mason and Young Montreal, which set the stage for a shot at the American Flyweight title against Johnny Buff. He defeated Buff via an 11th round TKO in 1923. By coincidence, Buff’s grandson, Jimmy Buffer (well known for his trademark “Let’s get ready to ruuuuumble” announcements in wrestling) was the ring announcer for the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight. After defeating Buff, Villa’s next fight was with Jimmy Wilde, a hard-punching British boxer, who was the world flyweight champion.
On June 18, 1923, before 20,000 screaming fans at the Polo Grounds in New York, Villa knocked out Wilde in the 7th round with a single right that broke Wilde’s jaw to capture the World Flyweight title and cause Wilde to retire permanently from boxing.
Villa returned to the Philippines and received a hero’s welcome in Manila and a victory party in Malacanang Palace. He returned to the United States of America for a non-title fight with Jimmy McLarnin that was scheduled for July 4, 1925, at Ewing Field in Oakland, CA. Days before the fight, Villa’s face swelled due to an ulcerated tooth. Villa fought McLarnin, despite the swollen jaw and lost. The infection worsened and spread to his throat, which eventually caused him to die in a hospital on July 14, 1925.
Another great Pinoy boxer was Ceferino Garcia (August 26, 1912—January 1, 1981) who was born in Tondo, Manila, Philippines. He was renowned for his “bolo” punch, which was executed by winding up like an uppercut, hook, and cross. This helped him achieve 57 knockouts. Garcia also won another 24 bouts by decision. He won the middleweight title in 1939 by knocking out Fred Apostoli in seven rounds in New York. When Garcia was asked how he came to develop his “bolo” punch, he recounted that when he was young, he used to cut sugarcane with a bolo knife, which he wielded in a sweeping uppercut fashion.
After Garcia, the next great Filipino boxer was Gabriel “Flash” Elorde (March 25, 1935—January 2, 1985) who was the WBC junior lightweight/super featherweight champion from March 1960 until June 1967 and WBA super featherweight champion from February 1963 to June 1967—making him the longest-reigning world junior lightweight champion ever.
Elorde retired in 1974 with a record of 87 wins (33 KOs), 27 losses, and 2 draws and was named “the greatest world junior lightweight boxing champion in WBC history.” In 1993, he became the first Asian inducted into the New York-based International Boxing Hall of Fame. He was also enshrined in the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Many of these fighters and their stories can be remembered and celebrated in the movies The Great Pinoy Boxing Era and World Champions of the Great Pinoy Boxing Era.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the Medical Field
This twenty-sixth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the medical fields.
In 1907, the American colonial government established the first nursing school in the Philippines. This school sparked the establishment of other institutions and laid the foundation of what would become a mass migration of Filipina nurses to the United States of America and around the globe through the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Most of these nurses would begin arriving in the U.S.A. after 1965, when a nursing shortage and reformed immigration laws facilitated their immigration.
Due to the strong American influence in the Philippine education system, first generation Filipino immigrants were at an advantage in gaining professional licensure in the U.S.A. According to a study conducted by the American Medical Association, Philippine-trained physicians comprise the second largest group of foreign-trained physicians in the U.S.A. (20,861 or 8.7 percent of all practicing international medical graduates in the U.S.). In addition, Filipino American dentists, who have received training in the Philippines, also comprise the second largest group of foreign-trained dentists in the U.S. In an article from the Journal of American Dental Association, 11 percent of all foreign-trained dentists licensed in the U.S. are from the Philippines; India is ranked first with 25.8 percent of all foreign dentists. The familiar trend of Filipino Americans and Filipino immigrants entering health care jobs is well observed in other allied health professional such as nursing, physical therapy, radiologic technology, and medical technology.
Similarities in quality and structure of the nursing curriculum in the Philippines and the U.S. had led to the migration of thousands of nurses from the Philippines to fill the shortfall of registered nurses (RNs) in the U.S. Since the 1970s and through the 1980s, the Philippines have been a source of medical professionals for U.S. medical facilities. The Vietnam War and AIDS epidemic of the 70s and 80s signaled the need of the American health care system for more foreign-trained professionals. In articles published in health and medical policy journals, Filipino nurses comprise the largest block of foreign-trained nurses working and entering the U.S., from 75 percent of all foreign nurses in the 1980s to 43 percent in 2000. Still, Philippine-trained nurses make up 52 percent of all foreigners taking the U.S. nursing licensure exam, well above the Canadian-trained nurses at 12 percent.
The significant drop in the percentage of Filipino nurses from the 1980s to 2000 is due to the increase in the number of countries recruiting Filipino nurses (European Union, the Middle East, Japan), as well as the increase in number of countries sending nurses to the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 60,000 Filipino nationals migrated to the U.S. every year in the 1990s to take advantage of such professional opportunities.
A wonderful study of the unique relationship between the professionalization of nursing and the twentieth-century migration of Filipinos to the U.S.A. can be found in Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History by Catherine Ceniza Choy. The book brings to light the complicated connections among nursing, American colonialism, and the racialization of Filipinos, as well as shows the challenges of the medical field, like the scapegoating of Filipino nurses during difficult political times, the absence of professional solidarity between Filipino and American nurses, and the exploitation of foreign-trained nurses through temporary work visas.
Fortunately, many examples of the medical community coming together exist, such as for medical missions to other parts of the world, free health clinics for the uninsured and underserved, and in response to racist remarks against the medical field, such as on Desperate Housewives in 2007.
The culture of American imperialism persists today, and continues to shape the reception of Filipino nurses in the U.S.A.
In 1907, the American colonial government established the first nursing school in the Philippines. This school sparked the establishment of other institutions and laid the foundation of what would become a mass migration of Filipina nurses to the United States of America and around the globe through the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Most of these nurses would begin arriving in the U.S.A. after 1965, when a nursing shortage and reformed immigration laws facilitated their immigration.
Due to the strong American influence in the Philippine education system, first generation Filipino immigrants were at an advantage in gaining professional licensure in the U.S.A. According to a study conducted by the American Medical Association, Philippine-trained physicians comprise the second largest group of foreign-trained physicians in the U.S.A. (20,861 or 8.7 percent of all practicing international medical graduates in the U.S.). In addition, Filipino American dentists, who have received training in the Philippines, also comprise the second largest group of foreign-trained dentists in the U.S. In an article from the Journal of American Dental Association, 11 percent of all foreign-trained dentists licensed in the U.S. are from the Philippines; India is ranked first with 25.8 percent of all foreign dentists. The familiar trend of Filipino Americans and Filipino immigrants entering health care jobs is well observed in other allied health professional such as nursing, physical therapy, radiologic technology, and medical technology.
Similarities in quality and structure of the nursing curriculum in the Philippines and the U.S. had led to the migration of thousands of nurses from the Philippines to fill the shortfall of registered nurses (RNs) in the U.S. Since the 1970s and through the 1980s, the Philippines have been a source of medical professionals for U.S. medical facilities. The Vietnam War and AIDS epidemic of the 70s and 80s signaled the need of the American health care system for more foreign-trained professionals. In articles published in health and medical policy journals, Filipino nurses comprise the largest block of foreign-trained nurses working and entering the U.S., from 75 percent of all foreign nurses in the 1980s to 43 percent in 2000. Still, Philippine-trained nurses make up 52 percent of all foreigners taking the U.S. nursing licensure exam, well above the Canadian-trained nurses at 12 percent.
The significant drop in the percentage of Filipino nurses from the 1980s to 2000 is due to the increase in the number of countries recruiting Filipino nurses (European Union, the Middle East, Japan), as well as the increase in number of countries sending nurses to the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 60,000 Filipino nationals migrated to the U.S. every year in the 1990s to take advantage of such professional opportunities.
A wonderful study of the unique relationship between the professionalization of nursing and the twentieth-century migration of Filipinos to the U.S.A. can be found in Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History by Catherine Ceniza Choy. The book brings to light the complicated connections among nursing, American colonialism, and the racialization of Filipinos, as well as shows the challenges of the medical field, like the scapegoating of Filipino nurses during difficult political times, the absence of professional solidarity between Filipino and American nurses, and the exploitation of foreign-trained nurses through temporary work visas.
Fortunately, many examples of the medical community coming together exist, such as for medical missions to other parts of the world, free health clinics for the uninsured and underserved, and in response to racist remarks against the medical field, such as on Desperate Housewives in 2007.
The culture of American imperialism persists today, and continues to shape the reception of Filipino nurses in the U.S.A.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Filipino Americans and Anti-miscegenation Laws
This twenty-fifth day of Filipino American History Month brings more detailed information on Filipino American families and the discriminatory anti-miscegenation laws that kept them from forming.
Whether it is dating or marrying someone of a different race, interracial relationships are not a new phenomenon among Asian Americans. When Filipinos arrived en masse to the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, a major gender imbalance existed, at 14 Pinoys to 1 Pinay. This made marriage and family development difficult, if not impossible, for many Filipinos. A few of them eventually married women in the U.S. who were not Filipino. However, many people soon saw Asian intermarriage with Whites as a threat to American society. One action to stop this threat took place on January 26, 1930, when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Filipino/White marriages performed since 1921 were invalid.
One Congressperson wrote about miscegenation, “Intermarriage between Whites and Blacks is repulsive and averse to every sentiment of pure American spirit. It is abhorrent and repugnant to the very principles of Saxon government. It is subversive of social peace. It is destructive of moral supremacy, and ultimately this slavery of White women to Black beasts will bring this nation a conflict as fatal as ever reddened the soil of Virginia or crimsoned the mountain paths of Pennsylvania. ... Let us uproot and exterminate now this debasing, ultra-demoralizing, un-American and inhuman leprosy."
Although anti-miscegenation laws in many states, including California (Civil Code 60 and 69), prohibited marriage between Whites and “Mongolians,” “Negroes,” and “Indians,” Filipinos continued to assert their rights to marry who they wanted to. In 1932, Salvador Roldan sued the State of California for the right to marry his English wife. He pointed out that the law specified “Mongolians” and that Filipinos were “Malay.” He won, but lawmakers quickly added “Malay” to the law.
The constitutionality of anti-miscegenation laws only began to be widely called into question after World War II. In 1948, the California Supreme Court in Perez v. Sharp ruled that the Californian anti-miscegenation statute violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. California was the first state since Ohio in 1887 to repeal its anti-miscegenation law.
One political theorist, Hannah Arendt, believes that anti-miscegenation laws were an even deeper injustice than racial segregation. The free choice of a spouse, she argued in Reflections on Little Rock, was "an elementary human right": "Even political rights, like the right to vote, and nearly all other rights enumerated in the Constitution, are secondary to the inalienable human rights to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence; and to this category the right to home and marriage unquestionably belongs."
It was not until 1967, during the height of the civil rights movement, that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Loving v. Virginia case that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. At that time, 38 states in the U.S. had formal laws on their books that prohibited non-Whites from marrying Whites.
Before the case escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1965, Virginia trial court Judge Leon Bazile, who heard their original case, refused to reconsider his decision. Instead, he defended racial segregation, writing, "Almighty God created the races White, Black, Yellow, and Red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."
When the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case, they ruled unanimously in Loving v. Virginia, stating, "Marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man,' fundamental to our very existence and survival.... To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not to marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State."
The U.S. Supreme Court condemned Virginia's anti-miscegenation law as "designed to maintain White supremacy."
Statistics today show that U.S.-raised Filipino Americans have a very high level of intermarriage with people of other races, which would not even be possible if anti-miscegenation laws were still in effect. It is important to remember these lessons in order to prevent injustices like these from continuing.
Whether it is dating or marrying someone of a different race, interracial relationships are not a new phenomenon among Asian Americans. When Filipinos arrived en masse to the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, a major gender imbalance existed, at 14 Pinoys to 1 Pinay. This made marriage and family development difficult, if not impossible, for many Filipinos. A few of them eventually married women in the U.S. who were not Filipino. However, many people soon saw Asian intermarriage with Whites as a threat to American society. One action to stop this threat took place on January 26, 1930, when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Filipino/White marriages performed since 1921 were invalid.
One Congressperson wrote about miscegenation, “Intermarriage between Whites and Blacks is repulsive and averse to every sentiment of pure American spirit. It is abhorrent and repugnant to the very principles of Saxon government. It is subversive of social peace. It is destructive of moral supremacy, and ultimately this slavery of White women to Black beasts will bring this nation a conflict as fatal as ever reddened the soil of Virginia or crimsoned the mountain paths of Pennsylvania. ... Let us uproot and exterminate now this debasing, ultra-demoralizing, un-American and inhuman leprosy."
Although anti-miscegenation laws in many states, including California (Civil Code 60 and 69), prohibited marriage between Whites and “Mongolians,” “Negroes,” and “Indians,” Filipinos continued to assert their rights to marry who they wanted to. In 1932, Salvador Roldan sued the State of California for the right to marry his English wife. He pointed out that the law specified “Mongolians” and that Filipinos were “Malay.” He won, but lawmakers quickly added “Malay” to the law.
The constitutionality of anti-miscegenation laws only began to be widely called into question after World War II. In 1948, the California Supreme Court in Perez v. Sharp ruled that the Californian anti-miscegenation statute violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. California was the first state since Ohio in 1887 to repeal its anti-miscegenation law.
One political theorist, Hannah Arendt, believes that anti-miscegenation laws were an even deeper injustice than racial segregation. The free choice of a spouse, she argued in Reflections on Little Rock, was "an elementary human right": "Even political rights, like the right to vote, and nearly all other rights enumerated in the Constitution, are secondary to the inalienable human rights to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence; and to this category the right to home and marriage unquestionably belongs."
It was not until 1967, during the height of the civil rights movement, that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Loving v. Virginia case that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. At that time, 38 states in the U.S. had formal laws on their books that prohibited non-Whites from marrying Whites.
Before the case escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1965, Virginia trial court Judge Leon Bazile, who heard their original case, refused to reconsider his decision. Instead, he defended racial segregation, writing, "Almighty God created the races White, Black, Yellow, and Red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."
When the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case, they ruled unanimously in Loving v. Virginia, stating, "Marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man,' fundamental to our very existence and survival.... To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not to marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State."
The U.S. Supreme Court condemned Virginia's anti-miscegenation law as "designed to maintain White supremacy."
Statistics today show that U.S.-raised Filipino Americans have a very high level of intermarriage with people of other races, which would not even be possible if anti-miscegenation laws were still in effect. It is important to remember these lessons in order to prevent injustices like these from continuing.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Pablo Manlapit and the Hanapepe Massacre
This twenty-fourth day of Filipino American History Month brings more information on Pablo Manlapit and the Hanapepe Massacre.
Pablo Manlapit immigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii in 1909. He worked as a plantation laborer at Hamakua Mill Company. He studied to become the first Filipino lawyer in Hawaii and helped organize the Filipino Labor Union (FLU).
He led the first major pan-Asian strike in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Filipinos and Japanese participated in the work stoppage against the Hawaiian Sugar Plantations Association (HSPA). They wanted better and fair working conditions. Filipino workers were not paid equally for doing the same work as the Japanese workers. The Filipinos were paid $0.69 and the Japanese were paid $0.99. While they were on strike, plantation workers on other islands continued to work to raise about $600,000.00 in support of the strike. It began on January 19, 1920, with 3,000 FLU members. When the Japanese laborers joined them in February 1920, more than 8,300 plantation laborers, or 77 percent of the work force was on strike. The strike went on for two months.
By 1922, Manlapit had organized a new Filipino Higher Wage Movement which numbered about 13,000 members. In April 1924, it called for a strike on the island of Kauai, demanding $2 a day in wages and the reduction of the workday to eight hours. This strike, which lasted approximately six to eight months, lead to increasing violence against Filipinos. In one incident on September 9, 1924, 16 Filipinos strikers were shot and killed by police in Hanapepe and four policemen were killed. Manlapit was jailed and deported to the mainland. Filipinos who participated in the strike were blacklisted by many employers, which led to the immigration of many families and single men to the mainland.
Although Manlapit went into labor organizing in California, he in returned to Hawaii in 1933 to continue his work. In 1935, he was permanently expelled from Hawaii to the Philippines. By that time, he had already left a lasting legacy of labor empowerment.
Pablo Manlapit immigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii in 1909. He worked as a plantation laborer at Hamakua Mill Company. He studied to become the first Filipino lawyer in Hawaii and helped organize the Filipino Labor Union (FLU).
He led the first major pan-Asian strike in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Filipinos and Japanese participated in the work stoppage against the Hawaiian Sugar Plantations Association (HSPA). They wanted better and fair working conditions. Filipino workers were not paid equally for doing the same work as the Japanese workers. The Filipinos were paid $0.69 and the Japanese were paid $0.99. While they were on strike, plantation workers on other islands continued to work to raise about $600,000.00 in support of the strike. It began on January 19, 1920, with 3,000 FLU members. When the Japanese laborers joined them in February 1920, more than 8,300 plantation laborers, or 77 percent of the work force was on strike. The strike went on for two months.
By 1922, Manlapit had organized a new Filipino Higher Wage Movement which numbered about 13,000 members. In April 1924, it called for a strike on the island of Kauai, demanding $2 a day in wages and the reduction of the workday to eight hours. This strike, which lasted approximately six to eight months, lead to increasing violence against Filipinos. In one incident on September 9, 1924, 16 Filipinos strikers were shot and killed by police in Hanapepe and four policemen were killed. Manlapit was jailed and deported to the mainland. Filipinos who participated in the strike were blacklisted by many employers, which led to the immigration of many families and single men to the mainland.
Although Manlapit went into labor organizing in California, he in returned to Hawaii in 1933 to continue his work. In 1935, he was permanently expelled from Hawaii to the Philippines. By that time, he had already left a lasting legacy of labor empowerment.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Delano Grape Strike
This twenty-third day of Filipino American History Month brings more detailed information on the Delano Grape Strike.
In June 1960, the American Federation of Labor chartered the Agricultural Worker's Organizing Committee (AWOC). Some Stockton organizers in the AWOC were Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Cipriano "Rudy" Delvo, and Dolores Huerta. They would become integral parts of the labor movement, leading many protests, including the Delano Grape Strike.
The Delano Grape Strike began on September 5, 1965, when the AWOC called a strike against 33 grape growers near Delano California. By September 8, 1965, the 2,000 mostly Filipino members of the AWOC had walked out. When the AWOC approached the National Farm Workers Union (NFWU), led by Cesar Chavez to join the strike, the NFWU declined out of “not being ready.” On September 16, the NFWU joined the strike.
The strength of the united organizations was not to be ignored. In 1967, the AWOC and the NFWU formed the United Farm Workers Union-AFL/CIO (UFW). Cesar Chavez was elected President, and Larry Itliong became Assistant Director. Philip Vera Cruz was elected Vice President, and Pete Velasco became Treasurer.
The grape strike catapulted Cesar Chavez into the national spotlight, but the Filipino leaders received little recognition for their efforts. While the role of individuals of Philippine descent in the grape strike is often overlooked, it is a hope that every group's contribution to history is acknowledged.
In June 1960, the American Federation of Labor chartered the Agricultural Worker's Organizing Committee (AWOC). Some Stockton organizers in the AWOC were Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Cipriano "Rudy" Delvo, and Dolores Huerta. They would become integral parts of the labor movement, leading many protests, including the Delano Grape Strike.
The Delano Grape Strike began on September 5, 1965, when the AWOC called a strike against 33 grape growers near Delano California. By September 8, 1965, the 2,000 mostly Filipino members of the AWOC had walked out. When the AWOC approached the National Farm Workers Union (NFWU), led by Cesar Chavez to join the strike, the NFWU declined out of “not being ready.” On September 16, the NFWU joined the strike.
The strength of the united organizations was not to be ignored. In 1967, the AWOC and the NFWU formed the United Farm Workers Union-AFL/CIO (UFW). Cesar Chavez was elected President, and Larry Itliong became Assistant Director. Philip Vera Cruz was elected Vice President, and Pete Velasco became Treasurer.
The grape strike catapulted Cesar Chavez into the national spotlight, but the Filipino leaders received little recognition for their efforts. While the role of individuals of Philippine descent in the grape strike is often overlooked, it is a hope that every group's contribution to history is acknowledged.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Anti-Martial Law Movement
This twenty-second day of Filipino American History Month brings information on the anti-martial law movement (AMLM).
The period from 1965 to 1986 was characterized by a massive influx of Philippine immigrants as a result of changes in immigration law, and by unrest and division in the Philippines and in the United States of America over the government of the U.S.-backed President Ferdinand Marcos.
Ferdinand Marcos was elected President of the Philippines in 1965. Unrest over his leadership led to the launch of the First Quarter Storm on January 30, 1970, marked by anti-Marcos protests in the Philippines from January to March. This is typically seen as the start of the anti-U.S./anti-Marcos movement.
Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines, on September 21, 1972, sparking a massive protest movement among Filipinos in the USA and in the Philippines. Thousands flee the Philippines seeking political freedom. The USA maintained a position of staunch support of the Marcos government during this time.
In 1973, Ferdinand Marcos announced the Balikbayan program, which invited all overseas Filipinos to return to the Philippines to visit. The program was criticized as a pro-Marcos propaganda ploy, but several hundred Filipino Americans return. Tensions rose on May 18, 1973, when Marcos’ blacklist of U.S. residents is revealed in Los Angeles.
On July 28, 1973, the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP), or Union of Democratic Filipinos, was founded in Santa Cruz, California. Other anti-Marcos organizations founded in the fall of that year included the Movement for a Free Philippines (September 22, 1973, in Washington DC) and the Friends of the Filipino People (October 20, 1973, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
On December 28-29, 1974, the first AMLM Unity Conference was held in Chicago, Illinois. The movement continued to grow and on November 2, 1975, the Anti-Martial Law Coalition was formed in New York, New York.
During the 1980s, the AMLM continued to politicize and polarize the Filipino American community. Even within the movement, ideological rifts plagued. When, on August 21, 1983, Senator and opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. returned to the Philippines and was assassinated at the Manila International Airport, the situation worsened. On November 3, 1985, Ferdinand Marcos announced a “snap election” for the Philippine presidency, to be held on January 17, 1986. However, the election was postponed to February 7, 1986.
On February 22, 1985, the EDSA ”People Power” movement, supported by a military coup, toppled the Marcos regime and elected Corazon Aquino President of the Philippines. Three days later, on February 25, 1986, President Ronald Reagan formally withdrew his support of the Marcos administration, and Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos left the Philippines for Hawaii.
The AMLM in the USA, made up of many groups and individuals, challenged Filipino Americans and the U.S. government of their support of the Marcos regime. It further demonstrated the inextricable connection between the Philippines and the USA. Today, while the time period continues to be a controversial one to discuss, more and more information and research is revealed about it.
The period from 1965 to 1986 was characterized by a massive influx of Philippine immigrants as a result of changes in immigration law, and by unrest and division in the Philippines and in the United States of America over the government of the U.S.-backed President Ferdinand Marcos.
Ferdinand Marcos was elected President of the Philippines in 1965. Unrest over his leadership led to the launch of the First Quarter Storm on January 30, 1970, marked by anti-Marcos protests in the Philippines from January to March. This is typically seen as the start of the anti-U.S./anti-Marcos movement.
Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines, on September 21, 1972, sparking a massive protest movement among Filipinos in the USA and in the Philippines. Thousands flee the Philippines seeking political freedom. The USA maintained a position of staunch support of the Marcos government during this time.
In 1973, Ferdinand Marcos announced the Balikbayan program, which invited all overseas Filipinos to return to the Philippines to visit. The program was criticized as a pro-Marcos propaganda ploy, but several hundred Filipino Americans return. Tensions rose on May 18, 1973, when Marcos’ blacklist of U.S. residents is revealed in Los Angeles.
On July 28, 1973, the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP), or Union of Democratic Filipinos, was founded in Santa Cruz, California. Other anti-Marcos organizations founded in the fall of that year included the Movement for a Free Philippines (September 22, 1973, in Washington DC) and the Friends of the Filipino People (October 20, 1973, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
On December 28-29, 1974, the first AMLM Unity Conference was held in Chicago, Illinois. The movement continued to grow and on November 2, 1975, the Anti-Martial Law Coalition was formed in New York, New York.
During the 1980s, the AMLM continued to politicize and polarize the Filipino American community. Even within the movement, ideological rifts plagued. When, on August 21, 1983, Senator and opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. returned to the Philippines and was assassinated at the Manila International Airport, the situation worsened. On November 3, 1985, Ferdinand Marcos announced a “snap election” for the Philippine presidency, to be held on January 17, 1986. However, the election was postponed to February 7, 1986.
On February 22, 1985, the EDSA ”People Power” movement, supported by a military coup, toppled the Marcos regime and elected Corazon Aquino President of the Philippines. Three days later, on February 25, 1986, President Ronald Reagan formally withdrew his support of the Marcos administration, and Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos left the Philippines for Hawaii.
The AMLM in the USA, made up of many groups and individuals, challenged Filipino Americans and the U.S. government of their support of the Marcos regime. It further demonstrated the inextricable connection between the Philippines and the USA. Today, while the time period continues to be a controversial one to discuss, more and more information and research is revealed about it.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Filipino World War II Veterans and Veteran Rights
This twenty-first day of Filipino American History Month brings information on Filipino World War II veterans and veteran rights.
One of the most pressing long-time issues in the Filipino American community is the fight for Filipinos, who fought for the American military during World War II, to receive full veteran benefits. Over the years, these veterans have acquired partial benefits such as becoming naturalized U.S. citizens, burial benefits with military honors in national cemeteries, and access to care in Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes.
However, Filipino World War II benefits still fall short. They are not eligible for non-war related disability pensions that their American counterparts receive. Many Filipino Americans are barely subsisting and seek livable pensions. In 1993, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act was first introduced to enable Filipino World War II Veterans full benefits. Until today, this act has not been successfully passed. The Filipino American community, young and old, continue to struggle and fight for the rights of our Filipino heroes.
One of the most pressing long-time issues in the Filipino American community is the fight for Filipinos, who fought for the American military during World War II, to receive full veteran benefits. Over the years, these veterans have acquired partial benefits such as becoming naturalized U.S. citizens, burial benefits with military honors in national cemeteries, and access to care in Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes.
However, Filipino World War II benefits still fall short. They are not eligible for non-war related disability pensions that their American counterparts receive. Many Filipino Americans are barely subsisting and seek livable pensions. In 1993, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act was first introduced to enable Filipino World War II Veterans full benefits. Until today, this act has not been successfully passed. The Filipino American community, young and old, continue to struggle and fight for the rights of our Filipino heroes.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The International Hotel
This twentieth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on the International Hotel (I-Hotel).
Filipino Americans have a long history of fighting for equal rights and justice. One notable event in the Filipino American movement revolved around the I-Hotel. From 1920-35 the Filipino male population in the United States was 39,328. Legislation forbade Filipinos from owning land or setting up businesses. They were to be kept moving, remain transient. They stayed in rooming houses, hotels, and labor camps. The I-Hotel was one of these. Manilatown, the Kearny and Jackson Street area of San Francisco, became a permanent settlement, a convenient culture contact. It was the home field workers returned to, where merchant marines lived while in port, where distant relatives and friends could be contacted, and where they could enjoy the security of a common culture.
The I-Hotel served as a family and provided protection. The Filipino community in San Francisco existed in groups dictated by economic necessity and blood brotherhood. The I-Hotel became a symbol for an entire minority community.
About 1954, the I-Hotel became significant for yet another reason. Enrico Banduccci, opened his original “Hungry I” nightclub next door to Club Mandalay in the basement of the I-Hotel where many performing artists got their start, including Nina Simone, the Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, the Kingston Trio, Dr. Irwin Chory, and Bill Cosby.
During the urban renewal and redevelopment movement of the mid-1960s, the I-Hotel was target for demolition, despite its full occupancy. The first eviction notices were issued to residents in 1968, and began an almost 40-year battle spurring disagreements and debate among activists and public officials.
For years after the first eviction notices were served in 1968, many individuals were involved in the long fight that took place on the streets, in courtrooms, and in the everyday lives of the I-Hotel and Manilatown residents. Some community characters involved in the struggle were Al Robles, Filipino American San Francisco Poet, and Bill Sorro, Filipino American activist.
The San Francisco Housing Authority Commission voted to acquire the building using $1.3 million in federal funds and turned it over to tenants rights groups. When a court rejected that plan and ordered evictions in January of 1977, more than five thousand people surrounded the building, barricaded the doors, and chanted against the evictions. Sheriff Richard Hongisto refused to execute the eviction order, which resulted in his being held in contempt and serving five days in his own jail.
The final residents were evicted on August 4, 1977. The building stood empty while the fate of the site continued to be debated, but it was finally demolished in 1981.
Subsequently, because of strong community opposition the site was designated by the Board of Supervisors as a site for low income senior housing. In 1994, the site was acquired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The air rights were later sold to Chinatown Community Development Center which planned to build a replacement low-cost residential project. In 2003, construction began on the new I-Hotel, and the building was completed on August 26, 2005. The new building contains 105 apartments of senior housing. A lottery was held to determine priority for occupancy, with the two remaining living residents of the original I-Hotel given priority. Occupancy started in October 2005. The new building also contains a ground-floor community center and a historical display commemorating the original I-Hotel.
Filipino Americans have a long history of fighting for equal rights and justice. One notable event in the Filipino American movement revolved around the I-Hotel. From 1920-35 the Filipino male population in the United States was 39,328. Legislation forbade Filipinos from owning land or setting up businesses. They were to be kept moving, remain transient. They stayed in rooming houses, hotels, and labor camps. The I-Hotel was one of these. Manilatown, the Kearny and Jackson Street area of San Francisco, became a permanent settlement, a convenient culture contact. It was the home field workers returned to, where merchant marines lived while in port, where distant relatives and friends could be contacted, and where they could enjoy the security of a common culture.
The I-Hotel served as a family and provided protection. The Filipino community in San Francisco existed in groups dictated by economic necessity and blood brotherhood. The I-Hotel became a symbol for an entire minority community.
About 1954, the I-Hotel became significant for yet another reason. Enrico Banduccci, opened his original “Hungry I” nightclub next door to Club Mandalay in the basement of the I-Hotel where many performing artists got their start, including Nina Simone, the Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, the Kingston Trio, Dr. Irwin Chory, and Bill Cosby.
During the urban renewal and redevelopment movement of the mid-1960s, the I-Hotel was target for demolition, despite its full occupancy. The first eviction notices were issued to residents in 1968, and began an almost 40-year battle spurring disagreements and debate among activists and public officials.
For years after the first eviction notices were served in 1968, many individuals were involved in the long fight that took place on the streets, in courtrooms, and in the everyday lives of the I-Hotel and Manilatown residents. Some community characters involved in the struggle were Al Robles, Filipino American San Francisco Poet, and Bill Sorro, Filipino American activist.
The San Francisco Housing Authority Commission voted to acquire the building using $1.3 million in federal funds and turned it over to tenants rights groups. When a court rejected that plan and ordered evictions in January of 1977, more than five thousand people surrounded the building, barricaded the doors, and chanted against the evictions. Sheriff Richard Hongisto refused to execute the eviction order, which resulted in his being held in contempt and serving five days in his own jail.
The final residents were evicted on August 4, 1977. The building stood empty while the fate of the site continued to be debated, but it was finally demolished in 1981.
Subsequently, because of strong community opposition the site was designated by the Board of Supervisors as a site for low income senior housing. In 1994, the site was acquired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The air rights were later sold to Chinatown Community Development Center which planned to build a replacement low-cost residential project. In 2003, construction began on the new I-Hotel, and the building was completed on August 26, 2005. The new building contains 105 apartments of senior housing. A lottery was held to determine priority for occupancy, with the two remaining living residents of the original I-Hotel given priority. Occupancy started in October 2005. The new building also contains a ground-floor community center and a historical display commemorating the original I-Hotel.
The International Hotel
This twentieth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on the International Hotel (I-Hotel).
Filipino Americans have a long history of fighting for equal rights and justice. One notable event in the Filipino American movement revolved around the I-Hotel. From 1920-35 the Filipino male population in the United States was 39,328. Legislation forbade Filipinos from owning land or setting up businesses. They were to be kept moving, remain transient. They stayed in rooming houses, hotels, and labor camps. The I-Hotel was one of these. Manilatown, the Kearny and Jackson Street area of San Francisco, became a permanent settlement, a convenient culture contact. It was the home field workers returned to, where merchant marines lived while in port, where distant relatives and friends could be contacted, and where they could enjoy the security of a common culture.
The I-Hotel served as a family and provided protection. The Filipino community in San Francisco existed in groups dictated by economic necessity and blood brotherhood. The I-Hotel became a symbol for an entire minority community.
About 1954, the I-Hotel became significant for yet another reason. Enrico Banduccci, opened his original “Hungry I” nightclub next door to Club Mandalay in the basement of the I-Hotel where many performing artists got their start, including Nina Simone, the Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, the Kingston Trio, Dr. Irwin Chory, and Bill Cosby.
During the urban renewal and redevelopment movement of the mid-1960s, the I-Hotel was target for demolition, despite its full occupancy. The first eviction notices were issued to residents in 1968, and began an almost 40-year battle spurring disagreements and debate among activists and public officials.
For years after the first eviction notices were served in 1968, many individuals were involved in the long fight that took place on the streets, in courtrooms, and in the everyday lives of the I-Hotel and Manilatown residents. Some community characters involved in the struggle were Al Robles, Filipino American San Francisco Poet, and Bill Sorro, Filipino American activist.
The San Francisco Housing Authority Commission voted to acquire the building using $1.3 million in federal funds and turned it over to tenants rights groups. When a court rejected that plan and ordered evictions in January of 1977, more than five thousand people surrounded the building, barricaded the doors, and chanted against the evictions. Sheriff Richard Hongisto refused to execute the eviction order, which resulted in his being held in contempt and serving five days in his own jail.
The final residents were evicted on August 4, 1977. The building stood empty while the fate of the site continued to be debated, but it was finally demolished in 1981.
Subsequently, because of strong community opposition the site was designated by the Board of Supervisors as a site for low income senior housing. In 1994, the site was acquired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The air rights were later sold to Chinatown Community Development Center which planned to build a replacement low-cost residential project. In 2003, construction began on the new I-Hotel, and the building was completed on August 26, 2005. The new building contains 105 apartments of senior housing. A lottery was held to determine priority for occupancy, with the two remaining living residents of the original I-Hotel given priority. Occupancy started in October 2005. The new building also contains a ground-floor community center and a historical display commemorating the original I-Hotel.
Filipino Americans have a long history of fighting for equal rights and justice. One notable event in the Filipino American movement revolved around the I-Hotel. From 1920-35 the Filipino male population in the United States was 39,328. Legislation forbade Filipinos from owning land or setting up businesses. They were to be kept moving, remain transient. They stayed in rooming houses, hotels, and labor camps. The I-Hotel was one of these. Manilatown, the Kearny and Jackson Street area of San Francisco, became a permanent settlement, a convenient culture contact. It was the home field workers returned to, where merchant marines lived while in port, where distant relatives and friends could be contacted, and where they could enjoy the security of a common culture.
The I-Hotel served as a family and provided protection. The Filipino community in San Francisco existed in groups dictated by economic necessity and blood brotherhood. The I-Hotel became a symbol for an entire minority community.
About 1954, the I-Hotel became significant for yet another reason. Enrico Banduccci, opened his original “Hungry I” nightclub next door to Club Mandalay in the basement of the I-Hotel where many performing artists got their start, including Nina Simone, the Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, the Kingston Trio, Dr. Irwin Chory, and Bill Cosby.
During the urban renewal and redevelopment movement of the mid-1960s, the I-Hotel was target for demolition, despite its full occupancy. The first eviction notices were issued to residents in 1968, and began an almost 40-year battle spurring disagreements and debate among activists and public officials.
For years after the first eviction notices were served in 1968, many individuals were involved in the long fight that took place on the streets, in courtrooms, and in the everyday lives of the I-Hotel and Manilatown residents. Some community characters involved in the struggle were Al Robles, Filipino American San Francisco Poet, and Bill Sorro, Filipino American activist.
The San Francisco Housing Authority Commission voted to acquire the building using $1.3 million in federal funds and turned it over to tenants rights groups. When a court rejected that plan and ordered evictions in January of 1977, more than five thousand people surrounded the building, barricaded the doors, and chanted against the evictions. Sheriff Richard Hongisto refused to execute the eviction order, which resulted in his being held in contempt and serving five days in his own jail.
The final residents were evicted on August 4, 1977. The building stood empty while the fate of the site continued to be debated, but it was finally demolished in 1981.
Subsequently, because of strong community opposition the site was designated by the Board of Supervisors as a site for low income senior housing. In 1994, the site was acquired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The air rights were later sold to Chinatown Community Development Center which planned to build a replacement low-cost residential project. In 2003, construction began on the new I-Hotel, and the building was completed on August 26, 2005. The new building contains 105 apartments of senior housing. A lottery was held to determine priority for occupancy, with the two remaining living residents of the original I-Hotel given priority. Occupancy started in October 2005. The new building also contains a ground-floor community center and a historical display commemorating the original I-Hotel.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Filipino American Culture and Art
This nineteenth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on Filipino American culture and art.
Filipinos have a long tradition of art. When one learns about musicians like Joseph “Flip” Nunez or Sugar Pie DeSanto, or painters like Eliseo Silva or Alfonso Ossorio, they learn about the multitalented Filipino American community.
In addition to the popular arts, Filipino Americans continue to push the boundaries outside mainstream forms and have achieved recognition for their work. For example, Ian Gamazon and Neill dela Llana, directors of the acclaimed 2005 indie film "Cavite" worked magic with a $7,000 budget.
Similarly, percussionist and composer Susie Ibarra is widely known for her incorporation of diverse styles and influences, such as blued, gamelan, and kulintang, a challenging and cutting edge part of contemporary culture.
In theater, Bindlestiff Studio, established in 1997 in San Francisco, CA, is the only permanent, community-based performing arts venue in the nation dedicated to showcasing emerging Filipino American and Pilipino artists. It provides the often under-served Filipino American community access to diverse offerings in theatrical productions, music and film festivals, workshops in directing, production, acting, stand-up comedy, and writing, as well as a children and youth theater program.
These individuals and groups continue to blaze new trails for Filipinos and Filipino Americans.
Filipinos have a long tradition of art. When one learns about musicians like Joseph “Flip” Nunez or Sugar Pie DeSanto, or painters like Eliseo Silva or Alfonso Ossorio, they learn about the multitalented Filipino American community.
In addition to the popular arts, Filipino Americans continue to push the boundaries outside mainstream forms and have achieved recognition for their work. For example, Ian Gamazon and Neill dela Llana, directors of the acclaimed 2005 indie film "Cavite" worked magic with a $7,000 budget.
Similarly, percussionist and composer Susie Ibarra is widely known for her incorporation of diverse styles and influences, such as blued, gamelan, and kulintang, a challenging and cutting edge part of contemporary culture.
In theater, Bindlestiff Studio, established in 1997 in San Francisco, CA, is the only permanent, community-based performing arts venue in the nation dedicated to showcasing emerging Filipino American and Pilipino artists. It provides the often under-served Filipino American community access to diverse offerings in theatrical productions, music and film festivals, workshops in directing, production, acting, stand-up comedy, and writing, as well as a children and youth theater program.
These individuals and groups continue to blaze new trails for Filipinos and Filipino Americans.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Filipino American Performers
This eighteenth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on Filipino American performers.
Filipino American performers are some of the most popular artists working in all aspects of the entertainment industries such as music, film, comedy, and sports. Although artists of Filipino descent have played a myriad of roles, they have rarely been seen or understood as Filipinos. This has especially been the case in the field of acting, where they have been cast in just about every ethnic role. One of the most popular of these portrayals was that of Lou Diamond Phillips who played Mexican musician Ritchie Valens.
In recent years, several artists, such as Chad Hugo of the Neptunes and Apl.D. Ap (Allan Pineda Lindo) of the Black Eyed Peas, have chosen to represent their ethnic background openly and are proud to be Pinoy. Steve Slaton, running back for the Houston Texans, and David Batista, former world heavyweight champion of World Wrestling Entertainment, and Tim Lincecum, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, have also proclaimed their pride in their Filipino heritage.
Hopefully, with the increase of visibility and representation of Filipino American role models in the wider community and media, Filipino Americans will have more political power and representation and overcome the label of being an “invisible minority."
Filipino American performers are some of the most popular artists working in all aspects of the entertainment industries such as music, film, comedy, and sports. Although artists of Filipino descent have played a myriad of roles, they have rarely been seen or understood as Filipinos. This has especially been the case in the field of acting, where they have been cast in just about every ethnic role. One of the most popular of these portrayals was that of Lou Diamond Phillips who played Mexican musician Ritchie Valens.
In recent years, several artists, such as Chad Hugo of the Neptunes and Apl.D. Ap (Allan Pineda Lindo) of the Black Eyed Peas, have chosen to represent their ethnic background openly and are proud to be Pinoy. Steve Slaton, running back for the Houston Texans, and David Batista, former world heavyweight champion of World Wrestling Entertainment, and Tim Lincecum, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, have also proclaimed their pride in their Filipino heritage.
Hopefully, with the increase of visibility and representation of Filipino American role models in the wider community and media, Filipino Americans will have more political power and representation and overcome the label of being an “invisible minority."
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Contemporary Filipino America
This seventeenth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on contemporary Filipino America.
Filipino Americans have made significant contributions to America’s social (Pedro Flores), economical (Diosdado Banatao, Cecilia Pagkalinawan), political (Dolores Sibonga, Velma Veloria, Ben Cayetano), and educational (Dan Begonia, Dan Gonzales, Dawn Mabalon, Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales) communities. They have made contributions in the progression of science (Mariano Yogore), technology (Julian Banzon, Josefino Comiso, Eduardo San Juan) and medicine (Fe del Mundo) in America. They also reside among notable literary writers (Carlos Bulosan, Jessica Hagedorn) in America. Filipinos Americans have also become more visible in the arts (Art Silva) and have gained representation when it comes to beauty (Angela Perez Baraquio). A growing list of Filipino Americans can be found in the entertainment field (Richard Quitevis, Sam Milby, Allan Pineda Lindo) and in the sports arena (Victoria Manalo Draves, Bobby Balcena, David Batista, Cheryl Burke).
Filipino Americans have proved to be effective union labor leaders (Pablo Manlapit, Philip Vera Cruz, Larry Itliong) and activists (Al Robles, Bill Sorro). They have proudly served the U.S. Military at all levels (Antonio Taguba).
Filipino Americans have made significant contributions to America’s social (Pedro Flores), economical (Diosdado Banatao, Cecilia Pagkalinawan), political (Dolores Sibonga, Velma Veloria, Ben Cayetano), and educational (Dan Begonia, Dan Gonzales, Dawn Mabalon, Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales) communities. They have made contributions in the progression of science (Mariano Yogore), technology (Julian Banzon, Josefino Comiso, Eduardo San Juan) and medicine (Fe del Mundo) in America. They also reside among notable literary writers (Carlos Bulosan, Jessica Hagedorn) in America. Filipinos Americans have also become more visible in the arts (Art Silva) and have gained representation when it comes to beauty (Angela Perez Baraquio). A growing list of Filipino Americans can be found in the entertainment field (Richard Quitevis, Sam Milby, Allan Pineda Lindo) and in the sports arena (Victoria Manalo Draves, Bobby Balcena, David Batista, Cheryl Burke).
Filipino Americans have proved to be effective union labor leaders (Pablo Manlapit, Philip Vera Cruz, Larry Itliong) and activists (Al Robles, Bill Sorro). They have proudly served the U.S. Military at all levels (Antonio Taguba).
Friday, October 16, 2009
Immigration Reform Act of 1965
This sixteenth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on the Immigration Reform Act of 1965, which relaxed immigration quotas and allowed family reunification and large numbers of Filipino professionals to migrate to the United States of America.
The passage of the 1965 immigration act by the U.S. Congress triggered the “third wave” of immigration, which brought the largest number of Filipino immigrants to the United States of America. The act abolished the discriminatory national origins quota system that had unfairly restricted the entrance of non-Western European immigrants to the U.S. since 1924.
The Philippines thus experienced a "brain drain" phenomenon with the migration of highly skilled physicians, teachers, seamen, mechanics, engineers, and others from the country. In the 1980s, the exodus of those in the medical profession continued although mid-level professionals like nurses, medical technicians as well as paramedics increasingly dominated the flows. In the 1990s, advances in information technology triggered new waves of skilled labor migration consisting of engineers, computer programmers, designers, and allied skills workers. The primary reason Filipino workers leave their country is that the Philippines is not able to absorb their skills into their own local economy.
In U.S. hospitals today, nursing is no longer exclusively practiced by white and black women in white uniforms. Between 1965 and 1988, more than seventy thousand foreign nurses entered the United States, the majority coming from Asia….Philippines is by far the leading supplier of nurses to the United States [at least 25,000 Filipino nurses migrated to the U.S. between 1966 and 1985]…. Filipino nurses provide a critical source of labor for large metropolitan and public hospitals primarily in the states of New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts. In New York City, Filipinos comprise 18 percent of RN (registered nurse) staff in the city’s hospitals. Filipino nurses are also geographically clustered in Mid-western urban areas, in particular Chicago.
The most significant features of the 1965 act was the establishment of a preference system designed to facilitate the reunification of immigrant families and the admission of workers with skills needed in the United States.
The passage of the 1965 immigration act by the U.S. Congress triggered the “third wave” of immigration, which brought the largest number of Filipino immigrants to the United States of America. The act abolished the discriminatory national origins quota system that had unfairly restricted the entrance of non-Western European immigrants to the U.S. since 1924.
The Philippines thus experienced a "brain drain" phenomenon with the migration of highly skilled physicians, teachers, seamen, mechanics, engineers, and others from the country. In the 1980s, the exodus of those in the medical profession continued although mid-level professionals like nurses, medical technicians as well as paramedics increasingly dominated the flows. In the 1990s, advances in information technology triggered new waves of skilled labor migration consisting of engineers, computer programmers, designers, and allied skills workers. The primary reason Filipino workers leave their country is that the Philippines is not able to absorb their skills into their own local economy.
In U.S. hospitals today, nursing is no longer exclusively practiced by white and black women in white uniforms. Between 1965 and 1988, more than seventy thousand foreign nurses entered the United States, the majority coming from Asia….Philippines is by far the leading supplier of nurses to the United States [at least 25,000 Filipino nurses migrated to the U.S. between 1966 and 1985]…. Filipino nurses provide a critical source of labor for large metropolitan and public hospitals primarily in the states of New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts. In New York City, Filipinos comprise 18 percent of RN (registered nurse) staff in the city’s hospitals. Filipino nurses are also geographically clustered in Mid-western urban areas, in particular Chicago.
The most significant features of the 1965 act was the establishment of a preference system designed to facilitate the reunification of immigrant families and the admission of workers with skills needed in the United States.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Filipinas and Filipina Americans
This fifteenth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on Filipinas and Filipina Americans.
Filipino women have been migrating to Hawaii and the United States of America as war brides, students, and laborers as early as the Spanish-American War. One of the defining moments of this history occurs in the years immediately after World War II, when hundreds of Filipino American U.S. soldiers married Filipinas and returned with them to the U.S. to raise families. Filipino women have been key in developing long family lines in Louisiana, where Filipinos are well into their 8th and 9th generations.
In cities like Honolulu, San Francisco, and Stockton throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Filipino women developed and sustained large community-based organizations through women's auxiliaries of fraternal organizations and lodges where they administered budgets, programmed events, and sold U.S. war bonds during World War II.
It is important to recognize the importance of women in the Filipino family as well, a remnant of a maternalistic Philippine society. When Corazon Aquino was elected President of the Philippines in 1986, she was not only the first woman president, but the first woman head of state and elected president in Asia.
One does not need to look very far to identify one of the many notable Filipinas and Filipina Americans that have contributed to the United States of America and the world.
Filipino women have been migrating to Hawaii and the United States of America as war brides, students, and laborers as early as the Spanish-American War. One of the defining moments of this history occurs in the years immediately after World War II, when hundreds of Filipino American U.S. soldiers married Filipinas and returned with them to the U.S. to raise families. Filipino women have been key in developing long family lines in Louisiana, where Filipinos are well into their 8th and 9th generations.
In cities like Honolulu, San Francisco, and Stockton throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Filipino women developed and sustained large community-based organizations through women's auxiliaries of fraternal organizations and lodges where they administered budgets, programmed events, and sold U.S. war bonds during World War II.
It is important to recognize the importance of women in the Filipino family as well, a remnant of a maternalistic Philippine society. When Corazon Aquino was elected President of the Philippines in 1986, she was not only the first woman president, but the first woman head of state and elected president in Asia.
One does not need to look very far to identify one of the many notable Filipinas and Filipina Americans that have contributed to the United States of America and the world.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Filipinos in the United States Armed Forces
This fourteenth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the United States military.
As a result of the U.S. colonization of the Philippines, the military has played a large role in the lives of millions of Filipinos and Filipino Americans. People of Filipino descent served in all branches of the United States Armed Forces, as enlisted persons as well as officers.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an Executive Order that gave full veteran’s benefits to Filipinos if they enlisted in the United States Armed Forces.
Filipinos and Filipino Americans answered the U.S. call to war against Japan by volunteering to serve in large numbers during World War II (1939-1945). Many groups of men from different generations did not previously know each other - from Hawaii, the U.S. west coast, coming from the Philippines throughout the twentieth century, and so on. Even though they came from different places and generations, their experiences during their service allowed them to build a familial network many had not available to them before. Soldiers typically fight for one country, but when Filipinos in the United States answered the call during World War II, thousands specifically intended to join in order to liberate the Philippines as well as serve the U.S.
By 1942, the First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments were established to fight in the Philippines. The Nationality Act Amendment gave Filipino non-citizens who joined the military U.S. citizenship. There were mass naturalization ceremonies where thousands of Filipinos became citizens. The segregated First Filipino Infantry Regiment was activated in California mid-1942 and the Second Filipino Infantry Regiment was formed later in the year. Prior to World War II, Filipinos had long served as stewards in the U.S. Navy, and they continued to do so in large numbers throughout the war. In 1944 about 1,000 Filipino Americans were selected for a secret mission, taken to the Philippines by submarines, and landed in various spots throughout the archipelago to contact anti-Japanese underground groups and to gather intelligence for General Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters in Australia. The stories of the First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments were memorialized in a documentary entitled, An Untold Triumph: The Story of the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, U.S. Army.
In the Philippines, Filipinos joined the United States Armed Forces of the Far East (USAFFE) also being promised the same benefits as other U.S. veterans and U.S. citizenship. Their knowledge of the terrain and resilient fighting spirit served invaluable to the war effort and the eventual defeat of the Japanese forces. Some of their heroic story was captured in the books Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II’s Most Dramatic Mission, by Hampton Sides, The Great Raid on Cabanatuan, by Willam B. Breuer, and the movie The Great Raid, starring Philippine actor Cesar Montano.
Today, many of the soldiers that were part of the USAFFE and their allies continue to fight for the rights they were promised at the start of World War II. Slowly, legislation passed over the years has provided for the return of some of the unkept promises, but equity continues to evade them.
As a result of the U.S. colonization of the Philippines, the military has played a large role in the lives of millions of Filipinos and Filipino Americans. People of Filipino descent served in all branches of the United States Armed Forces, as enlisted persons as well as officers.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an Executive Order that gave full veteran’s benefits to Filipinos if they enlisted in the United States Armed Forces.
Filipinos and Filipino Americans answered the U.S. call to war against Japan by volunteering to serve in large numbers during World War II (1939-1945). Many groups of men from different generations did not previously know each other - from Hawaii, the U.S. west coast, coming from the Philippines throughout the twentieth century, and so on. Even though they came from different places and generations, their experiences during their service allowed them to build a familial network many had not available to them before. Soldiers typically fight for one country, but when Filipinos in the United States answered the call during World War II, thousands specifically intended to join in order to liberate the Philippines as well as serve the U.S.
By 1942, the First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments were established to fight in the Philippines. The Nationality Act Amendment gave Filipino non-citizens who joined the military U.S. citizenship. There were mass naturalization ceremonies where thousands of Filipinos became citizens. The segregated First Filipino Infantry Regiment was activated in California mid-1942 and the Second Filipino Infantry Regiment was formed later in the year. Prior to World War II, Filipinos had long served as stewards in the U.S. Navy, and they continued to do so in large numbers throughout the war. In 1944 about 1,000 Filipino Americans were selected for a secret mission, taken to the Philippines by submarines, and landed in various spots throughout the archipelago to contact anti-Japanese underground groups and to gather intelligence for General Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters in Australia. The stories of the First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments were memorialized in a documentary entitled, An Untold Triumph: The Story of the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, U.S. Army.
In the Philippines, Filipinos joined the United States Armed Forces of the Far East (USAFFE) also being promised the same benefits as other U.S. veterans and U.S. citizenship. Their knowledge of the terrain and resilient fighting spirit served invaluable to the war effort and the eventual defeat of the Japanese forces. Some of their heroic story was captured in the books Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II’s Most Dramatic Mission, by Hampton Sides, The Great Raid on Cabanatuan, by Willam B. Breuer, and the movie The Great Raid, starring Philippine actor Cesar Montano.
Today, many of the soldiers that were part of the USAFFE and their allies continue to fight for the rights they were promised at the start of World War II. Slowly, legislation passed over the years has provided for the return of some of the unkept promises, but equity continues to evade them.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Transcending Discriminatory Laws in the Early Twentieth Century
This thirteenth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on the life of Filipino Americans during the early part of the twentieth century.
A common denominator for Filipino Americans during this time was the racist and unfair laws and policies against Filipino Americans. For example, the 1879 Naturalization Act originally excluded only Chinese from becoming citizens of the United States of America. In 1910, the United States Supreme Court widened the act to include other Asian immigrants, including Filipino Americans.
During the roaring twenties, the economy was prosperous. In 1924, the Immigration Act recognized colonized Filipinos as U.S. nationals. This meant that they were exempt from immigration quota limits, creating a situation where the Philippines was a seemingly unlimited source of labor to support the economy.
However, the Stock Market Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression, and there suddenly was no need for laborers, as more and more farmers escaped the Midwest to come to California. People started to blame immigrants for the economic woes of the country, a common practice during recessions and depressions.
The first race riot against Filipino Americans occurred in Exeter, CA in 1929. During the 1930s, riots also broke out in Watsonville, CA and Stockton, CA. Many people also blamed the social difficulties of the country as well. Filipinos or “Malays” were banned from marrying White women in many states through anti-miscegenation laws.
Throughout the period of Philippine colonization by the United States of America, Filipinos and Filipino Americans also were lobbying for the independence of the Philippines. Coupled with the difficult economy, Congress passed the Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934, which declared the Philippines a commonwealth, guaranteed independence in ten years, made all Philippine-born Filipinos “aliens,” and restricted Filipino immigration to 50 a year. A year later, the Filipino Repatriation Act was signed, in an effort to send Filipinos to the Philippines without the chance to return.
Despite all of these unfair laws against Filipinos and Filipino Americans, they found ways to prosper. They organized, formed community organizations, and supported one another. They built coalitions with people of other ethnicities and similar circumstances. They found ways to overcome the roadblocks and barriers put in their way.
A common denominator for Filipino Americans during this time was the racist and unfair laws and policies against Filipino Americans. For example, the 1879 Naturalization Act originally excluded only Chinese from becoming citizens of the United States of America. In 1910, the United States Supreme Court widened the act to include other Asian immigrants, including Filipino Americans.
During the roaring twenties, the economy was prosperous. In 1924, the Immigration Act recognized colonized Filipinos as U.S. nationals. This meant that they were exempt from immigration quota limits, creating a situation where the Philippines was a seemingly unlimited source of labor to support the economy.
However, the Stock Market Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression, and there suddenly was no need for laborers, as more and more farmers escaped the Midwest to come to California. People started to blame immigrants for the economic woes of the country, a common practice during recessions and depressions.
The first race riot against Filipino Americans occurred in Exeter, CA in 1929. During the 1930s, riots also broke out in Watsonville, CA and Stockton, CA. Many people also blamed the social difficulties of the country as well. Filipinos or “Malays” were banned from marrying White women in many states through anti-miscegenation laws.
Throughout the period of Philippine colonization by the United States of America, Filipinos and Filipino Americans also were lobbying for the independence of the Philippines. Coupled with the difficult economy, Congress passed the Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934, which declared the Philippines a commonwealth, guaranteed independence in ten years, made all Philippine-born Filipinos “aliens,” and restricted Filipino immigration to 50 a year. A year later, the Filipino Repatriation Act was signed, in an effort to send Filipinos to the Philippines without the chance to return.
Despite all of these unfair laws against Filipinos and Filipino Americans, they found ways to prosper. They organized, formed community organizations, and supported one another. They built coalitions with people of other ethnicities and similar circumstances. They found ways to overcome the roadblocks and barriers put in their way.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Filipino American Agricultural Workers in History
This twelfth day of Filipino American History Month brings information on a rich part of Filipino American history—agricultural workers.
In addition to Hawaii and Alaska, Filipino laborers were also recruited to work in the continental United States of America in the early 1900s. They had short term contracts. Their work was tough, requiring long hours and demanding physical activity. Fieldwork was back-breaking stoop labor, but they were tougher.
Life outside the fields was also difficult. Whether foreign- or native-born, Filipino Americans have been defined as non-white in the United States, defined as “other” than the majority in a way that is generally pejorative and frequently racist. The Filipino American confrontation with racism has a direct, painful, and constricting history: called ‘monkeys’ and ‘dogeaters,’ relegated to menial labor despite their qualifications, denied housing they could afford, refused professional credentials for which they qualified, forbidden to speak their language among themselves at work, and kept from enrolling in schools whose admissions requirements they met. These concepts are captured in Carlos Bulosan’s classic, America is in the Heart, where he wrote, “I came to know afterward that in many ways it was a crime to be a Filipino in California. I came to know that the public streets were not free to my people."
Missing among these freedoms was the freedom to start traditional families. Agricultural life was near absent for women. Many worked as cooks on plantations. The sex ratio in 1930 had been 14.4. males to one female. Angeles Monrayo kept a diary of her life as a young girl growing up in a strike camp in Hawai'i and later moved to central California. Through her writing, we see how Filipino families moved about and were stitched together in labor camps and other settings. It has now been published as Tomorrow’s Memoirs: A Diary, 1924–1928, where on Monday, March 5, 1928, she wrote, “Ninang, Hon, and I were hired today…Ninang and I cut spinach, we cut off the roots…We are paid 20 cents a crate. Today I finish 10 crates only, so I made $2.00 exactly…I am glad that I am working by the hour and that I made $2.00 today.”
These low wages and unfair conditions moved workers to organize laborers. These labor leaders included Pablo Manlapit (1891-1969), Chris Mensalvas (1909-1978), Philip Vera Cruz (1910-1994), Carlos Bulosan (1913-1956), and Larry Itliong (1942-1976).
One the most famous of these is Philip V. Vera Cruz, who came to the United States in 1926. Like many young persons traveling from the Philippines, Vera Cruz, dreamt of receiving a good education in the USA and becoming a lawyer. Others hoped to study religion, history, and literature. While a few did, many others had to set aside their plans to find work. Vera Cruz’s first job was as a laborer in a Washington state box factory. He moved to Chicago and Cincinnati where he worked in restaurants. The draft and army brought him to California and its agricultural industry. In 1948, he was an organizer in a key strike by Filipino asparagus workers. He continued to organize farm workers and was instrumental in the start of the United Farm Workers, serving as the highest-ranking Filipino American officer from 1971 to 1977.
In addition to Hawaii and Alaska, Filipino laborers were also recruited to work in the continental United States of America in the early 1900s. They had short term contracts. Their work was tough, requiring long hours and demanding physical activity. Fieldwork was back-breaking stoop labor, but they were tougher.
Life outside the fields was also difficult. Whether foreign- or native-born, Filipino Americans have been defined as non-white in the United States, defined as “other” than the majority in a way that is generally pejorative and frequently racist. The Filipino American confrontation with racism has a direct, painful, and constricting history: called ‘monkeys’ and ‘dogeaters,’ relegated to menial labor despite their qualifications, denied housing they could afford, refused professional credentials for which they qualified, forbidden to speak their language among themselves at work, and kept from enrolling in schools whose admissions requirements they met. These concepts are captured in Carlos Bulosan’s classic, America is in the Heart, where he wrote, “I came to know afterward that in many ways it was a crime to be a Filipino in California. I came to know that the public streets were not free to my people."
Missing among these freedoms was the freedom to start traditional families. Agricultural life was near absent for women. Many worked as cooks on plantations. The sex ratio in 1930 had been 14.4. males to one female. Angeles Monrayo kept a diary of her life as a young girl growing up in a strike camp in Hawai'i and later moved to central California. Through her writing, we see how Filipino families moved about and were stitched together in labor camps and other settings. It has now been published as Tomorrow’s Memoirs: A Diary, 1924–1928, where on Monday, March 5, 1928, she wrote, “Ninang, Hon, and I were hired today…Ninang and I cut spinach, we cut off the roots…We are paid 20 cents a crate. Today I finish 10 crates only, so I made $2.00 exactly…I am glad that I am working by the hour and that I made $2.00 today.”
These low wages and unfair conditions moved workers to organize laborers. These labor leaders included Pablo Manlapit (1891-1969), Chris Mensalvas (1909-1978), Philip Vera Cruz (1910-1994), Carlos Bulosan (1913-1956), and Larry Itliong (1942-1976).
One the most famous of these is Philip V. Vera Cruz, who came to the United States in 1926. Like many young persons traveling from the Philippines, Vera Cruz, dreamt of receiving a good education in the USA and becoming a lawyer. Others hoped to study religion, history, and literature. While a few did, many others had to set aside their plans to find work. Vera Cruz’s first job was as a laborer in a Washington state box factory. He moved to Chicago and Cincinnati where he worked in restaurants. The draft and army brought him to California and its agricultural industry. In 1948, he was an organizer in a key strike by Filipino asparagus workers. He continued to organize farm workers and was instrumental in the start of the United Farm Workers, serving as the highest-ranking Filipino American officer from 1971 to 1977.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Filipino Americans Leading Labor in Alaska
This eleventh day of Filipino American History Month brings another often uncelebrated part of Filipino American history—Alaskeros. Alaskeros are Filipino recruits to Alaska.
Filipino Alaskeros found work in salmon canneries, “kanarya,” in Alaska during the summer and worked along the west coast during other seasons. Alaska was a place to make “quick money,” never “easy money.” Cannery work lasted about two months and as many as 9,000 Filipino men worked at one time during peak salmon canning seasons. Many of them worked to support their families, as well as earn money to pay for higher education.
The salmon canneries, like the California grape growers, were resistant to making changes for their migrant workforce. Since its earliest days in the late 1800s, the salmon industry has depended on an abundant supply of cheap labor that could be deployed at a moment’s notice, or discharged if the salmon run was weak. The workers had to be willing to do grueling work under harsh conditions; they had to be dependable but expendable. Asian immigrants, a captive workforce with a tenuous status in America, were considered ideal and preferable to Native Alaskans, who could easily leave the canneries for home if conditions became intolerable.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 each essentially stopped immigration of Chinese and Japanese people to the United States of America. Filipinos from the Philippines became the largest available source of labor.
In the late 1930s, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrant and Asian American cannery workers attempted to develop a unit front, but the union broke down with changes in the salmon industry and the wartime internment of Japanese Americans. In its place, ethnic-specific unions competed. Because Filipinos were the main source of the cannery labor pool, their labor organizations, run by Filipino officers, emerged as the most powerful.
Two Filipino American labor leaders were Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, who took a stand against corruption within their own union. This infuriated the Filipino gangsters who ran the gambling rings in the Alaskan cannery towns–which depended on getting their gang members sent to Alaska. Viernes and Domingo had also introduced a resolution at the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) convention to oppose the martial law restrictions against workers and labor unions in the Philippines–a resolution that Marcos supporters called communist. The union leaders became subjects of death threats and surveillance. On the evening of June 1, 1981, two Filipino men with long police rap sheets entered the Local 37 ILWU office and opened fire on their targets, Silme Domingo, twenty-eight years old, and Gene Viernes, twenty-seven. The sacrifices of the Filipino American cannery workers galvanized Asian Americans. They offered another Asian American contribution to civil rights and American democracy. Asian Americans found betrayal, but also discovered a new level of political involvement.
Filipino Alaskeros found work in salmon canneries, “kanarya,” in Alaska during the summer and worked along the west coast during other seasons. Alaska was a place to make “quick money,” never “easy money.” Cannery work lasted about two months and as many as 9,000 Filipino men worked at one time during peak salmon canning seasons. Many of them worked to support their families, as well as earn money to pay for higher education.
The salmon canneries, like the California grape growers, were resistant to making changes for their migrant workforce. Since its earliest days in the late 1800s, the salmon industry has depended on an abundant supply of cheap labor that could be deployed at a moment’s notice, or discharged if the salmon run was weak. The workers had to be willing to do grueling work under harsh conditions; they had to be dependable but expendable. Asian immigrants, a captive workforce with a tenuous status in America, were considered ideal and preferable to Native Alaskans, who could easily leave the canneries for home if conditions became intolerable.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 each essentially stopped immigration of Chinese and Japanese people to the United States of America. Filipinos from the Philippines became the largest available source of labor.
In the late 1930s, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrant and Asian American cannery workers attempted to develop a unit front, but the union broke down with changes in the salmon industry and the wartime internment of Japanese Americans. In its place, ethnic-specific unions competed. Because Filipinos were the main source of the cannery labor pool, their labor organizations, run by Filipino officers, emerged as the most powerful.
Two Filipino American labor leaders were Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, who took a stand against corruption within their own union. This infuriated the Filipino gangsters who ran the gambling rings in the Alaskan cannery towns–which depended on getting their gang members sent to Alaska. Viernes and Domingo had also introduced a resolution at the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) convention to oppose the martial law restrictions against workers and labor unions in the Philippines–a resolution that Marcos supporters called communist. The union leaders became subjects of death threats and surveillance. On the evening of June 1, 1981, two Filipino men with long police rap sheets entered the Local 37 ILWU office and opened fire on their targets, Silme Domingo, twenty-eight years old, and Gene Viernes, twenty-seven. The sacrifices of the Filipino American cannery workers galvanized Asian Americans. They offered another Asian American contribution to civil rights and American democracy. Asian Americans found betrayal, but also discovered a new level of political involvement.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Planting the Roots of the Filipino American in Hawaii
This tenth day of Filipino American History Month brings a new and often uncelebrated part of Filipino American history—Sakadas. Sakadas are Filipino recruits to Hawaii.
Besides the many “moral” reasons that the United States of America (USA) wanted to have the Philippines as its colony, there were also economic reasons.
Around 1900, The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association (HSPA) needed people for manual labor. They turned to the Philippines, where there was a large rural population. They recruited from two regions, the Visayas and Ilocos, looking for “unskilled laborers” to do ten hours of manual work a day on the plantation. In December of 1906, fifteen Filipino men arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on the Doric. Eleven of them were single and four were married, all leaving behind their wives. The oldest was 56, and the youngest was 14. Five belonged to one family, headed by their father, Simplicio Gironella, and his four sons. The “First Fifteen” were sent to the Big Island of Hawaii, to Olaa Plantation, south of Hilo, and were assigned to live in the Japanese camp.
A total of 126,147 Filipinos came to Hawaii through the HSPA during four time periods between 1906 to 1946. The first period, 1906 to 1919, a total of 29,800 arrived, including 3,056 women and 2,338 children. From 1920 to 1929, the second wave of arrivals brought in 73,996, with 5,286 women and 3,091 children among them. The next groups came in 1930 to 1934, bringing in 14,760 – 610 women and 662 children. Finally, the last wave came after World War II in 1946, which drew in 7,361 Filipinos – 6,000 of which were men. The 1946 Sakadas amounted to the last major recruitment to Hawaii. These were more educated Filipinos and professionals, who brought their wives and children., mostly Ilocanos and Visayans-all indentured to a three-year contract. Within a span of 37 years, these Sakadas are known to have planted the “roots” of the Filipino experience in Hawaii.,
Sakadas were the first among Filipinos, outside of the Philippines, to experience economic oppression, superimposed poverty, overt racial bigotry, labor exploitation, social rejection, educational neglect, political disenfranchisement, societal denials, civil wrongs, and empty promises. Although they came as American nationals, they did not have full rights like American citizens.
In Hawaii, the first-generation Filipino men, women, and children were treated as the lowliest of the unskilled labor. Some Sakadas were beaten with sticks by “lunas,” or plantation work supervisors for not responding to their satisfaction. They were stereotyped as being oversexed, hot-blooded, and quick tempered. HSPA policies also discouraged bringing the wives and children of the men because they believed families on plantation wages would be costly. Moreover, higher education was not encouraged for plantation children.
Sakadas lived a life of segregation at work and on the plantations. They got the lowest jobs, and were held down as unskilled laborers for most of their lives in Hawaii. Maintaining a normal life was difficult with their wives and children back in the Philippines. Their main goal was to work hard, save money, and return home quickly to their families. The uneven men to women ratio created many social problems, including wife stealing and fighting over women. Gambling was also an issue with Filipinos, as they had hopes to “win big.”
Despite the hardships of the Sakadas, a tight community was formed among these Filipinos. Recreation such as music and basketball served as an outlet and bonding experience. Today, the Filipino American population is significant in number and many prominent individuals are of Filipino descent. It cannot be denied that Sakadas have contributed greatly to the Hawaiian economy and the unique history of life in Hawaii.
Besides the many “moral” reasons that the United States of America (USA) wanted to have the Philippines as its colony, there were also economic reasons.
Around 1900, The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association (HSPA) needed people for manual labor. They turned to the Philippines, where there was a large rural population. They recruited from two regions, the Visayas and Ilocos, looking for “unskilled laborers” to do ten hours of manual work a day on the plantation. In December of 1906, fifteen Filipino men arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on the Doric. Eleven of them were single and four were married, all leaving behind their wives. The oldest was 56, and the youngest was 14. Five belonged to one family, headed by their father, Simplicio Gironella, and his four sons. The “First Fifteen” were sent to the Big Island of Hawaii, to Olaa Plantation, south of Hilo, and were assigned to live in the Japanese camp.
A total of 126,147 Filipinos came to Hawaii through the HSPA during four time periods between 1906 to 1946. The first period, 1906 to 1919, a total of 29,800 arrived, including 3,056 women and 2,338 children. From 1920 to 1929, the second wave of arrivals brought in 73,996, with 5,286 women and 3,091 children among them. The next groups came in 1930 to 1934, bringing in 14,760 – 610 women and 662 children. Finally, the last wave came after World War II in 1946, which drew in 7,361 Filipinos – 6,000 of which were men. The 1946 Sakadas amounted to the last major recruitment to Hawaii. These were more educated Filipinos and professionals, who brought their wives and children., mostly Ilocanos and Visayans-all indentured to a three-year contract. Within a span of 37 years, these Sakadas are known to have planted the “roots” of the Filipino experience in Hawaii.,
Sakadas were the first among Filipinos, outside of the Philippines, to experience economic oppression, superimposed poverty, overt racial bigotry, labor exploitation, social rejection, educational neglect, political disenfranchisement, societal denials, civil wrongs, and empty promises. Although they came as American nationals, they did not have full rights like American citizens.
In Hawaii, the first-generation Filipino men, women, and children were treated as the lowliest of the unskilled labor. Some Sakadas were beaten with sticks by “lunas,” or plantation work supervisors for not responding to their satisfaction. They were stereotyped as being oversexed, hot-blooded, and quick tempered. HSPA policies also discouraged bringing the wives and children of the men because they believed families on plantation wages would be costly. Moreover, higher education was not encouraged for plantation children.
Sakadas lived a life of segregation at work and on the plantations. They got the lowest jobs, and were held down as unskilled laborers for most of their lives in Hawaii. Maintaining a normal life was difficult with their wives and children back in the Philippines. Their main goal was to work hard, save money, and return home quickly to their families. The uneven men to women ratio created many social problems, including wife stealing and fighting over women. Gambling was also an issue with Filipinos, as they had hopes to “win big.”
Despite the hardships of the Sakadas, a tight community was formed among these Filipinos. Recreation such as music and basketball served as an outlet and bonding experience. Today, the Filipino American population is significant in number and many prominent individuals are of Filipino descent. It cannot be denied that Sakadas have contributed greatly to the Hawaiian economy and the unique history of life in Hawaii.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Human Zoos at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
This ninth day of Filipino American History Month brings information about the infamous St. Louis World’s Fair (SLWF).
The SLWF was a 1,200 acre extravaganza with over 1,500 buildings, connected by 75 miles of roads and walkways. Over 60 countries and 43 states exhibited—among them the newly acquired colonies from the Spanish-American War.
Some of the displays were of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, and included the native inhabitants like the Apache and the Igorot, both of which were dubbed as "primitive". According to the Reverend Sequoyah Ade:
One of the exhibited Pygmies was Ota Benga, a Congolese man who was featured in a human zoo exhibit at the Bronx Zoo alongside an orangutan in 1906.
Filipinos were exhibited as uncivilized to garner more support for the taking of the Philippines as a colony. Different groups of Filipinos were separated and put behind fences, each in their own diorama like environment. For added effect, certain paddocks of Filipinos were dressed in western uniforms while neighboring ones wore bahags and other indigenous clothing.
Filipinos and monkeys raced up trees, drawing conclusions that Filipinos were less evolved than their western counterparts and promoting the concepts of human evolution and scientific racism. Filipinos roasted different animals for food and savvy businessmen and marketers took advantage of the intrigue and popularized the “hot dog.”
After the fair was completed, many of the international exhibits were not returned to their country of origin, but were dispersed to museums in the USA. For example, the Philippine exhibits were acquired by the Museum of Natural History, at the University of Iowa.
This was a time before plans flew and electricity was new. Radio and television were not household fixtures. While this event is an appalling blemish on Filipino American history, it is part of the Philippine diaspora nonetheless.
The SLWF was a 1,200 acre extravaganza with over 1,500 buildings, connected by 75 miles of roads and walkways. Over 60 countries and 43 states exhibited—among them the newly acquired colonies from the Spanish-American War.
Some of the displays were of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, and included the native inhabitants like the Apache and the Igorot, both of which were dubbed as "primitive". According to the Reverend Sequoyah Ade:
To further illustrate the indignities heaped upon the Philippine people following their eventual loss to the Americans, the United States made the Philippine campaign the centrepoint of the 1904 World's Fair held that year in St. Louis, MI [sic]. In what was enthusiastically termed a "parade of evolutionary progress," visitors could inspect the "primitives" that represented the counterbalance to "Civilisation" justifying Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden.” Pygmies from New Guinea and Africa, who were later displayed in the Primate section of the Bronx Zoo, were paraded next to American Indians such as Apache warrior Geronimo, who sold his autograph. But the main draw was the Philippine exhibit complete with full size replicas of Indigenous living quarters erected to exhibit the inherent backwardness of the Philippine people. The purpose was to highlight both the "civilising" influence of American rule and the economic potential of the island chains' natural resources on the heels of the Philippine-America War. It was, reportedly, the largest specific Aboriginal exhibit displayed in the exposition. As one pleased visitor commented, the human zoo exhibit displayed "the race narrative of odd peoples who mark time while the world advances, and of savages made, by American methods, into civilized workers."
One of the exhibited Pygmies was Ota Benga, a Congolese man who was featured in a human zoo exhibit at the Bronx Zoo alongside an orangutan in 1906.
Filipinos were exhibited as uncivilized to garner more support for the taking of the Philippines as a colony. Different groups of Filipinos were separated and put behind fences, each in their own diorama like environment. For added effect, certain paddocks of Filipinos were dressed in western uniforms while neighboring ones wore bahags and other indigenous clothing.
Filipinos and monkeys raced up trees, drawing conclusions that Filipinos were less evolved than their western counterparts and promoting the concepts of human evolution and scientific racism. Filipinos roasted different animals for food and savvy businessmen and marketers took advantage of the intrigue and popularized the “hot dog.”
After the fair was completed, many of the international exhibits were not returned to their country of origin, but were dispersed to museums in the USA. For example, the Philippine exhibits were acquired by the Museum of Natural History, at the University of Iowa.
This was a time before plans flew and electricity was new. Radio and television were not household fixtures. While this event is an appalling blemish on Filipino American history, it is part of the Philippine diaspora nonetheless.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Filipino American Scholarship
This eighth day of Filipino American History Month brings information about Filipino American scholarship. As you know, the benevolent assimilation rhetoric was scattered throughout the policies related to the Philippines during the early twentieth century. In the Philippines, teachers came over from the United States of America and fanned out around all the islands. Filipinos were taught English, how to brush their teeth, and how to say their prayers. At the same time, many Filipinos came to the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century to go to school as pensionados, government-sponsored student traveling from the Philippines to the United States.
Established in 1903, the pensionado program provided government scholarships to students supposedly chosen by merit from each Philippine province; in actuality, local prominence and connections played a major role in the selection process. In return for each year of education in the United States, pensionados were required to work for the government in the Philippines for the same length of time.
The pensionado project lasted officially from 1903 to 1910. More than 200 Filipino students, eight of whom were women, were sponsored by the American colonial government and studied in U.S. schools such as University of California at Berkeley, University of Washington, Cornell, Notre Dame, Purdue, Yale, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, George Washington, Iowa, Ohio State Michigan State, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others. Some attended technical and vocational schools, while a few first enrolled in high school.
Established in 1903, the pensionado program provided government scholarships to students supposedly chosen by merit from each Philippine province; in actuality, local prominence and connections played a major role in the selection process. In return for each year of education in the United States, pensionados were required to work for the government in the Philippines for the same length of time.
The pensionado project lasted officially from 1903 to 1910. More than 200 Filipino students, eight of whom were women, were sponsored by the American colonial government and studied in U.S. schools such as University of California at Berkeley, University of Washington, Cornell, Notre Dame, Purdue, Yale, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, George Washington, Iowa, Ohio State Michigan State, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others. Some attended technical and vocational schools, while a few first enrolled in high school.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Benevolent Assimilation and Paternalistic Racism
On the seventh day of Filipino American History Month, it is a pleasure to share the following Filipino American history.
As early as December 21, 1898, President William McKinley set the tone for how the government of the United States of America viewed the Philippines and its people. On that day, he proclaimed:
While the government of the United States of America declared the Philippine-American War over by 1902, guerilla resistance movements against the American occupation continued until 1913.
"Little Brown Brother" was a term used by Americans to refer to Filipinos. The term was coined by William Howard Taft, the first American Governor-General of the Philippines (1901-1904) and later the 27th President of the United States. The term was not originally intended to be derogatory, nor an ethnic slur.
Taft told President McKinley that "our little brown brothers" would need "fifty or one hundred years" (note that the Philippines became independent of the United States of America in 1946, about 50 years after the Philippines was ceded by Spain) of close supervision "to develop anything resembling Anglo-Saxon political principles and skills. Fillipinos (sic) are moved by similar considerations to those which move other men." The phrase "Little Brown Brother" drew some sneers from both Americans and Filipinos, however, due to the bloodshed of the Philippine-American War.
During this same time period, Rudyard Kipling published a poem in 1899, entitled “The White Man’s Burden.” The subtitle was “The United States and the Philippine Islands.” The term is often interpreted to mean that White people have an obligation to rule over and encourage the cultural development of people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds until they can take their place in the world by fully adopting Western ways.
These concepts were all aligned with the ideology of manifest destiny, that the United States was destined, even divinely ordained, to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean and beyond. Altogether, in the words of historian Creighton Miller, they were a reflection of "paternalist racism," which has arguably echoed into the present-day.
Happy Filipino American History Month!
As early as December 21, 1898, President William McKinley set the tone for how the government of the United States of America viewed the Philippines and its people. On that day, he proclaimed:
…it should be the earnest wish and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants of the Philippines by assuring them in every possible way that full measure of individual rights and liberties which is the heritage of free peoples, and by proving to them that the mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation substituting the mild sway of justice and right for arbitrary rule. In the fulfillment of this high mission, supporting the temperate administration of affairs for the greatest good of the governed, there must be sedulously maintained the strong arm of authority, to repress disturbance and to overcome all obstacles to the bestowal of the blessings of good and stable government upon the people of the Philippine Islands under the free flag of the United States.
While the government of the United States of America declared the Philippine-American War over by 1902, guerilla resistance movements against the American occupation continued until 1913.
"Little Brown Brother" was a term used by Americans to refer to Filipinos. The term was coined by William Howard Taft, the first American Governor-General of the Philippines (1901-1904) and later the 27th President of the United States. The term was not originally intended to be derogatory, nor an ethnic slur.
Taft told President McKinley that "our little brown brothers" would need "fifty or one hundred years" (note that the Philippines became independent of the United States of America in 1946, about 50 years after the Philippines was ceded by Spain) of close supervision "to develop anything resembling Anglo-Saxon political principles and skills. Fillipinos (sic) are moved by similar considerations to those which move other men." The phrase "Little Brown Brother" drew some sneers from both Americans and Filipinos, however, due to the bloodshed of the Philippine-American War.
During this same time period, Rudyard Kipling published a poem in 1899, entitled “The White Man’s Burden.” The subtitle was “The United States and the Philippine Islands.” The term is often interpreted to mean that White people have an obligation to rule over and encourage the cultural development of people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds until they can take their place in the world by fully adopting Western ways.
These concepts were all aligned with the ideology of manifest destiny, that the United States was destined, even divinely ordained, to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean and beyond. Altogether, in the words of historian Creighton Miller, they were a reflection of "paternalist racism," which has arguably echoed into the present-day.
Happy Filipino American History Month!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Philippine-American War
As you know, Philippine rebels had been waging guerrilla warfare against Spanish colonialism long before the United States of America became involved. Their exiled leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, met with the American consul in Singapore as the U.S. Army headed towards the Philippines. Admiral Dewey invited Aguinaldo back to the Philippines in hopes he could provide intelligence regarding the defenses of Manila Bay. At the same time, Aguinaldo believed the USA would help the Philippines gain independence from Spain. However, the USA betrayed that trust.
When Spain began losing against the Filipino people, they opted to surrender to American forces and staged a mock battle to appear as if America beat Spain and won the Philippines. This suited Spain; it would rather award victory to the USA, than to the Philippines, who were former "captives" of their rule.
Immediately after these events, Filipino leader Aguinaldo declared war against America, beginning the Philippine-American War. American forces and leaders lobbied the American public for support, justifying that America's claim over the Philippines would bring forth democracy. The media fueled support for control of the Philippines, through propaganda in the form of sensational stories and illustrations with racist captions. Many of these illustrations can be seen in the book entitled The Forbidden Book: The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons, by Abe Ignacio, Enrique de la Cruz, Jorge Emmanuel, and the late Helen Toribio.
Anti-imperialists like author Mark Twain questioned this approach because it denied Filipinos basic rights such as self-government. However, pro-imperialists won out in the end.
The effects of imperialism were seen in the education and immigration policies implemented by the United States. These policies appeared to benefit the Philippines, but actually served America’s purposes. Filipino identity, values, and traditions were lost and agricultural labor was exploited for America’s gain. Many of these policies have effects that last until today.
Among the American soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War were Black soldiers who were part of segregated Black infantry regiments. After fighting in the Indian wars in the 19th century, they were given the nickname “Buffalo Soldiers” by Native Americans. Companies from the segregated Black infantry regiments reported to the Presidio of San Francisco on their way to the Philippines in early 1899.
All four Black regiments—the 24th and 25th Infantry regiments and the 9th and 10th Cavalry—and Black national guardsmen were sent into the war against the Philippine nationalists.
Within the Black community in the USA there was considerable opposition to intervention in the Philippines. Many Black newspaper articles and leaders supported the idea of Filipino independence and felt that it was wrong for the USA to subjugate non-whites in the development of what was perceived to be the beginnings of a colonial empire. Among them were Ida Wells-Barnett, Bishop Henry M. Turner characterized the venture in the Philippines as "an unholy war of conquest."
At the same time, many Blacks felt a good military showing by Black troops in the Philippines would reflect favorably and enhance their cause in the United States.
The service of the cavalry in the Philippines was described as daily and nightly patrols by small detachments commanded by junior officers or sergeants. Troops often encountered bands armed with captured Spanish and American guns and bolos.
As the war progressed, many Black soldiers increasingly felt they were being used in an unjust racial war. The Filipino insurgents subjected Black soldiers to psychological warfare, using propaganda encouraging them to desert. Posters and leaflets addressed to "The Colored American Soldier" described the lynching and discrimination against Blacks in the USA and discouraged them from being the instrument of their White masters' ambitions to oppress another "people of color." Blacks who deserted to the Filipino nationalist cause would be welcomed and given positions of responsibility.
A large reason for the growing sense of injustice were the wartime atrocities that took place. One infamous atrocity took place in Samar, where General Jacob Hurd Smith ordered his soldiers to kill every one over ten.
During the war in the Philippines, fifteen U.S. soldiers, six of them Black, would defect to Aguinaldo. One of the Black deserters, Private David Fagen became notorious as a "Insurecto Captain," and was apparently so successful fighting American soldiers that a price of $600 was placed on his head. The bounty was collected by a Filipino defector who brought in Fagen's decomposed head.
A Black newspaper, the Indianapolis Freeman, editorialized in December, 1901, "Fagen was a traitor and died a traitor's death, but he was a man no doubt prompted by honest motives to help a weakened side, and one he felt allied by bonds that bind.
The sentiments of most Black soldiers in the Philippines would be summed up by Commissary Sergeant Middleton W. Saddler of the 25th Infantry, who wrote, "We are now arrayed to meet a common foe, men of our own hue and color. Whether it is right to reduce these people to submission is not a question for soldiers to decide. Our oaths of allegiance know neither race, color, nor nation."
Resistance finally collapsed with the capture of independence leader Aguinaldo and the eventual wearing down of the indigenous fighters by the better armed American soldiers.
Following the war, Buffalo Soldier regiments continued to serve at a series of army posts in the United States, Hawaii, and the Philippines. Those soldiers that remained in the Philippines would marry Filipinos. One of these stories is told in Twenty-five Chickens and a Pig for a Bride: Growing up in a Filipino Immigrant Family, by Evangeline Canonizado Buell. Her grandfather, Ernest Stokes was a Buffalo Soldier.
All of these interactions plunged the Philippines and the United States of America into a deeper web of interconnectedness.
When Spain began losing against the Filipino people, they opted to surrender to American forces and staged a mock battle to appear as if America beat Spain and won the Philippines. This suited Spain; it would rather award victory to the USA, than to the Philippines, who were former "captives" of their rule.
Immediately after these events, Filipino leader Aguinaldo declared war against America, beginning the Philippine-American War. American forces and leaders lobbied the American public for support, justifying that America's claim over the Philippines would bring forth democracy. The media fueled support for control of the Philippines, through propaganda in the form of sensational stories and illustrations with racist captions. Many of these illustrations can be seen in the book entitled The Forbidden Book: The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons, by Abe Ignacio, Enrique de la Cruz, Jorge Emmanuel, and the late Helen Toribio.
Anti-imperialists like author Mark Twain questioned this approach because it denied Filipinos basic rights such as self-government. However, pro-imperialists won out in the end.
The effects of imperialism were seen in the education and immigration policies implemented by the United States. These policies appeared to benefit the Philippines, but actually served America’s purposes. Filipino identity, values, and traditions were lost and agricultural labor was exploited for America’s gain. Many of these policies have effects that last until today.
Among the American soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War were Black soldiers who were part of segregated Black infantry regiments. After fighting in the Indian wars in the 19th century, they were given the nickname “Buffalo Soldiers” by Native Americans. Companies from the segregated Black infantry regiments reported to the Presidio of San Francisco on their way to the Philippines in early 1899.
All four Black regiments—the 24th and 25th Infantry regiments and the 9th and 10th Cavalry—and Black national guardsmen were sent into the war against the Philippine nationalists.
Within the Black community in the USA there was considerable opposition to intervention in the Philippines. Many Black newspaper articles and leaders supported the idea of Filipino independence and felt that it was wrong for the USA to subjugate non-whites in the development of what was perceived to be the beginnings of a colonial empire. Among them were Ida Wells-Barnett, Bishop Henry M. Turner characterized the venture in the Philippines as "an unholy war of conquest."
At the same time, many Blacks felt a good military showing by Black troops in the Philippines would reflect favorably and enhance their cause in the United States.
The service of the cavalry in the Philippines was described as daily and nightly patrols by small detachments commanded by junior officers or sergeants. Troops often encountered bands armed with captured Spanish and American guns and bolos.
As the war progressed, many Black soldiers increasingly felt they were being used in an unjust racial war. The Filipino insurgents subjected Black soldiers to psychological warfare, using propaganda encouraging them to desert. Posters and leaflets addressed to "The Colored American Soldier" described the lynching and discrimination against Blacks in the USA and discouraged them from being the instrument of their White masters' ambitions to oppress another "people of color." Blacks who deserted to the Filipino nationalist cause would be welcomed and given positions of responsibility.
A large reason for the growing sense of injustice were the wartime atrocities that took place. One infamous atrocity took place in Samar, where General Jacob Hurd Smith ordered his soldiers to kill every one over ten.
During the war in the Philippines, fifteen U.S. soldiers, six of them Black, would defect to Aguinaldo. One of the Black deserters, Private David Fagen became notorious as a "Insurecto Captain," and was apparently so successful fighting American soldiers that a price of $600 was placed on his head. The bounty was collected by a Filipino defector who brought in Fagen's decomposed head.
A Black newspaper, the Indianapolis Freeman, editorialized in December, 1901, "Fagen was a traitor and died a traitor's death, but he was a man no doubt prompted by honest motives to help a weakened side, and one he felt allied by bonds that bind.
The sentiments of most Black soldiers in the Philippines would be summed up by Commissary Sergeant Middleton W. Saddler of the 25th Infantry, who wrote, "We are now arrayed to meet a common foe, men of our own hue and color. Whether it is right to reduce these people to submission is not a question for soldiers to decide. Our oaths of allegiance know neither race, color, nor nation."
Resistance finally collapsed with the capture of independence leader Aguinaldo and the eventual wearing down of the indigenous fighters by the better armed American soldiers.
Following the war, Buffalo Soldier regiments continued to serve at a series of army posts in the United States, Hawaii, and the Philippines. Those soldiers that remained in the Philippines would marry Filipinos. One of these stories is told in Twenty-five Chickens and a Pig for a Bride: Growing up in a Filipino Immigrant Family, by Evangeline Canonizado Buell. Her grandfather, Ernest Stokes was a Buffalo Soldier.
All of these interactions plunged the Philippines and the United States of America into a deeper web of interconnectedness.
Monday, October 5, 2009
The Roots of the Philippine-American Relationship
The Philippines and the United States of America have a deeply tangled history together. The first cooperative endeavor between the Philippines and the United States of America was during the years when they shared a common enemy—Spain. From August 1896 to June 12, 1898, the Philippine revolutionary forces—Kataastaasang, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Katipunan)—mounted a revolution against Spain, which had colonized the Philippines for over 300 years.
With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War on April 25, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo unofficially allied with the United States of America and continued hostilities against the Spaniards. By June, the rebels had conquered nearly all Spanish-held grounds within the Philippines with the exception of Manila. On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain and the First Philippine Republic was established. However, neither Spain nor the United States of America recognized Philippine independence. Spanish rule in the islands only officially ended with the Treaty of Paris on August 12, 1898, wherein Spain ceded the Philippines and other territories to the United States. The Philippine-American War broke out shortly afterward, the outcome of growing patriotism, deferred dreams, ongoing frustration, unclear communications, and broken trust.
Today, the Philippines and the United States continue to maintain a complicated relationship with one another, for better or for worse.
With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War on April 25, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo unofficially allied with the United States of America and continued hostilities against the Spaniards. By June, the rebels had conquered nearly all Spanish-held grounds within the Philippines with the exception of Manila. On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain and the First Philippine Republic was established. However, neither Spain nor the United States of America recognized Philippine independence. Spanish rule in the islands only officially ended with the Treaty of Paris on August 12, 1898, wherein Spain ceded the Philippines and other territories to the United States. The Philippine-American War broke out shortly afterward, the outcome of growing patriotism, deferred dreams, ongoing frustration, unclear communications, and broken trust.
Today, the Philippines and the United States continue to maintain a complicated relationship with one another, for better or for worse.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
American History From Another Perspective
The uniqueness, importance, and relevance of Filipino American History Month cannot be emphasized enough.
As you know, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer commissioned by Spain, is the first European to arrive in what is now the Philippines. In the Battle of Maktan, Lapu Lapu killed Magellan and became the first native Filipino chieftain to successfully resist foreign rule.
The story begins with Enrique, a slave who was bought in Malacca (area in Malaysia). He confirmed Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan’s belief that there was land beyond Malacca. Enrique was eventually brought before the King of Spain to explore the trade routes near the Philippines with Magellan's expedition.
When Magellan landed on what is now known as the Philippines in 1521, he became an ally of Datu (Chieftain) Humabon of Cebu. Humabon and his queen, Juana, were converted to Christianity, along with 400 other subjects. Magellan planted a cross (known as “Magellan’s Cross”) and gave Queen Juana a statue of the Santo Niño (Child Jesus) to commemorate the event.
It was not until 1565 that explorer Miguel Legazpi formally conquered the Philippines in the name of Spain.
Another challenge to history is credit is given to Magellan for being the first to circumnavigate (go around) the world. But actually, it was Enrique who was the first because he had traveled to many regions before becoming the slave of Magellan!
Filipinos did not willingly accept Spanish conquest. Within over 300 years of Spanish colonization, there were 81 recorded accounts of revolts around the islands. One famous revolt was led by a woman named Gabriela Silang, who continued the “Ilocos Revolt” in 1763 after her husband died. Ideas of freedom and self-determination were present in the Filipino people, and this desire for independence and justice against unfair an unfair Spanish system was the background for Filipino leaders of the Philippine Revolution.
In addition to Filipinos escaping their lives on galleons by landing in Morro Bay (1587) and Louisiana (1760), two men from “Manilla” applied for Hawaiian citizenship. Hawaii was a sovereign nation with a legitimate government at that time. Hawaii would ultimately be annexed by the United States in 1893 with the overthrow of its government.
These are all examples of the multi-faceted and intermingled histories of Filipinos, Americans, and Filipino Americans. All these events contribute to the fabric of a different view of America—a Filipino America. History, tragically, is often taught from one perspective. It is the aim of events like Filipino American History Month and ethnic studies programs and departments to illuminate other perspectives.
As you know, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer commissioned by Spain, is the first European to arrive in what is now the Philippines. In the Battle of Maktan, Lapu Lapu killed Magellan and became the first native Filipino chieftain to successfully resist foreign rule.
The story begins with Enrique, a slave who was bought in Malacca (area in Malaysia). He confirmed Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan’s belief that there was land beyond Malacca. Enrique was eventually brought before the King of Spain to explore the trade routes near the Philippines with Magellan's expedition.
When Magellan landed on what is now known as the Philippines in 1521, he became an ally of Datu (Chieftain) Humabon of Cebu. Humabon and his queen, Juana, were converted to Christianity, along with 400 other subjects. Magellan planted a cross (known as “Magellan’s Cross”) and gave Queen Juana a statue of the Santo Niño (Child Jesus) to commemorate the event.
It was not until 1565 that explorer Miguel Legazpi formally conquered the Philippines in the name of Spain.
Another challenge to history is credit is given to Magellan for being the first to circumnavigate (go around) the world. But actually, it was Enrique who was the first because he had traveled to many regions before becoming the slave of Magellan!
Filipinos did not willingly accept Spanish conquest. Within over 300 years of Spanish colonization, there were 81 recorded accounts of revolts around the islands. One famous revolt was led by a woman named Gabriela Silang, who continued the “Ilocos Revolt” in 1763 after her husband died. Ideas of freedom and self-determination were present in the Filipino people, and this desire for independence and justice against unfair an unfair Spanish system was the background for Filipino leaders of the Philippine Revolution.
In addition to Filipinos escaping their lives on galleons by landing in Morro Bay (1587) and Louisiana (1760), two men from “Manilla” applied for Hawaiian citizenship. Hawaii was a sovereign nation with a legitimate government at that time. Hawaii would ultimately be annexed by the United States in 1893 with the overthrow of its government.
These are all examples of the multi-faceted and intermingled histories of Filipinos, Americans, and Filipino Americans. All these events contribute to the fabric of a different view of America—a Filipino America. History, tragically, is often taught from one perspective. It is the aim of events like Filipino American History Month and ethnic studies programs and departments to illuminate other perspectives.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Building Filipino American Community
On the third day of Filipino American History Month (FANHS), I proudly write about Louisiana manilamen. ”Manilamen” or Filipino sailors - veterans of the Manila galleon trade (1565-1815) contributed to the shrimp harvesting industry in southern Louisiana by pioneering methods for separating the heads from the shells of dried shrimp.
The earliest permanent Filipino Americans to arrive in the New World landed in 1763, later creating settlements such as Saint Malo, Louisiana and Manila Village in Barataria Bay. These early settlements were composed of formerly pressed sailors escaping from the arduous duties aboard Spansh galleons and were "discovered" in America in 1883 by a Harper's Weekly journalist.
Settlements such as Manila Village in Jefferson Parish and St. Malo in St. Bernard Parish were founded in the mid-nineteenth century and became home to Filipino sailors and laborers. With houses plat-formed on stilts, the fishermen caught and dried their precious commodity, shrimp, for export to Asia, Canada, South and Central America. Weather conditions eventually destroyed St. Malo in 1915 and Manila Village in 1965
On July 24, 1870, the Spanish-speaking residents of St. Malo founded the first Filipino social club called Sociedad de Beneficencia de los Hispano Filipinos to provide relief and support for the group’s members, including the purchasing of a burial places for their deceased.
At the turn of this century, Louisiana was already home of several hundred Filipinos, with over two thousand of the Manilamen in the New Orleans community alone. Inaccurately, the census of 1910 had set the Filipino population in the United States at the low figure of only 160.
The Filipino Cajuns can trace their roots eight generations with many descendants still living in Louisiana today.
The earliest permanent Filipino Americans to arrive in the New World landed in 1763, later creating settlements such as Saint Malo, Louisiana and Manila Village in Barataria Bay. These early settlements were composed of formerly pressed sailors escaping from the arduous duties aboard Spansh galleons and were "discovered" in America in 1883 by a Harper's Weekly journalist.
Settlements such as Manila Village in Jefferson Parish and St. Malo in St. Bernard Parish were founded in the mid-nineteenth century and became home to Filipino sailors and laborers. With houses plat-formed on stilts, the fishermen caught and dried their precious commodity, shrimp, for export to Asia, Canada, South and Central America. Weather conditions eventually destroyed St. Malo in 1915 and Manila Village in 1965
On July 24, 1870, the Spanish-speaking residents of St. Malo founded the first Filipino social club called Sociedad de Beneficencia de los Hispano Filipinos to provide relief and support for the group’s members, including the purchasing of a burial places for their deceased.
At the turn of this century, Louisiana was already home of several hundred Filipinos, with over two thousand of the Manilamen in the New Orleans community alone. Inaccurately, the census of 1910 had set the Filipino population in the United States at the low figure of only 160.
The Filipino Cajuns can trace their roots eight generations with many descendants still living in Louisiana today.
First Contact
October is Filipino American History Month (FAHM). In honor of FAHM, I am proud to share the following information about a little known aspect of Filipino American history.
The first recorded arrival of Filipinos in what is now Morro Bay, California was on October 18, 1587, as sailors and crewmen on the Spanish galleons of the Manila-Acapulco Mercantile.
On October 21, 1995 the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) unveiled a plaque commemorating the landing of these first Filipinos in California. The Morro Bay Celebration Edition of the FANHS newsletter Generations (Fall 1995) said in part:
“After a year of planning and fund raising activities, California Central Coast Chapter will dedicate a national historical marker to commemorate the landing of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Esperanza in Morro Bay on Oct. 18, 1587. This marked the first presence of Filipinos (referred to in the ship’s logs as Luzones Indios) in the continental United States.”
The first recorded arrival of Filipinos in what is now Morro Bay, California was on October 18, 1587, as sailors and crewmen on the Spanish galleons of the Manila-Acapulco Mercantile.
On October 21, 1995 the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) unveiled a plaque commemorating the landing of these first Filipinos in California. The Morro Bay Celebration Edition of the FANHS newsletter Generations (Fall 1995) said in part:
“After a year of planning and fund raising activities, California Central Coast Chapter will dedicate a national historical marker to commemorate the landing of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Esperanza in Morro Bay on Oct. 18, 1587. This marked the first presence of Filipinos (referred to in the ship’s logs as Luzones Indios) in the continental United States.”
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Happy Filipino American History Month
Today marks the first day of Filipino American History Month (FAHM). It is recognized during the month of October. The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) first declared Filipino American History Month in 1988. In California, Washington, and Hawaii, where a large number of Filipino Americans reside, the state government has taken steps to statutorily establish FAHM.
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