Young Voices In This Time of Distress

Last Sunday, at the Glide Memorial Church, a San Francisco landmark, the uplifting service -- famous for its celebratory music, its soaring homilies and its inclusiveness -- was the perfect salve for wounded souls. And the whole congregation that day was still aching from the tragedy of November 8, 2016, surely a day of infamy for the United States and the free world. In the Philippines, there was the double whammy of the Supreme Court deciding to honor a dictator as a hero on that day. 

What does the election of Donald Trump mean for people of color? For starters, within 24 hours of the election, hundreds of racially charged harassments of minorities were reported. With the Ku Klux Klan already emboldened to come out openly, bullying of not just blacks but anyone not Caucasian (certainly including Filipinos) can be the new normal in this America that seems to have changed overnight. Millions have gathered to protest and we can only hope that the momentum for pushbacks against racism, misogyny and hate will continue for as long as they are happening.

The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) fired the initial volley for the community a few days ago when it publicly denounced the racist tweet of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee which said, “If HRC wins she will appoint her Filipino maid to head CIA. She already has access to all the secrets anyway. No need to train her.” Calling the tweet as "deeply offensive, NaFFAA demanded an apology from the former (and possibly future) presidential aspirant. 

This week we feature the writings of two young people: 18-year old Annika Olives airs her reaction to the results of the election in "Make America Beautiful Again." From Manila, 12-year old Luis Yuchengco wrote and recites a stirring Spoken Wordcall for his peers to "Dream Big." We don't usually publish poetry in Positively Filipino, but we can't help but share our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco's pride in her nephew.

And for those who are visiting the country and would like to take the iconic jeepney, Rene M. Astudillo lists down some tips that will get you through the harrowing/exciting experience in "Riding a Filipino Jeepney 101."

Positively Filipino Contributing Writer and resident foodie Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares another recipe, this time her own take on the traditional Italian apple cake, Torta de Mele in the Happy Home Cook.

For our Video of the Week, we feature the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City from OurPhilippines.tv.