As a child of immigrant parents, I remember worrying about how I would fit into society. I still felt like an outsider even though I had lived in the United States since three-years-old, almost all my life. Even my last name is a unique oddity; it is historically of Hispanic origin, but I am purely Asian and Pacific Islander. My father grew up splitting time between the traffic and urban density of Metro Manila and the wide-open rural Tarlac rice fields. My mother lived in Cebu (famed for lechón roast pigs) and then in Bacolod (home of the Masskara festival) with her many siblings and did not have much. They married, had me and decided to start a new life halfway around the world in the United States and here in New York. We all left what we had known and went into something new and different.

Filipino-American History Month in October honors the intertwined stories of Philippine and U.S. history and recognizes the contributions of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in society. According to the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), 2022 is a year of several anniversaries.

In 1972, Filipino American Studies rose up as part of a broader cultural reckoning during the 1960s and 1970s in the immediate aftermath of achievements made by the civil rights movement and the era of social progress and change. This is also when the terms Asian American and Pacific Islander rose in popularity. Institutions of higher education, such as campuses of the University of California, at both Los Angeles (UCLA) and UC Davis, as well as other public colleges and universities, such as San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, and the University of Hawai’i, began Filipino American Studies programs. Those pioneering students and faculty began a rich history that continues today.

In 1982, Drs. Fred and Dorothy Laigo Cordova cofounded FANHS, which was a culmination of decades of civil rights activism since they were college students. Both were historians and preeminent researchers who pioneered Filipino American Studies when academics of the time dismissed the idea. Fred also was a journalist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Catholic Northwest Progress and worked in communications for the University of Washington (UW) and his alma mater of Seattle University. Dorothy served as the Director of the Demonstration Project for Asian Americans (DPAA), which did studies on the broader Asian American community and recorded oral histories with activists. Both Cordovas would also be involved as faculty at UW, crafting the first drafts of the college’s Filipino American Studies curriculum in the mid-1990s.

In 1992, FANHS began the first-ever observance of Filipino American History Month. It would not be until 2009 that former President Barack Obama would commemorate the month at the White House. This would also be the first year in which resolutions from both houses of Congress were passed in honor of the observance.

The choice of October also marks the October 1587 arrival of the “Luzones Indios,” members of the indigenous Tagalog people, who landed at Morro Bay, California as part of the Spanish trade galleon voyages. The oldest Filipino and even Asian settlement in America was Saint Malo, Louisiana, a fishing village, established in the late 1700s as part of the Spanish Empire.

Here at SUNY Oswego, as of the 2019 class profile, over a third (34%) of the student population is non-white, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up 3% of all students. That is why it surprised me when my own residence hall put up a bulletin board commemorating the month. I have accepted that not acknowledging it is a usual practice. I am not usually open to discussing my background as people usually do not think of the Philippines or know it exists. But it is an archipelago out there with fascinating geography and a beautiful culture shaped by centuries of exploration and colonization.

Have you heard of Larry Itliong, a compatriot of labor and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez? Did you know that singer Lea Salonga is the voice of Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan? Well, now you know.

History remembers those before us, studying what they did and their impact on our world. Therefore I close by memorializing my late grandparents and my ancestors before me. Ito ay para sa inyo. This is for you.

Sources:

• SUNY Oswego, Office of Admissions https://ww1.oswego.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/2019-class-profile
• Atlas Obscura https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/filipino-louisiana
• Philippine-Louisiana Historical Society https://filipinola.com/st-malo/
• History Channel https://www.history.com/news/first-asian-american-settlement-filipino-st-malo
• International Examiner https://iexaminer.org/dr-uncle-fred-cordova-an-american-hero/
• Filipino American National Historical Society http://fanhs-national.org/filam/about/ http://fanhs-national.org/filam/founders/
• United States Congress, 111th Congress (2009-2010)
• United States Senate, Senate Resolution 298 (2009) https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-resolution/298
• United States House of Representatives, House Resolution 780 (2009) https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-resolution/780
• South Seattle Emerald https://southseattleemerald.com/2022/02/22/dr-dorothy-cordova-celebrates-90-years-of-building-beloved-community-in-seattle/
• Northwest Asian Weekly https://nwasianweekly.com/2014/01/fred-cordova-remembered-legendary-leader/
• University of Washington, Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/cordovas.htm
• Positively Filipino http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/he-was-most-positively-pinoy
• Philippine Inquirer https://globalnation.inquirer.net/97199/fred-cordova-and-the-parallel-universe-community https://usa.inquirer.net/85193/yndios-luzones-were-in-america-before-the-pilgrims
• City of Portland, Oregon https://www.portlandoregon.gov/article/593821
• The Diplomat https://thediplomat.com/2010/12/are-filipinos-asian/
• AsAm News https://asamnews.com/2021/09/16/the-identity-of-filipino-americans-is-complicated/
• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/after-50-years-asian-american-advocates-say-term-more-essential-n875601
• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-americans-pacific-islanders-faq-n998661
• NBC “Today” https://www.today.com/news/how-inclusive-aapi-pacific-islanders-debate-label-t218371
• Vox https://www.vox.com/identities/22380197/asian-american-pacific-islander-aapi-heritage-anti-asian-hate-attacks

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