For the US Census, Filipino Americans once again face that question of identity

DIOKNO

A Filipino American family with six generations reflects America.

OPINION

With the US Census mailing out their questionnaires this week to all US households (and even those without households), Filipino Americans will once again confront that recurring question of "what the heck am I?"

The US Census is taking place as required by the Constitution. Every ten years the government must count all the people living within its borders, citizens, greencard holders, those here on a special visa and those who here without proper documentation. Everyone!

One of the questions the Census is asking for is the respondent's race or ethnicity. That's a tougher question for some than for others.

Information on race is required for many Federal programs and is critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights and voting rights. States use these data to meet legislative redistricting principles. Race data also are used to promote equal employment and educational opportunities and to assess racial disparities in health and environmental risks.Among Asians, Filipinos are probably the most racially fluid. Undoubtedly, some old-timers with Hispanic surnames will include themselves as Hispanic. Some super-patriotic ex-military-types will skip the question because they proudly think of themselves as "American."

For my fellow Filipino Americans and Filipinos living in the US, this year should be a no-brainer. The Census makes it easy for those questioning their identity, there's a box for "Filipino." Check it!

Since 1960, people were allowed to choose their own race. This year’s Census will have the same categories for people of Asian descent it used in 2010: “Chinese,” “Japanese,” “Filipino,” “Korean,” “Asian Indian,” “Vietnamese,” and “Other Asian.”

Personally, I go by the one-drop rule, but I leave that up to the individual for whatever you feel comfortable with. Hell, under my definition, even Hailee Steinfeld, who claims 1/16th Filipino heritage and has not yet played a Filipino in any of her movie roles, can mark down "Filipino." The more the merrier, I say. 

(That's not a knock on Hailee. For the record, she says she'd love to play a Filipino in honor of her grandfather, but she's never been offered a script that calls for her to play a Filipino.)

AM I REALLY FILIPINO?

Oh, I know there are those haughty purists out there who would reject my identity because I don't speak a Filipino dialect, or that I was raised in the US, or I speak English without an American accent.  They'd likely tell me, "You're not a real Filipino," whatever "real" means. 

To hell with them. That's their problem.

It took awhile, but growing up in the multi-cultural California,  decided long ago that I am a  Filipino. They don''t know about the slurs I suffered growing up.  They don't know the times I was left out, the times I was marginalized, forgotten, rejected, passed over or ignored ... all because of the color of my skin or my ethnicity.

Some years ago, a cousin immigrated to the US from Manila. College-educated, young, hip. After awhile, he joined a local Filipino folkdance group. 

He told me, "in the Philippines I never would have joined such a group. I never would have learned to dance the tinikling," or consider joining a folk dance troupe. He had always took for granted being Filipino. In the Philippines, he never had to think about or choosing to be Filipino.

So, like me, he arrived at the moment where he had to define himself in this new land. Our journeys may have taken different paths but we both arrived at the same conclusion: Instead of being ashamed or rejecting his heritage, he chose to embrace being Filipino.

During the 70s when the Asian American civil rights movement was in its infancy, the question always arose: Are Filipinos Asian or Pacific Islander?

Geographically and if you trace the DNA of Polynesians, Filipinos can identify as both. At some point during an ice age, the Philippines was connected to main land mass of Asia when the adventurous found their way there.

There are also recent studies from the University of Adelaide that says the Philippines could be the ancestral homeland of the Polynesians, whose forebears colonized the Pacific about 3,200 years ago. 

The Census doesn't take into account the polyglot nature of Filipinos. Three hundred years of Spanish rule and a half-century being told that America is the gold standard for civilization. Because of its geographical location along ocean trade routes, there has been a steady stream of Chinese immigrant traders and merchants, South Asians have been going to the Philippines just as long, remnants of the Vietnamese refugees and Japanese military and economic incursions. And you can't discount the back-and-forth from Indonesia and Borneo seafarers who for centuries have been crossing the oceans like forever to visit relatives irrespective of political boundaries.

That's been a recurring theme in Philippine history: Take what the newcomer brings to the table, give it a local twist and the adaptive process changes both groups of people -- the immigrant and the indigenous folk -- culturally, linguistically, gastronomically or physically. 

In this respect, Filipinos and the Philippines are a lot like Americans and the US. With the waves of immigrants from around the world, the default image of an American should no longer be the white American male. Like Americans (should see themselves), the Filipino is the sum total of all these influences.

TWITTER

Actress Hailee Steinfeld, left, and her mother Cheri Doomain-Steinfeld.

HOW TO ANSWER IF YOU'RE OF MIXED HERITAGE

It gets a bit more complicated if you're of more than one racial heritage, ie the aforementioned Hailee, but the same question also faces Filipino American celebrities such as Darren Criss, H.E.R., Asia Jackson, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dave Bautista, Vanessa Hudgens, Jordan Clarkson, Sharon Leal, Enrique Iglesias and Bruno Mars among others. 

The Census allows you to check more than one box. And if your racial heritage doesn't have a box. you can write in the missing ethnicity or race. The Census Bureau projects that the US's multiracial population will triple by 2060. In other words, about 1 in 5 Americans will identify themselves as multiracial so don't think you're alone if you're uncertain.

The Census allows the responder to self-identify. Here is what the Census has to say for those with multiple racial or ethnic origins:

An individual’s response to the race question is based upon self-identification. The Census Bureau does not tell individuals which boxes to mark or what heritage to write in. For the first time in Census 2000, individuals were presented with the option to self-identify with more than one race and this continues with the 2010 Census. People who identify with more than one race may choose to provide multiple races in response to the race question. For example, if a respondent identifies as "Asian" and "White," they may respond to the question on race by checking the appropriate boxes that describe their racial identities and/or writing in these identities on the spaces provided.

Unfortunately, there are full-blooded Filipinos on Guam and Hawaii who will mark down Chamorro or Hawaiian. Nothing wrong with that if that's how you identify, but don't forget to include to write in Filipino, too.

The question on race and ethnicity appears in the 2020 Census questionnaire.

Getting an accurate count is important for political purposes, for health data, economic and educational opportunities and representation in the general culture. We're here and we want acknowledgement of our presence and our needs.

Just to be clear, when the US Census asks what ethnicity you are, if you have any trace of Filipino blood in you, please check "Filipino." Do NOT Check "Other" or write in "Pacific Islander."

Though my family's roots are from the Philippines, our relatives in the US extend through a multitude of races and runs the spectrum of all shades of beige, black and brown. That talent of adaptation and transformation is America, but Filipinos have been doing it longer.

In a 2019 interview, Haliee said, “I have Filipino blood in me and I’m so proud of that." So Hailee, which box will you check?

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.