Making History During Filipino American History Month

The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) declared October as Filipino American History Month (FAHM) in 1992, to celebrate the contributions of Filipino Americans throughout the history of the United States. In 2009, U.S. Congress passed a resolution recognizing FAHM on a federal level; and in 2015, President Obama became the first U.S. President to publicly acknowledge October as FAHM. In 2021, Google featured FAHM on their homepage, and Twitter even added an automatic Philippine flag to the hashtags #FAHM, #FAHM2021, and #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth. This year, FANHS commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first Young Filipino Peoples’ Far West Convention, a conference attended by 400 young Filipino Americans in Seattle in 1971 that is considered to be the start of the Filipino American movement.

Filipino American sailors in New York in the 1940s

Source: Dolores Fernandez Alic, used with permission

FANHS created FAHM because the history of Filipino Americans has been historically erased from both general U.S. narratives and from Asian American Studies. In fact, FANHS founding president Fred Cordova wrote a book called Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans in 1983, asserting how the histories of both the Philippines and Filipino Americans had been forgotten in U.S. history books.

Many Americans are not taught that the Philippines was a U.S. territory from 1899 to 1946, nor that a significant portion of World War II was fought in the Philippines. Most Americans may not know that the earliest documentation of Asians in North America were indigenous people from the Philippines (Luzones Indios) who arrived in Morro Bay, California in 1587, nor do they realize that the first Asian settlement included Filipinos who escaped Spanish galleons and formed communities in Louisiana in the mid-1700s. Many Americans may not know that Filipino American farmworkers initiated the Delano Grape Strikes of 1965, which shaped how labor unions of all sectors have been able to advocate for fairer pay and safer working conditions. Many Americans may not have learned that thousands of Filipina nurses migrated to the US as cheap labor in the 1960s—working with populations that many domestic nurses had avoided, including AIDS patients in the 1980s and 1990s or intensive care units during the COVID pandemic. Filipino Americans have contributed so much to this country’s history—fighting against injustices like racial violence, anti-miscegenation laws, labor inequalities, and housing discrimination, to name a few—changing the landscape for civil rights and equity in the US.

Filipina students at Columbia University in the 1950s

Source: Cecile Sison, used with permission

Mental health practitioners, educators, and advocates of all racial and ethnic identities should celebrate FAHM, because it has direct implications for the Filipino American clients, students, and constituents they serve. Research has supported that ethnic identity is a protective factor against discrimination and increases positive mental health outcomes for Asian American youth, while studies with Black American youth indicate that cultural pride socialization increases self-esteem and decreases anxiety. For Filipino Americans specifically, young people who learn more about their culture—via their families, communities, or Ethnic Studies courses— report feelings of transformative growth and resilience; a lifetime commitment to social justice; and an increase in educational achievement and mental health. Given these factors, a month-long commemoration of Filipino American history can be beneficial to the 4 million Filipino Americans in the U.S.

Perhaps what is most special about October 2021 is that so much Filipino American history was made during Filipino American History Month itself. With each historic event came the opportunity for Filipino Americans to feel seen and represented - potentially increasing one's sense of joy, acceptance, or self-esteem. Here are a few examples:

• Maria Ressa, a Filipina American who was born in the Philippines but raised in New Jersey, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to safeguard freedom of expression (especially of the press) in the Philippines.
• Larry Itliong, a Filipino American labor leader who led the Delano Grape Strikes, was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
• The animated series Jelly, Ben & Pogo, which was created by Jalysa Leva and features two Filipino American children (Ben and his Ate Jelly), premiered on PBS.
• PBS also premiered Caretakers, a series produced and directed by Geena Rocero, that highlights the heroic contributions of Filipino Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Jalen Green and Jordan Clarkson became the first two Filipino American professional basketball players to ever share the court in an NBA game, when the Houston Rockets played the Utah Jazz on October 29, 2021.
• The first workshop of Larry: A New Musical (written by Gayle Romasanta and composed by Bryan Pangilinan) premiered; with an all-Filipino American cast and creative team, the musical about Larry Itliong was viewed virtually by over 4000 audience members during its brief 24-hour run.
• On the eve of FAHM, California governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 490 also known as Angelo's Law, which effectively banned police restraint tactics and face-down holds that historically have caused asphyxiation. It is named after Angelo Quinto, a 30-year-old Filipino American who was killed after police were called to his home for a mental health emergency. Weeks later, the city of Antioch, California (where Quinto was killed) was announced as one of 10 U.S. cities to be federally funded by The Department of Justice to receive training and resources for police reform.
• And finally, on a personal note, on October 25, 2021, I was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY). In doing so, I became the second person of color; the first Asian American; and the youngest person to be named Distinguished Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Across the entire university, I became the second-youngest CUNY Distinguished Professor and the first Filipino American Distinguished Professor in CUNY history.

It felt very serendipitous that my promotion was granted during FAHM and specifically on Larry Itliong Day (a statewide holiday in California commemorating the labor leader’s birthday). Itliong came to this country in 1929 in search of a better life. He wanted to be a lawyer and fight for equity and justice for all, but instead, he was forced to work in the fields and canneries to survive. The 100,000 Filipino migrants who arrived in the early 1900s were met with racism, violence, and injustice. They were not allowed to vote, marry outside of their race, own property, or have basic civil rights. Many were assaulted, brutalized, lynched, and even killed; however, the law did not protect them. It is not lost on me that I became the first Filipino American Distinguished Professor in one of the largest public universities in the world, in one of the leading schools of criminal justice. Itliong’s generation fought for their civil rights, which allowed me to have mine (and the opportunities that came with them).

To end this month, I offer one last bit of history. In 1940, Carlos Bulosan (renowned Filipino American author of the classic novel, America is in the Heart) wrote a poem called “If You Want to Know Who We Are.” In 2001, historian Dawn Mabalon wrote a sequel to the poem; and just last week, I wrote a spoken word piece to make it a trilogy. I hope you all take the time to learn more about who we are and how we’ve contributed significantly to this country. Filipino American history is American history, and American history is Filipino American history. And because we know that more ethnic awareness and cultural pride can result in increased wellness and self-worth (while also protecting against mental health issues), let's make sure that future generations recognize this too.