Musings

Are Brown Filipinos Next?  Make America White Again? Part 4:  (Suggest reviewing Parts 1, 2, and 3 in my July/August/September blogs.) Only a month remains before Election Day, Tuesday, November 6.  Will voting participation by Filipino Americans and People of Color make a difference?  Past experience would not indicate it.  According to the analysis in The Asian American Vote in 2016 by Karthick Ramakrishnan, the voting rate for whites was 65%, but was only 49% for African Americans and Asian Americans, and 48% for Latinos.  Among Asian Americans, Japanese and Indians were at 62%, Filipinos were next at 50%, Vietnamese and Koreans at 45% and Chinese last at 41%.  Moreover, minority young adult voting has been historically abysmal.  On a more positive note, however, political pundits predict a record-setting midterm election with the House of Representatives again becoming Democratic and the Senate achieving a narrow Democratic majority.  Regardless, if the midterm elections are to result in a repudiation of the Anti-People-of-Color policies of the Trump Administration, it will require a high turnout of Filipino American and other POC voters. The U.S. Constitution provides for a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government — Executive (White House), Congressional (Senate/House), and Judicial (Supreme Court).  Sadly, Congress and the Supreme Court have already demonstrated they are complicit with the Administration’s policies.  But WE THE PEOPLE still have the strongest check on this Administration — the VOTE.  All who deplore the direction America is heading must VOTE ON NOVEMBER 6 — REGARDLESS OF PARTY AFFILIATION.  (CA voters: if you still need to register, deadline is October 22.) Your vote against the Trump Administration’s anti-POC policies is critical, not just for you, but also for your children, grandchildren, and generations to come — especially if  Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court. I am imploring my family and friends to PLEASE VOTE — WILL YOU JOIN ME?……………. Is there a message here? eight million Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t salute the flag, 200,000 Amish don’t stand for the national anthem; but one African American pro football player (Colin Kaepernick) kneels to protest racial injustices and America becomes divided………………. According to Drexel University professor Robert Zaller, following are the Eleven Characteristics of Fascism: denies the rule of law, knows no will but his own, recognizes no limits on his power, destroys or circumvents the institutions of established authority, replaces the media with propaganda which runs on lies and fake news, exhibits aggressive nationalism and menacing militarism, has contempt for norms and agreements, demonstrates racism, believes in a master race that is beleaguered by invaders and animals (ie: immigrants), seeks to destroy democracy, and embraces despots and dictators. World War II dictators Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany and Benito Mussolini of Fascist Italy epitomized these characteristics………………… Countdown: Minus 6 months For the Board of Trustees, Filipino American National Historical Society — who have program and fiduciary responsibility — to provide critically needed financing to assure keeping open the FANHS Museum in Stockton, the historic center of Filipino immigration.  

Bridge Generation News

Bridge Generation Personality Of The Month, Barbara Posadas, Ph.D, 73: As fellow charter members of the Filipino American National Historical Society since its inception more than thirty years ago, I’ve long admired Barbara for her seminal writings on the Filipino experience in America. Born on October 2, 1945 in Chicago IL of a Filipino immigrant father and a Polish American mother, Dr. Posadas is an award winning, internationally recognized scholar.  She served on the faculty of the Department of History, Northern Illinois University, from 1974 until her retirement in 2014 as “College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Distinguished Professor of History Emerita.”  Barbara came of age long before Asian American studies acquired academic respectability.    In Unequal Sisters: A Multi-Cultural Reader in U.S. Women’s History her 1981 treatise, Crossed Boundaries in Interracial Chicago: Pilipino American Families since 1925, was chosen as the “single representative of Filipino American history in the major anthology on its subject.”  In 1999 she authored the The Filipino Americans (The New Americans) — the first detailed historical study of the post-1965 immigration of Filipinos to America.  Her pioneering books and articles on Filipino American history continue to be of academic significance.  A prolific writer Dr. Posadas has written three books, with another book in progress, and more than forty articles in professional journals/edited collections.  Much of her work was co-authored with her husband of 36 years — University of Minnesota professor Roland Guyotte.  Dr. Posadas is the recipient of a number of awards including: the Harry E. Pratt Memorial Award,  Illinois State Historical Society, in 1992; VIP Gold Award, Filipino American National Historical Society, in 1994; and Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award, Association for Asian American Studies, in 2008.  She has been a major national scholar in the field of Filipino American history for decades, beginning with her study of Filipino immigrants in Chicago. A long time member of FANHS, Barbara served for 14 years on the national Board of Trustees, on the board of the Midwest Chapter, and co-chaired the Program Committee for the 1992 National Conference…………….. OOPS!!  Mel Lagasca retired from Sandia National Laboratory after 34 years, not Lawrence Livermore Laboratory as erroneously  reported in my last blog………….. A dozen years have gone by since the publication of my autobiography Growing Up Brown: Memoirs of a Filipino American.  Thus, imagine my surprise to be greeted by an SRO audience that showed up at the FANHS Museum in Stockton on August 19 for the “umteenth” presentation of my book…………. Happy October Birthdays to: Al Acena, Abe Amen, Angie (Castro) Gamido, Luna Jamero, Delia Rapolla, Art Sugitan, Andres “Sonny” Tangalin, Jo (Tenio) Canion, Don Velez, Connie (Viernes) Pasquil.

Pinakbet — News Across America

Filipino Americans across the nation mourned the August 10 death of Dawn Bohulano Mabalon — community leader, professor, author, historian, storyteller, chef, community organizer, mentor, friend, and beloved “Auntie Dawn” to countless relatives. At 46 years of age, Dawn accomplished much in her relatively short life — truly a Filipina American icon.  As a teenager she advocated for saving Little Manila in Stockton CA — once the thriving center of Filipino immigration — that was cruelly demolished to make way for urban redevelopment.  Subsequently, she co-founded the Little Manila Foundation, led the successful effort to save the last three Little Manila buildings from demolition, and co-founded with Dillon Delvo the non-profit community agency “Little Manila Rising”.  In 1994 she graduated magna cum laude in earning a Bachelor of Arts degree and received a Masters in Asian American Studies in 1957 — both from UCLA.  In 2004 she earned a Ph.D from Stanford University where she is believed to be the first pinay to earn a Doctorate in American History.  The newly robed Dr. Mabalon joined the faculty of the Department of History at San Francisco State University where she was a tenured Associate Professor at the time of her passing. Beloved by her students in her 14 years as a SFSU professor, she also conducted training for public school teachers in Filipino American/Asian American Studies, Ethnic Studies, and U.S. History.  Her greatest academic achievement was in 2013 with the publication of her award winning book Little Manila is in the Heart: The Making of the Filipina/o American Community in Stockton, California.  A native of Stockton, Dawn was born on August 17, 1972, the granddaughter of Filipino immigrants who settled in Stockton during the great migration of the 1920s.  She grew up in the Filipino barrios of South Stockton and matriculated at the city’s public schools.  Dr. Mabalon was a long time FANHS Board of Trustees member, serving as its National Scholar in developing discussion issues for Filipino American History Month.  August 23-24 funeral events consisted of Community Viewing at the Chapel of the Palms and Recitation of the Rosary at Dawn’s parish — St. George’s Catholic Church.   The next day’s Funeral Mass at St. George’s was standing room only with her many relatives and legions of friends.  After the Mass came interment at the San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery.  The subsequent reception at the cavernous Stockton Municipal Auditorium, featuring Dawn’s favorite foods and music, was attended by well over a thousand persons, many of whom traveled from as far away as New York City and Washington, D.C.  The ethnic and inter-generational diversity of attendees at all  events and the presence of a host of public officials was a testament of the deep respect for Dawn and her many contributions.  I was privileged to serve with Dawn on the FANHS National Board of Trustees.  There, I learned first hand of her levelheadedness, intellectual acumen, and problem solving skills. There is a 43 year difference in our ages, but rarely have I been around someone who gave so much to so many people.  Rest in Eternal Peace, Dr. Dawn Boholano Mabalon……………….. While I enjoyed the movie mega hit Crazy Rich Asians and its ethnic diversity, most American viewers were probably unable to distinguish among its various Asian actors. For discerning viewers, however,  ethnic/nationality characteristics were in plain sight.  Examples: the movie showed maids and servants speaking English with a Filipino accent; the quiet, submissive masseuses at an all-women spa were actually Sri Lankans in their native garb; and the security guards wearing red turbans at the lavishly gated estate were South Asian Indians.

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