ICE releases Filipino American mother after 8 months in detention

SCREEN CAPTURE

Alma Bowman is released from ICE detention.

After spending most of the year in ICE custody, a Filipino American woman is celebrating  Thanksgiving at home surrounded by family and supporters.

Alma Bowman was released from the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, and reunited with her family after spending eight months detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). 

“We are so thrilled that (Bowman) has been released from detention and has regained her freedom,” said Samantha Hamilton, the attorney from Asian American Advancing Justice who represented Bowman..

 "And we are once again inspired by Alma, who fought tirelessly for her release and for the release of dozens of other women who she has met during the last eight months that she has been in Stewart — a place she never should have been in in the first place,” said Filipino American lawyer Hamilton.

On March 26, 2025, Bowman attended her routine yearly check-in at the ICE Atlanta Field Office in a wheelchair, with her two children, legal team, and a crowd of supporters. Inside, ICE officers told her that she needed to be taken downstairs and separated from her attorney to be fingerprinted. But instead of being fingerprinted, she was detained and sent to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.

Bowman has lived in Macon, Georgia, for nearly 50 years. Her father was a US citizen serving in the US Navy when he met Alma’s mother in the Philippines, where Alma was born.

“I always thought that I was a citizen of the United States,” Bowman said. She was married to a US citizen, whom she is separated from.

As the daughter of a US-citizen father, she should have acquired citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) of 1952. But the US government has repeatedly refused to recognize Bowman’s citizenship, leading to her being detained by ICE, exposing the ongoing implications of an arcane and racist law according to Advancing Justice-Atlanta.

FYI:Alma Bowman's case could affect thousands of US citizens born overseas.

Bowman was previously detained by ICE from 2017 to 2020 at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, a facility known for its documented human rights abuses against people in immigration detention. While detained at Irwin, she helped expose abuse by a doctor who was performing non-consensual gynecological procedures on immigrant women, bringing international spotlight to Georgia. Alma was released on an order of supervision in December 2020. Nevertheless, she was detained again by ICE, highlighting the cruelties of a broken and inhumane system.

Since being re-detained in March, Bowman has tirelessly fought her unjust detention and for the government to recognize her citizenship. On July 30, 2025, she filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the US District Court for the Middle District of Georgia arguing that her detention was unconstitutional and seeking her immediate release. She is represented by Advancing Justice-Atlanta and the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Alma’s adult children, Chris and John Mitchell, are eager to welcome their mother back home. “We are super excited that moomin gets to come home. It would have been another sad Thanksgiving without her. The plan is to get her some good home cooking and make sure she's comfortable while catching her up on all she's missed. We are still worried about the status of her ongoing case, but at least she will be with family instead of locked away while in this limbo.”

Bowman’s legal team is also celebrating her long-awaited release. “We are so thrilled that Alma has been released from detention and has regained her freedom,” said AAJA's Hamilton. “And we are once again inspired by Alma, who fought tirelessly for her release and for the release of dozens of other women who she has met during the last eight months that she has been in Stewart—a place she never should have been in in the first place.

"Alma is a drum major for justice," said Kayla Vinson, Staff Attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights. "We could not be happier that she will get to enjoy the end of the year where she should have been all along, at home with her family."

Bowman's release is tempered because she continues to push for the government to recognize her United States citizenship. 

Bowman secured her release through her tireless advocacy and with the legal representation of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta (“Advancing Justice-Atlanta”) and the Center for Constitutional Rights, as well as advocacy by the Malaya Movement USA and Georgia, Tanggol Migrante Movement, GABRIELA USA, and the International Women’s Alliance.

"While this is a major victory for Alma's family and friends, we as Tanggol Migrante, and the Defend Migrants Alliance will continue to fight for the genuine freedom for people like Alma, who see their issues connected to a shared experienced migrants face across the US,” said organizer June Colcol. “We encourage more people to join our movement and take collective action!"

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

The American Revolution: Thanksgiving, history and a slap of reality

The 12-hour documentary 'The American Revolution' includes the role of Native Americans.
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REVIEW

So, PBS dropped a new Ken Burns joint, The American Revolution. I suspect MAGA folks will hate it because it includes the history usually left out of our high sdhool history books and includes the role of Blacks and indigenous peoples and knocks a few of our white Founding Fathers off their pedestals.

If not for the native tribes, there probably would not have been a Thanksgiving observance with the Europeans who migrated to ths continent. The religous zeealots who fled Europe would not have survived if not for original locals.

 If you're a history buff like me, this series is a must watch. It's not your grandpappy's tale of Minutemen and redcoats. This one actually talks about the people largely erased from our textbooks: Indigenous Peoples.

Let me tell you, this is long overdue.

As the series emphasizes, the war was also often a struggle between the refugees from Europe and indigenous nations, between enslavers and the enslaved. Some Americans won their freedom. Others, like Native Americans, lost it.

The doc lays it right out there: this whole "freedom" thing for the colonists was, essentially, a war for Native land. The Brits had that Proclamation of 1763 trying to keep folks contained, but the Americans? They wanted to go west, consequences be damned.

Not just sidekicks

The American Revolution, explores the complexities of the war from a wide range of perspectives, including a significant focus on the role of Native Americans. The series, which premiered on November 16, 2025, examines the conflict through the stories of diverse individuals, revealing the virtues and contradictions of the revolutionary period. Native American nations, caught in the middle, were forced into a struggle over land that led to their displacement, and the series highlights their long-overdue visibility in American history, notes the Lakota Times.

The narrative here isn't the usual white-centric fluff. They bring in Native historians, giving us the real deal. The core message is powerful: The Revolution wasn't just about taxes; it was about real estate and who had sovereignty over it. This is a crucial pivot in how we understand American history.

You had the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, a powerful group, totally split. Some went British, some went American (shoutout to the Oneida Nation for their Continental Army assist!), and others tried to stay neutral. It was a messy, brutal time.

RELATED: 

• The firest Thanksgiving. 
• A different perspective on Thanksgiving

Burns doesn't shy away from the stuff white supremacists don't want to hear about their heroes. While the framers of the Declaration of Indepedence were signing the historic document that espoused "all men created equal" many of them were slave owners. The series also details the significant brutality of the war in "Indian Country," including General George Washington's orders to devastate and burn entire Native towns, orchards, and food stores. That's a piece of history we often gloss over in favor of cherry trees.

Now, there's been some debate about whether the Iroquois Confederacy inspired the US Constitution. It's a talking point, maybe a little romanticized, but the fact remains: these were complex, sovereign nations with sophisticated diplomacy, dealing with the British, French, and Americans as equals, even if the new US government ultimately didn't honor that.

Ken Burns' and PBS's 'The American Revolution' includes the role of indigenous peoples.

A View from the Edge

As an American, I look at our history and think about what my patriotic parents taught me about our adopted land. My folks emphasized English, the language of our new home, so I lost my Tagalog. That's the immigrant experience—trying to fit in while losing a piece of yourself.

This documentary is a good reminder that the "American Dream" was built on the back of Native displacement. It forces us to ask: do our institutions really serve all the people, not just the powerful? It's a test of whether our democracy truly breathes for everyone. The struggle must commence in the field of ideas, as the great Jose W. Diokno used to say, before it can descend into the arena of action.

FYI: How to watch

It's a six-part series, 12 hours total. Plenty of time to get your history fix.Watch the episodes: You can stream it on the PBS website for a limited time.
For the serious viewers: PBS Passport subscribers can stream it for ages.
Bonus Content: Check out the extra resources on PBS LearningMedia.

It’s more than political drama; it’s a vital piece of our national story that we need to hear, understand, and bear witness to. We need closure on our past, or it will continue to haunt us like a political cold case. Go watch it.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.

FBI report undercounts anti-Asian hate crimes

AAJC PHOTO

Anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels despite a slight decline from 2023, indicating a continuing crisis, says an analysis responding to the FBI's 2024 Hate Crime Statistics report. 

“Current FBI data reporting undercounts the true scope of anti-Asian hate crimes,” said Sim J. Singh Attariwala, Director of the Anti-Hate Program at Advancing Justice – AAJC. “Our report shows that these hate crimes have not significantly declined since the pandemic, and harmful rhetoric is now expanding to the scapegoating of South Asian communities.

AAJC and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) released Nov. 20 a new report responding to the FBI’s National Hate Crime Statistics for 2024. The FBI numbers is flawed and tell only part of the story. Underreporting remains a critical challenge, with nearly half of violent hate crimes going unreported. Trust deficits, language barriers, and fear of reprisal continue to silence victims.

The report from the community legal advocates, Anti-Asian Hate in 2024: Analysis and Recommendations, contextualizes the hate crime figures, emphasizing alarming trends and the work left to combat elevated levels of anti-Asian hate. The Asian Resource Hub, a collaborative unique digital platform by the two organizations illustrating anti-Asian hate and uplifting culturally competent support, was updated to include and examine the FBI’s new data.

The report provides insight into national trends, sociopolitical drivers of hate, enduring risks for the future, and recommendations for political and community mobilization. The report found that:

• Anti-Asian hate crimes declined slightly from 2023 – but were still nearly three times higher than pre-pandemic levels. 

• Anti-Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander hate crimes were the highest since recording began in 2013. 

• California, New Jersey, New York, Washington, and Massachusetts were the states with the highest amount of anti-Asian hate crimes and had some of the highest numbers of total hate crime reports overall.  

• Anti-Asian hate, especially for Chinese and South Asian communities, was incited by political rhetoric, disinformation, and online extremism. 

While most of the country showed a slight decline in anti-Asian hate crimes, the West, which is home to vast majority of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, showed a 3% increase, according to the FBI report.

California and Washington continued to lead in reported incidents, reflecting both the size of their Asian American populations and potentially more robust reporting mechanisms.The increase in the West underscores the need for sustained investment in prevention, education, and community support, responds the AAJC analysis.

While the FBI publishes nationwide statistics, the numbers are often just a snapshot of reality. The figures are limited in disaggregation and are vulnerable to underreporting. Advancing Justice – AAJC’s report aims to provide a fuller picture of the numbers by supplementing them with information from community-based platforms and external research.

The primary criticism of undercounting in recent FBI hate crime reports (including the expected 2025 report, which would cover 2024 data) is the voluntary nature of data submission by local law enforcement agencies and past difficulties in transitioning to a new reporting system. This has led to incomplete and potentially misleading national statistics.

A large proportion of participating law enforcement agencies (often 80% or more) report zero hate crimes in their jurisdictions to give a more flattering picture of their localities.  Critics argue this is highly unlikely to be accurate, especially in areas with known extremist group activity, suggesting a failure to identify or correctly record hate crimes.

The missing data prevents a complete and accurate understanding of the extent of the hate crime problem in the U.S., which hampers prevention efforts and makes it difficult to track trends effectively. Data from independent organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) or Stop AAPI Hate often show higher numbers of incidents than the official FBI reports.

In the same vein, the Asian Resource Hub uses data from a combination of sources, including the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics, to illustrate the scope of hate and inform the direct assistance provided tailored to community members’ needs in eight languages.

"Without corrective action, hate crime statistics risk becoming more invisible as trust in government erodes and funding for anti-hate programs nationwide is cut," says Attariwala. "This report provides context and recommendations to help leaders respond effectively and protect the most marginalized.”

“This report confirms what our communities have long known; anti-Asian hate remains at alarming levels,” said June Lim, Director of the Demographic Research Project at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. “With the updated Asian Resource Hub, we’re ensuring survivors and families can access culturally competent support and information in multiple languages. Without investment in prevention and community-based reporting, anti-Asian hate crimes will continue to occur and go underreported.”

"This is not just a data report. It is a call to action. We must equip institutions to recognize and respond to hate in all its forms and build a future rooted in safety, dignity, and equality. To ensure transparency and sustained attention to this issue, concludes Attariwala.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Filipino American is the No. 1 pick in inaugural women's baseball draft

Kelsie Whitmore, the No. 1 pick of the Women's Pro Baseball League, makes history.

Folks, every so often, a story comes along that makes you pause and take notice. And this one is it. Her name is Kelsie Whitmore, and if you haven't heard of her yet, you will.

She's a professional baseball player, a pitcher and an outfielder, and she just made history as the very first overall draft pick in the new Women's Pro Baseball League. That's "baseball," not softball. She was the No. 1 pick by the yet-to-be-named team that will be based in San Francisco.

Whitmore’s name will now forever be linked to the start of the WPBL. Her journey—from the only girl on youth teams, to representing the US on the global stage, to pitching professionally against men—makes her the ideal athlete to be the face of the new league.

Now, that's a great story on its own. But dig a little deeper, and you find something that resonates a little closer to home for many of us. 

Whitmore, 27, is a Filipino American, and her mother, Mirasol, hails from the Philippines. In 2024, when she received an award from Silayan Filipina, she posted on Instagram: "Forever proud to be a Filipino American woman, while representing the sports world through my culture."

In a sport where representation is still evolving, a player like Kelsie stepping into the spotlight is a big deal. She's not just playing for her team; she's carrying her culture with her, a point she makes with pride, from her words to the Filipino imagery tattooed on her left forearm.

Whitmore's success is a familiar story, isn't it? That mix of American opportunity and deep-seated Filipino heritage. It’s the story of so many families who have made a life for themselves here while holding on to their roots.

Before the Women's Pro Baseball League, the San Diego-born Whitmore was already a barrier breaker. She played for independent clubs like the Staten Island FerryHawks and the Oakland Ballers, the latter of which won the Pioneer League's championship this season.

Kelsie Whitmore wears her heritage on her
forearm with a Philippine-inspired tattoo.

Her time with the US women's national baseball team brought home medals, including a gold at the Pan American Games. And don't forget her college days, where she was a star softball player for Cal State Fullerton, even earning the conference's Player of the Year award in 2021.

The startup league had a four-day tryout camp in Washington this summer with more than 600 hopefuls on hand.

The WPBL was co-founded by Justine Siegal, who became the first woman to coach for an MLB team with the Oakland Athletics in 2015. 

It will be the first pro baseball league for women since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League -- immortalized in the film "A League of Their Own" -- dissolved in 1954.

For the first league's first season, the WPBL is scheduled to play all of its games at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois. Teams will be based there over a seven-week season, split up into a four-week regular season, a week for all-star activities and a two-week playoff.

But what I find most compelling, from my view here on the edge, is that Kelsie Whitmore is more than just a ballplayer. She’s an advocate, and her apparel brand, "BE YOU," carries a powerful message of individuality and self-acceptance. In her career and through her platform, Whitmore is showing a generation of young people that they can be proud of who they are and where they come from. And that, my friends, is a story worth telling.

Whitmore’s name will now forever be linked to the start of the WPBL. Her journey—from the only girl on youth teams, to representing the U.S. on the global stage, to pitching professionally against men—makes her the ideal athlete to carry the league’s first spotlight.

For San Francisco and the WPBL, she becomes the foundation of a franchise.

For the Filiipino American and Asian American communities, she becomes a symbol of what’s possible.

"Oftentimes, we get caught up in chasing who we acturally are and what we do that we forget who are deep down inside," the Silayan Filipina Pamana 'Legacy' awardee said. "I want to encourage you all to chase the version of yourself that you were always meant to be. When you find that version, be the best version of yourself every single damn day."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Asian American community organizer running for L.A. mayor

As if the Los Angeles mayor's race wasn't crowded enough, a new player has stepped into the ring, and she's not pulling any punches against the "establishment" – that would include Democratic Mayor Karen Bass and the current city hall crowd.

Community organizer and deputy director of the non-profit Housing Now California Rae Huang hopes to ride the recent wave of Democratic Socialists victories, exemplified by Zohran Mamdani's victory for New York mayor which pitted the Indian American against the traditional political "establishment" of both Republicans and Democrats.

If Huang can pull off a victory, she would become the city's first Asian American ayor. She is running for Los Angeles mayor because, in her view, the city is prioritizing the wealthy while the working people struggle. She's critical of Bass's performance, pointing to the ongoing high cost of living, homelessness issues, and even the response to the January 2025 Palisades Fire.

“I am running because I can do the job and because Los Angeles has been ready for real leadership for a long time,” she told supporters as she launched her campaign last Sunday.

“This fight is not my own, but built on years of dedication and commitment of leaders before me who have fought to make LA more affordable, healthier, sustainable and safer for all,” Huang wrote in announcing her candidacy on Instagram. “My platform will be focused on housing for all, building an economy for the people - not billionaires, fast and free metro (mass transit), climate resiliency, and REAL safety through care first models - so that we focus on fighting poverty, not the poor.” 

Although considered a long-shot, Huang is running as a community organizer and an ordained Presbyterian minister, making her a potentially influential, albeit less known, figure in the race who could push the conversation to the left and potentially force the election into a runoff if no candidate achieves a majority vote in the June primary.

Like Mamdani, Huang is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and is running on a truly progressive platform, vowing not to take corporate donations. To traditionalist, some of her platform might appear radical to some, but as Mamdani proved in NYC and Seattle's mayor-elect Katie Wilson, shooting for the moon appeals to voters, especially young voters, tired of the same old thing. Here's a quick rundown of her key issues:

Universal housing: A long-time tenant rights advocate, she argues for "housing for all" and promises real, permanent solutions to the homelessness crisis, not just "band-aid" programs.

Free public transit: To tackle the second-highest expense for families (transportation), she wants to make public transit free, safe, and fast, complete with dedicated bus lanes and improved rail/bus/bike connections.

"Economy for the people": Her campaign is all about economic change that benefits everyone, not just billionaires.

"Real safety": She's pushing for a public safety model focused on prevention and care, fighting poverty at its roots rather than over-policing poor communities.
Huang's entry into the race is a definite challenge to Mayor Bass from the left.

 Political analysts are saying her run could be a game-changer, potentially forcing the June 2, 2026, primary into a costly November runoff if no candidate secures that magic 50% number.

Besides Huang and Bass, the declared and potential candidates for the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election are:

• Austin Beutner: A businessman and former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District who has officially announced his campaign.

• Asaad Alnajjar: A Porter Ranch neighborhood councilor and civil engineer who has declared his candidacy.

• Vincent Wali: A musician who has also declared his intention to run.

• Rick Caruso (Potential): The real estate developer and 2022 opponent of Mayor Bass is reportedly considering another run for mayor or potentially for governor..

Huang is running as a long-shot candidate but could draw enough progressive votes to potentially force the current mayor into a runoff election if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the June 2, 2026, primary. If elected, she would be Los Angeles' first Asian-American mayor.

At least two other Asian Americans have run for Mayor of Los Angeles, albeit unsuccessfully: Michael Woo, who ran in 1993 and Andrew Kim in 2022.

As of 2024 population estimates, Asian residents make up approximately  12.0% of the population in the city of Los Angeles but Los Angeles County, which includes the San Gabriel Valley, has the largest Asian population of any county in the United States.

Huang doesn't have the name recognition of Bass so the key for Huang's race will be creating an organization to back her beyond the AAPI voters. But with seven months to go until the June primary, she will have plenty of time to promote herself.

Looks like things are heating up in L.A .politics. Stay tuned!

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Chinese American family files lawsuit for info on relative who died in ICE custody

GE FAMILY

ICE claims that Chaofeng Ge, above, committed suicide during his detention.

The family of Chaofeng Ge, a Chinese man who died while in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is suing the U.S. government and ICE for a lack of transparency regarding the circumstances of his death.

Chaofeng Ge, a 32-year-old Chinese citizen from Queens, NY, was found dead on August 5, 2025. Authorities say Ge died by suicide by hanging. However, an independent autopsy found that his hands were tied behind him, raising questions  over the claim of suicide.

"I am (devastated) by the loss of my brother and by the knowledge that he was suffering so greatly in that detention center," Ge's brother ,Yanfeng Ge, said in a statement Nov. 12, adding that he wants answers and accountability.

Ge died at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a private facility in Pennsylvania operated by the GEO Group. He had been in ICE custody for just five days following a conviction related to credit card fraud.

The lawsuit is the family contends that its  requests for information via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) were ignored by the detention facility operators and ICE. GEO Group runs the facility as a detention center for ICE. Yanfeng Ge said in the suit that GEO did not reach out to the family to explain what happened.

ICE and the Clearfield County coroner reported the death as a suicide by hanging. However, the family's attorney states that an independent autopsy revealed Ge was found not only hanging, but also with his hands and legs tied behind his back, a detail not included in initial ICE reports. This discrepancy is a central point of concern for the family.

The lawsuit alleges that Ge experienced "significant distress" and was isolated because no staff at the facility spoke Mandarin and refused to attempt communication with him, preventing him from expressing his needs or receiving necessary mental health treatment.

“Mr Ge was isolated because no one in the facility could speak Chinese. MVPC staff refused even to try to communicate with him, much less offer him the mental healthcare that he so urgently needed,” the complaint alleged.

The lawsuit highlights concerns over US immigration detention, noting that record-high numbers of people, including a sharp rise in Asian immigrants, are allegedly being held in overcrowded facilities with limited access to medical and mental healthcare.

The lawsuit comes amidst ongoing criticism of the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, with immigration advocates and former detainees reporting "inhumane" and "punitive" conditions, including inadequate medical care and abuse.

An ICE spokesman stated the agency does not comment on pending litigation. The agency had previously released a statement that all in-custody deaths are tragic and thoroughly investigated, and that it is committed to safe and humane environments.

A report by the UCLA Asian-American Studies Centre published in July found that total Asian immigrant arrests nearly tripled from under 700 in 2024 to almost 2,000 between February and May 2025. A majority of those detained came from China, India, and Vietnam.

The report also found that 21 deaths have occurred in ICE custody. Of the people who died, five were of Asian descent.

David B. Rankin, attorney for the Ge family. stated that the government is willing to violate the law to keep information about these centers from the public, and that the lawsuit aims to bring much-needed transparency.

"People are dying and our government doesn't have the common decency to offer the family any explanation, it's appalling," said Rankin.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

NFL players mourn shooting death of Korean American coach and mentor

Coach John Beam, was 66 years old when he was fatally shot.

 John Beam was the celebrated Korean American coach at Oakland's Laney College  whose life was tragically cut short in a campus shooting.

Coach Beam died on November 14 from a gunshot wound sustained during a shooting on the Laney College campus the previous day. A suspect, a former high school player from an rival school, was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting.
Beam was a highly respected figure in the Bay Area, a mentor to thousands of young people. He was a proud Korean American, a fact passed over by most mainstream media. It's a shame because his racial heritage was a major part of what made him who he became.

Beam was born in San Diego, but his father, a US Navy veteran who met his wife in Korea, moved the family to Japan to be closer to her home country. Beam spent his early childhood there and was reportedly fluent in Japanese, which his mother also spoke with their maid. This immersion in a different culture from a young age helped shape his worldview.

The family moved to San Diego when Beam's father was reassigned to that city where he continued to thrive in the multicultural environment.

His mother's influence seems to be most evident in the grounding in different cultures and the strong family values that friends and family say he carried throughout his life, becoming a father figure to thousands of young men in the process.

Being Hapa

Beam's pride in his mixed-race background was evident throughout his life. He openly discussed his heritage in a 2011 interview with HalfKorean.com, where he detailed his mother's background and their unique family dynamic, highlighting the normalcy of their diverse household.

Here's an excerpt from that interview:

Growing up my breakfast was different in that I didn’t eat cereal. I had hard-boiled eggs sliced up with soy sauce. I had rice and hot water and cut a fish or squid. You’re doing these things at school where we’re trying to figure out if you’re eating healthy. We would work on assignments that asked “what was your breakfast?” but none of the food I ate was on any list.

Beam coached for over 45 years at Laney College and Skyline High School, mentoring thousands of students, including many who went on to play in the NFL. His influence extended beyond sports, with many community members mourning the loss of a man who was dedicated to building up the youth of Oakland, according to CBS News.

He was the head coach of the Laney College football team from 2012 to 2024 and then became the athletic director. His 2019 season with the Laney Eagles was featured in the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U, which brought his story and identity to a national audience.

FYI: Watch the 'Last Chance U' episodes featuring Coach John Beam

He helped more than 20 of his players go on to play in the NFL and was instrumental in shaping the lives of numerous athletes, many of whom credit him with saving their lives.

NFL player's emotional tribute

Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright, who played for Beam at Laney, paid an emotional tribute to his "father figure" during the game against the Vikings. After catching interception he went the endzone and knelt to honor Beam while his teammates consled him.

SCREEN CAPTURE

Chicago Bears Nashon Wright paid tribute to the slain John Beam.

Other players, including Nahshon's brother Rejzohn Wright, a cornerback for the New Orleans Saints, and former NFL player William Blackwell Jr., have also expressed their grief, with many highlighting Beam's profound impact on their lives and careers.

Nahshon Wright, spoke about the significant impact Beam had on their lives, often describing him as a father figure.

"We talked once a week, easily," Nahshon Wright told KTVU. "He did a lot for me and my brother."

NBA star and Oakland native Damian Lillard called Beam a "true Oakland legend and GREAT man" on Instagram. "Hundreds of kids all over Oakland became the type of men they are today because of this dude."Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wore a shirt with Beam's name on it before a game against the Spurs. He also used the tragedy to speak about the larger issue of gun violence.

“We have to be the change, as a community, as citizens, we have to be the ones that insist that we address the gun violence issue in this country,” he said.

Days after the fatal shooting, Oakland police arrested Cedric Irving, 27, as a suspect .

Oakland police Assistant Chief James Beere told reporters that police believe Irving knew Beam but that they "did not have a relationship."

"This was a very targeted incident," Beere alleged. "I will say Coach Beam, although they did not have a close relationship, was open to helping everybody in our community and this is not uncommon for him to have a relationship with someone that he would think needs help."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

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A first, then a farewell: The Beya Alcaraz/SF Mayor Lurie debacle

SCREEN CAPTURE / KRON

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, right, and ormer Supervisor Beya Alacraz.

Filipino Americans in San Francisco are upset. We've just witnessed a political fireworks show in San Francisco, and it fizzled out faster than you can say "accountability."

A week ago Isabella "Beya" Alcaraz made history as the first Filipina American on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Her appointment provided a moment of pride for the Filipino American community. A week later, she made history again with her resignation.

Mayor Daniel Lurie, a relative newcomer himself, thought he had a winner. A 29-year-old local, a former small business owner, no political baggage. A "community voice," he called her. Sounds great on paper, doesn't it? A breath of fresh air in the sometimes stale air of San Francisco politics.

But the real story, the one that quickly emerged, paints a different picture.

Alcaraz, a 29-year-old former small business owner and music/art teacher, was appointed by Lurie on November 6, 2025, to represent District 4, the southwest portion of the city known as the Sunset district, after the previous supervisor, Joel Engardio, was recalled.

Lurie's vetting process was flawed. It seems nobody did their homework.

Alcaraz, a lifelong Sunset District resident, was a political novice with no prior government experience and no experience in community organizing, which Lurie highlighted as a strength, positioning her as a grounded voice for the neighborhood..

Media reports came pouring in about Alcarez's small business, "The Animal Connection" pet store. The new owner, Julia Baran, described a nightmare scenario: the place was a mess, with dead rodents everywhere and a freezer full of deceased pets. Not exactly a shining example of business acumen or responsibility.

Then came the Mission Local story, the final nail in the coffin. Text messages revealed Alcaraz herself admitting to paying people "under the table." Tax fraud? Questionable business deductions for dinners and drinks with friends? How she ran her small business raised questions of ethics and basic legal compliance.

A week is all it took for the truth to sink in. On November 13, she resigned. In a prepared statement, she said, “When I raised my hand to serve as supervisor, I told the mayor that it was time for someone who is from the Sunset to represent the Sunset. I believe that my community deserves someone who will work 24/7 to advocate for us. I understand that today’s news stories would distract me from doing that.”

Lurie said he didn't learn about e-mails until Nov. 13. He asked for her resignation that evening, saying in a statement that the "new information" would be "a significant distraction" from her efforts to serve the Sunset community.

Mayor Lurie, himself a political novice, has taken the fall for the vetting failure, which is the least he could do. But it leaves a sour taste. Filipino Americans, who make up 4.6% of San Francisco with a long history in the city, finally get a historic "first" for our community, only to see it evaporate amid scandal and poor judgment.

It's a shame, really. About 37,000 Filipinos call San Francisco home and distributed throughout the city. Except for District 6, which is home to the Filipino Cultural Heritage District in the South of Market neighborhood where Filipinos make up largest ethnic group, there is no real power base in the diverse city where racial politics is a rough-and-tumble enterprise.

When Alvaraz was sworn in, the Filipino American celebrated the historic moment, even though she was not well known among community leaders.

“I’m surprised it took this long for a Filipino to be in one of those seats,” said Rudy Corpuz told Mission Local. He is a first-generation Filipino immigrant and executive director of United Playaz, a violence-prevention and youth-development organization.

He told the local media outlet that one of the reasons Filipinos don't have more  influence in San Francisco is that the city  is not always the final destination for Filipino families. Many Filipino newcomers move to the Bay Area suburbs where life is more affordable in search for their families.

The Filipino American community deserves better. San Francisco deserves better. 

“We need to rally the Fil-Am community. He (Mayor Lurie) can’t play with the Fil-Am community like thism" long time womens' rights advocate Marily Mondejar told Inquirer.net. Can you imagine the very first Filipino Supervisor in SF had to resign in disgrace: This is unacceptable. We all have worked many, many years to uplift our community, and now this.”

The search for a new supervisor is back on, and let's hope this time they look a little harder before swearing in the next person. The odds of Lurie appointing another Filipino American is unlikely. There are so many other ethnic nd special interest groups with political clout who want to part of San Francisco's governing body.

Although there are plenty of highly qualified FilAms who could serve on the Board of Supervisors, the question is will any of them want to step up after the embarrassing Lurie debacle. Filipino Americans need a real win, not just another footnote in San Francisco's political history.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Smithsonian exhibit explores Stockton’s Little Manila

Feeling homesick, my momd once told my dad that she missed the Philippines. My father, a WWII veteran still serving in the US Army and assigned to San Francisco's Presideo, took her to Stockton’s Little Manila.

It was the early 1950s and there were still plenty of Filipinos picking crops in California’s fertile Central Valley. Little did the farm workers and their families that formed the early Filipino American communities know that one day they would be the subject of an exhibit at the Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) will open its next exhibition, “How Can You Forget Me: Filipino American Stories,” Nov. 28* at the Nicholas F. and Eugenia Taubman Gallery in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

*FYI: Because of the government shutdown, the opening date may be delayed. For updated  information, visit its website and follow it on Instagram and Facebook.

This marks APAC’s first exhibition at the museum and is its signature program for the Smithsonian’s celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial, “Our Shared Future: 250.” The exhibition explores the history of Filipino American migration, labor and community-building in Stockton, California—once home to the largest Filipino community outside the Philippines—from the 1910s to the 1970s.

“How Can You Forget Me” is anchored by more than 50 artifacts recovered from a trove of steamer trunks discovered in 2005 in the basement of the Daguhoy fraternal lodge in Stockton’s Little Manila neighborhood.

The trunks and their contents were preserved by the Legionarios del Trabajo, a fraternal organization that stored the personal effects of deceased members to be sent home or collected by loved ones. This marks APAC’s first exhibition at the museum and is its signature program for the Smithsonian’s celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial, “Our Shared Future: 250.” The exhibition explores the history of Filipino American migration, labor and community-building in Stockton, California—once home to the largest Filipino community outside the Philippines—from the 1910s to the 1970s.

“How Can You Forget Me” is anchored by more than 50 artifacts recovered from a trove of steamer trunks discovered in 2005 in the basement of the Daguhoy fraternal lodge in Stockton’s Little Manila neighborhood.

The trunks and their contents were preserved by the Legionarios del Trabajo, a fraternal organization that stored the personal effects of deceased members to be sent home or collected by loved ones. 

“These steamer trunks do not just tell the story of one Filipino American community in California,” said Sam Vong, the exhibition’s curator. “They tell an American story of immigrants fighting to preserve their history, of families struggling not to forget and not to be forgotten. That’s why these stories are so powerful: they’re about everyday people and about experiences we have all shared.” 

The exhibition features three of these trunks as both literal containers and symbolic vessels, revealing valuable insights into how Filipino migrants lived, worked, loved and built community. One of the three trunks was donated to the museum in 2022 by the Stockton-based nonprofit Little Manila Rising, which works to preserve the city’s Filipino American heritage and legacy.

Each trunk serves as a time capsule, offering a distinct story and inviting visitors to unpack the intimate and collective experiences that shaped the journey of Filipino Americans in Stockton. From three-piece suits and ceremonial regalia to agricultural tools, family photographs, diaries and everyday objects, these belongings—long stored and forgotten—shed light on the lives of manongs, who forged deep bonds within their communities. The term manong—meaning “older brother” in Ilocano, a Filipino language—is used affectionately to describe these early Filipino labor migrants, many of whom were single men.

The exhibition’s title, “How Can You Forget Me,” is drawn from an embroidered pillowcase found in the trunk donated to the Smithsonian. The phrase expresses both personal longing and broader themes of memory and remembrance—sentiments that echo throughout the exhibition. A dedicated interactive section of the gallery offers visitors a chance to reflect on the objects and stories and to explore how early Filipino migrants navigated identity and belonging across the Filipino diaspora.

The four-block area known as Little Manila was largely destroyed by urban redevelopment and the construction of the Crosstown Freeway in the 1960s. In recent years, Little Manila rising led efforts to preserve the remnants of the neighborhood.

Vong, a curator of Asian Pacific American history at the National Museum of American History, was supported by curatorial assistant Ethan P. Johanson. The exhibition is designed by the award-winning firm TSKP x IKD and will be on view for two years. A companion website featuring educational materials and a virtual gallery will launch alongside the exhibition.

The opening of the exhibition will be accompanied by a screening of the documentary Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers, Nov. 20 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the museum’s Warner Bros. Theater. Co-presented by APAC and the museum’s History Film Forum, the event will include a post-screening discussion with director Maríssa Aroy, Dillon Delvo of Little Manila Rising and others. Additional public and educational programs—including panels, workshops and film screenings—will be offered throughout the exhibition’s run.

“How Can You Forget Me” invites in-person and virtual visitors to engage with a deeply place-based history of Filipino America—and by extension, of the United States—leading up to and throughout the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“As we approach the nation’s semiquincentennial, the exhibition deepens our understanding of the American experience by highlighting stories of resilience, resourcefulness and community,” said Yao-Fen You, APAC’s acting director.

“How Can You Forget Me” is supported by grants from the Henry Luce Foundation, the Surdna Foundation and the Coby Foundation. The exhibition has also received federal funding from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by APAC, and the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the National Museum of the American Latino.

APAC provides new avenues to document, celebrate and share the rich and diverse history, art and culture of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. APAC’s exhibitions, “How Can You Forget Me” and “Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond” (on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum through November 30, 2025) will pave the way for a dedicated APAC gallery on the National Mall.

My parents made many trips to Stockton's Little Manila whenever they felt homesick for the Philippines. There was a close affinity between the military veterans of the Second Wave of Filipino migration and the agricultural workers of the First Wave. They attended social events, formed relationships and years later would return to deliver groceries bought at the Alameda Army Base PX to the friends, families and members of the United Farmworks during the 1965 Grape Strike.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.