Jason Guba
Filipinos: The Forgotten Asian-American
In 2019, the American Community Survey estimated that there were over 4.2 million Filipinos in the United States, accounting for almost 20% of the total 22 million Asian-Americans. Yet the late Filipino activist and associate professor at the University of Washington, Fred Cordova, referred to Filipinos as “forgotten Asian Americans” in his pictorial essay covering the lives of Filipinos in North American settlements, 1763–1963. This learning module documents the experiences and challenges that Filipinos who have been forgotten by society and government face, and have faced, living in the United States.
This module is designed for both Filipino-Americans and non-Filipino-Americans. After completing this learning module, non-Filipino-Americans should be able to give a basic summary of Filipino-Americans’ key historical moments and experiences and should be able to compare and contrast the United States’ colonization of the Philippines to that of other colonial powers. Filipino-Americans should be able to describe their personal experiences in relation to other Filipino-American experiences, understand the colonial mentality, and recognize sources of perceived cultural inferiority. My broader goal for this module is to begin undoing the erasure of the history of American colonialism in the Philippines by making Filipino-American history known.
Filipino workers on the Stena drill boat that supports the Shenzi deepwater oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico (Alfred Caliz)
Structure
The learning module is divided into three parts, each of which pairs a video with a written source for learners to further explore the topics discussed in each video.
Section 1 explores Filipino-American history. It delivers a brief overview of Filipino-American history, introducing the audience to the colonization of the Philippines, the mass migration of Filipinos to the United States, and the contributions of Filipinos in western agriculture and the movement for Asian-American Civil Rights.
Section 2 is about the complexity of Filipino identity, described as a “melting pot of Spanish and American history with other Asian traditions mixed in.” Demographically, Filipinos are categorized as “Asian,” which includes all people with origins in East-, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent according to the United States Census Bureau. However, the Philippines’ colonization by the United States adds to the complexity and gives it a unique status in the Asia-Pacific region. Because of colonization, Filipino culture is shaped by western cultures while being geographically in the Asia region.
Section 3 describes the injustices Filipino veterans faced following WWII and the campaign efforts to gain national recognition for Filipino-American military members. While many Filipinos allied with the US after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a call to arms and promised US citizenship and veteran benefits, this promise was later rescinded. In response, Filipino veterans fought to gain recognition and compensation for their service.
You are free to explore between the three sections, but the content is centered around the videos. You can expect to spend 20 minutes exploring all three modules by watching only the videos; however, if you want to learn more about a topic, you are encouraged to do so. The written content is largely paywall-protected or available by purchase, but the videos are free.
Jason Guba is majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Visual Arts at the University of Chicago.
Section 1: Filipino-American History
A Filipino American Story Since 1587
This 7-minute video gives a brief overview of the history of Filipino Americans from 1587 to today. It covers the colonial powers in the Philippines, the Philippine-American war, the mass migration to the United States, and activism efforts for Civil Rights.
“Filipinos in the United States”
Melendy, H. Brett. “Filipinos in the United States.” Pacific Historical Review, vol. 43, no. 4, 1974: 520–47. This article assesses two major Filipino migration movements to Hawaii and the mainland United States. The article details motivations for immigration, Filipino laborers in agriculture, and the economic- and social discrimination towards Filipinos.
Section 2: Complexity and Filipino(-American) Identities
What Does It Mean to Be a Filipino-American?
This 4-minute video interviews three college-age Filipino-Americans about their personal experiences. Interviewees discuss what being Filipino means to them, cultural assimilation, and the marginalization they experienced from a young age over school lunches.
Ocampo, Anthony Christian. 2016. The Latinos of Asia : How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race. Stanford University Press. Latinos of Asia explores the complexity of Filipino racial categorization and identification resulting from the confluence of geographical location and western colonialism. Interviewing over 80 Filipino-Americans in the Los Angeles area, Ocampo seeks to answer the question of how Filipinos became an afterthought within the Asian-American community.
Section 3: Military Service, Rescinded Promises, and Mobilization
FilVetRep Congressional Gold Medal
This 7-minute video explains how Filipinos enlisted and served in the United States military during WWII with the promise of citizenship and compensation. However, in 1946 President Truman signed the Rescission Act of 1946, which stripped Filipino veterans of the benefits they earned.
In Honor of the Forgotten: A Search for Equity for Filipino-American World War II Veterans
Ramos, Jillian. “In Honor of the Forgotten: A Search for Equity for Filipino-American World War II Veterans.” Writing for a Real World 2010-2011: A Multidisciplinary Anthology by USF Students, 2010–2011. This serial advocates for equity for Filipino-American veterans who were denied fair compensation for their military service by the Recission Act of 1946. The author also suggests that American relations with the Philippines should be emphasized more in elementary and secondary school education.