Sunday Read: Social activism will be the theme for this year's Filipino American History Month

As the United States struggle through the throes of racial reckoning, the economic downturn and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) has chosen to link today's national unrest to the celebration of Filipino American History Month this October.

The Filipino American History Month 2020 theme is "The History of Filipino American Activism."

The history of the Philippines and Filipino America are full of examples of Filipinos standing up against colonial oppressors, harsh working conditions, or good ol' American racism who mistook the Filipino traditions of welcoming strangers to one's table, generosity and bahala na attitude as acquiescence and surrender.

"We believe this theme is particularly crucial in 2020, as it is a key election year and we are living amidst a pandemic and mass movement towards racial justice," said a statement from FANHS, which was founded by Dorothy Cordova and her late husband, Fred Cordova in Seattle. Since its founding in 1982, the society has grown to 33 chapters across the North American continent and Hawaii. 

FANHS chose the theme to highlight the myriad ways Filipino Americans have participated in social justice movements, including but not limited to, the United Farmworkers Movement, the fight for Ethnic Studies, Hawaii Sugar Plantation strikes, Washington Yakima strikes, and Anti-Martial Law Movements across multiple decades.

"We honor the history of Filipino American solidarity with other communities in their fights for our equity and justice, including the Black Lives Matter Movement, American Indian Movement, Civil Rights and Voting Rights, Women’s Rights, LGBTQ Rights, and Environmental Justice," states a FANHS press release. 

The organization will also use the them to recognize the advocacy of Filipino American healthcare workers who are actively protecting, caring and fighting against the global pandemic.

I'm not sure where the stereotype of the meek and subservient Asian came from, but I suspect it was the dominant culture's attempt to tamp down further activism, resentment or resistance. 

The historical society also notes that 2020 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Filipino American Far West Convention in Seattle, whose overarching theme was EMERGENCE and is credited in part as the start of the Filipino American movement among young people. This year also marks the 75th anniversary of The Battle of Luzon in the Philippines – one of the bloodiest battles of World War II; it is also the 90th anniversary of the Watsonville Riots of 1930 -- a forerunner to labor organizing among farmworkers.

"Thus, we encourage all of our chapters and communities to reflect on decades of Filipino American activism, in order to inspire and foster our civic responsibility in the Filipino American community," states FAHNS.

NBC

Filipino Americans flocked to join recent demonstrations supporting the equal justice and the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd.

FAHNS suggests some possible activities related to “History of Filipino American Activism” might be:

• Organize online panels about BLM/Anti-Racism and the Filipinx community.
• Share how Filipino American history is intertwined with the Black American history.
• Interview community organizers talk about their work in solidarity with BLM, LGBTQ Rights, Women’s Rights, etc.
• Conduct oral histories with Filipino American activists from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
• Revive Filipino American political action groups to get out the vote.
• Highlight a form of pin@y activism every single day of the month.
• Organize children’s book reading for Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong by Dawn Bohulano Mabalon & Gayle Romasanta.
• Collect articles about Filipinos and healthcare as well as articles about community members we have lost and re-share links and recordings during FAHM.
• Conduct FAHM video memes of nurses, doctors, and caregivers in our lives who can do “mini-interviews” or snippets about their experiences in the 60s and 70s OR what it has been like to work during the COVID pandemic.

The celebration of Filipino American History Month in October commemorates the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the continental United States, which occurred on October 18, 1587, when “Luzones Indios” came ashore from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Esperanza and landed at what is now Morro Bay, California.