Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D) has inadvertently become the symbol and voice of the nascent civil rights movement in the US, which has expanded from being predominantly Black in the '60s to now include all peoples of color and gender.

Jones, together with another Black colleague Rep. Justin Pearson, were expelled by the Republican-dominated Tennessee House of Representatives for disruptive behavior during a session discussing gun laws following the mass shooting in a Tennessee school that killed six, including three 9-year-old kids. Another colleague, Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white woman, was not expelled, bringing race to the forefront of the legislative action.

Jones identifies unequivocally with his Filipino roots [Read Leny Mendoza Strobel's story on him: Justin Jones – Black, Filipino, Civil Rights Activist — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora]. Many of PF's Fil-Am readers strongly support him. "This blatant racism is personal since Justin is one of us, " lawyer Ben Olivas wrote. " I explain to my American friends that I will not be silent in the face of the right’s embrace of authoritarian rule, given our own fight against autocracy back in the day. There is nothing Christian about showing kindness only to those of your tribe."

Last Monday afternoon, following a worldwide outrage, the Nashville Metropolitan Council unanimously reinstated Jones as its duly appointed representative, bringing him back to the House that expelled him. [See our In The Know links section below for the Associated Press report.] Is this the end of this story on race and an assault on democracy? Not a chance. We think this is only the beginning.

Our new stories this week brings us to two places in northern Philippines that seldom get airtime in mainstream media: Batanes, the northernmost province, where ace food writer Micky Fenix was introduced to uvi, a non-purple root crop native to the area; and Benguet, where the Northern Blossom Flower Farm caught the attention of PF contributing writer, Ian Layugan.

To commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Fall of Bataan on April 8, 1942, here's a story for the ages:

Death of an Army — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Before recently becoming the cover girl for a Philippine fashion magazine, Whang Od, the oldest living traditional mambabatok (tattoo artist), was the focus of Maia Almendral Esteves' first-person account on how it was to have a centuries-old tradition imprinted on her skin:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/from-brooklyn-to-buscalan-a-journey-to-whang-od

For Filipino boomers in Manila in the early '70s, Holy Week inevitably trigger memories of "Jesus Christ Superstar," the musicale whose Manila production made the lead performer, Boy Camara, still a remembered name. Where is he now? PF contributing writer Bella Bonner brought us up-to-date: Boy Camara Superstar — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora