Many stories have been written, narrated, and documented about the "manongs," the first-generation Filipino migrants in the US who were recruited from the Philippines to work the farmlands of Hawaii and California. Not much have been written, however, of the "bridge generation," the children of the manongs/manangs who, because of legal and societal issues (including the law that prohibited minorities from marrying whites), are comparatively small in number but who nonetheless occupy a significant and consequential niche in Filipino American history.

This year, we are starting our celebration of Filipino American History Month tomorrow with a webinar that will feature three prominent members of the Bridge Generation taking us back in time on how it was to grow up in the era before civil rights, diversity and a new generation of Filipino immigrants.

We hope you join us in honoring these Fil-Am community trailblazers.

This Week’s Stories

A Poet Laureate Who Must Now Voice Sic Semper Tyrannis By Agatha Verdadero

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 9 By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

GAD And COVID By Rene Astudillo

[Partner] Visas Available For Filipino Registered Nurses, Physical Therapists & Other Healthcare Workers (Including Caregivers) By Lourdes Santos Tancinco

[Read Again] The Happy Home Cook: Vegan Longganisa By Chef Richgail Enriquez

Video of the Week: 100 Miles Apart, a video about two Filipino healthcare workers directed by Garveaux Sibulboro for A-Doc.

In The Know

How Covid has affected Asian American multigenerational homes
https://news.yahoo.com/covid-impacted-asian-american-multigenerational-100020665.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

Family Ordeal Catapults A Young Filipina To The U.S. — And The Pandemic Front Lines
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/09/24/916018250/family-ordeal-catapults-a-young-filipina-to-the-u-s-and-the-pandemic-front-lines?fbclid=IwAR2_7eK3dm8FZ6b6wHfDhz1_7_1cewyr_xICUzUkW7LkAQv0IT026LQSd60

The men behind QAnon
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/men-qanon/story?id=73046374&fbclid=IwAR3UKqi9ZC8ofC0UCFgTOEH2cLruPz0ohCkcMJ7W1upBOZpjk4Gejx4CqI0

Long-time Fil-Am Republican: ‘Why I reject Trump’
https://usa.inquirer.net/57091/long-time-fil-am-republican-why-i-reject-trump?fbclid=IwAR02J2dz820bVjoJnVnyD80lRT8wRXnZFrkF0_HS85u9HM_eJd2EQ8sm3Sc

When Ferdinand Marcos hid his illness from Filipinos
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/ferdinand-marcos-hidden-illness-philippines?fbclid=IwAR3prIdpMLiP5eXkvTol7YHNJe-QaupXvl5kgCqgGjntvqyGtbUTADFg5yI

We know how it is to walk on eggshells when we have to talk about politics and religion with our families and friends. It's a lot easier to take the cop-out route -- not to bring up anything controversial when we gather with people we love. But in the past two months, ever since we saw the gruesome video of George Floyd dying in the hands of the police and witnessed the emergence of Black Lives Matter and nationwide anti-racist protests, we have been forced to reckon with anti-Black attitudes in our midst, be it in us or in our circles. Add to this the alarming increase of pandemic-induced racist rants directed at Asians, including Filipinos, and we know that it's time to have a conversation about racism. But how do we do it without breaking filial bonds?

Last week we posted the written versions and the audio recording of Positively Filipino's first webinar on the historical roots of the Filipino colonial mind and of white supremacy in the US. Both provide an abbreviated but very timely education on how we were "programmed" to look at white as the superior race, and how White supremacy was legalized and embedded in US history -- the better for us to understand how we feel and why we should care.

In case you missed the lectures, here are the links:

https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-colonial-legacy-of-racism-among-filipinos

https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/white-supremacy-and-black-oppression-in-law-and-society

Last Monday, our second webinar focused more pointedly on "A Difficult Conversation," which tackled the prevailing racist attitudes among Filipinos and how to start a constructive conversation with our families about the issue. Our panelists, Professors Evelyn Ibatan Rodriguez of the University of San Francisco and Anthony Ocampo of Cal Poly Pomona, provided enlightening and valuable insights on the topic.

Next week, Thursday, July 23, join us with immigrant activist Jose Antonio Vargas and immigration attorney Lourdes Tancinco for our third webinar: Immigrants in the Time of Racial Unrest, Pandemic, and Trump