Philadelphia hosts Filipino/American empowerment conference.

FILIPINOS from across the United States, Canada and across the Pacific will converge in Philadelphia for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations' 12th NaFFAA Empowerment Conference.

Rep. Bobby Scott

The red, white and blue balloons from the Democratic National Convention are still floating over the City of Brotherly Love and thousands of Filipinos have begun preparing for a convention of their own.

Underlining the trans-Pacific link that ties all Filipinos together, the conclave will start with a U.S. congressman and culminate with the Philippines' newly elected vice president.

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, the first Filipino/American elected to the U.S. Congress, will speak to the Aug. 5 opening plenary session that has a theme of "Envisioning the Future."

News junkies may recognize him from his introduction of Democratic Vice President nominee Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia.

Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo will close out the 3-day gathering on Aug. 6 with the induction of NaFFAA officers. Most likely one of the topics she will touch upon will be how Filipino/Americans can help their families in the Philippines.

The new officers and board of directors will attend to business on Aug. 7 to end the conference at the Valley Forge Casino Resort.

Vice President Leni Robredo

The NaFFAA delegates will focus on the development of key strategies to address the political, social, health, education and economic concerns of the Filipino/American community.

More than a dozen workshops will be conducted during the conference, focusing mainly on capacity building, civic engagement, professional development, and cultural identity/narratives. These workshops are designed to be interactive, which include Fil Am vote workshop, how to access valuable resources, jobs to name a few.

Issues critical to the Filipino American community will be taken up at plenary sessions. They include immigration reform, health care, voter participation, electoral politics, and business development.

To address those issues, a wide-ranging group of experts and activists from Gen. Antonio Taguba to businesswoman and philantropist Loida Nicolas Lewis to​ Ronnie Del Carmen of Pixar will participate.

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TGIF FEATURE: #HollywoodSoWhite - The incredible 'whiteness' of being

Hollywood has a long history of 'yellow face' with some pretty big names taking part including, from left: Marlon Brando, John Wayne and Mickey Rooney. Can you name the films they were in where they played Asians? (For answers, see below.)

I CAN'T WAIT until Chris Rock comes on stage to host the 88th Academy Awards this Sunday. The comedian has not been sh when talking about about Hollywood's portrayal of America and the impact that message has on the definition of who is an American. You can be sure he will have something to say about the ongoing #OscarsSoWhite and #HollywoodSoWhite controversy. 

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• Chris Rock on the movie industry's lack of diversity
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• #OscarsSoWhite - The Sequel

There is a good possibility that we'll see an Asian/American receive an Oscar. Ronnie del Carmen, co-director and co-writer with Pete Doctor for Pixar's Inside Out, is up for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Screenplay. Del Carmen is one of the Filipinos employed by Pixar who call themselves the Pixnoys, some of whom drew the characters in the movie.

Embarrassed by the all-white nominees in the acting categories for the second straight year, the Oscars is adding a bit of color to its telecast by inviting minorities as presenters. (See, folks, we don't discriminate!)

Among the presenters are a few Asian/Americans including: Priyanka Chopra, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, Syrian/American Sacha Baron Cohen and Byung-hun Lee. The last name might be unfamiliar to American moviegoers. He's a big star in Korea and has appeared in a few Hollywood films such as two of the G.I. Joe movies and Reds 2. 

For those of you who can't wait for the Academy Awards, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver presented this "report" on the film industry's diversity problem that explains why there aren't more AAPI actors being nominated - all the big roles are going to non-Asians. The video is pretty darn hilarious ... if ... It. Wasn't. So. True.

The 88th Academy Awards will be aired: Feb. 28 starting at 5:30 p.m. Pacific on ABC. Red carpet coverage starts at 4 p.m. Pacific. you can also lifestream the event if you want to avoid the censors on at ABC.com or the WATCH ABC app.

Answers: Brando in Teahouse of the August Moon (Ah, so.), Wayne in Genghis Khan as the title character (really?) and Rooney in an incredibly insulting performance in Breakfast At Tiffany's.

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For more news about Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.