This is not
a rhetorical question, nor do I intend to provide potential answers to this
question in this article. I am seriously and genuinely asking: Why?
The reason I
am asking this question - yet again - is because of the New York Times’ (NYT)
most recent installment of their “Conversations on Race” Op-Doc series, where
we see “Asian Americans talk about how stereotypes unfairly confine them —
particularly the one that brands them a 'model minority’…(and how) this
perception not only devalues the experiences of other racial minorities, but it
also renders the diverse experiences of Asian Americans invisible.” The stories
shared also “went beyond personal accounts of racism and discrimination here in
the United States, and extended to the residual outcomes of American influence
in Asia, particularly as they relate to immigration…experiences (that) more
closely resembled those of Latinos and African Americans than any sort of ‘model
minority’ narrative.”
It sounds really good!
You see, I -
along with many other fellow Filipinos in the diaspora - feel so passionately
about these issues that we have devoted our careers to addressing them.
Destroying
Asian American stereotypes? Check. Studying Asian American experiences with
racism? Check. Challenging the model minority myth? Check. Understanding the
effects of American influence in Asia especially as this relates to
immigration? Check. Arguing that some Asian groups’ experiences closely
resemble those of Latinos and African Americans than any sort of “model
minority” narrative? Check. Illuminating the diverse experiences of Asian
Americans beyond the typical East Asian perspective (i.e., Chinese, Japanese,
Korean)? Check.
As for that
last one on the list about addressing the invisibility of other Asian American
groups beyond East Asians, I and many other folks have focused primarily on
having Filipino American experiences seen, heard, and included. Check. Check.
Check.
So I was
very excited about the documentary!
So I watched
it.
And it was
good.
The 7-minute
film is well-done. It touched on several important issues and concepts such as
colorism, speaking English with an accent, America’s influence in Asia,
immigration, the perpetual foreigner stereotype, why the model minority myth is
not true, and of course – many personal experiences with racism.
However, out
of the 12 participants whose stories were featured and shared, not one name
appeared to be Filipino.
After
watching the film, my immediate reaction was:
“Uhm, I
don’t think there was one Filipino on there. Wait, it’s 2016 right?! Weren't I
and many other folks complaining about this in the 90s? And weren’t prior
generations of Filipino Americans complaining about this marginalization before
us?”
The
“Forgotten Asian Americans” and the “Invisible Minorities”
This type of
marginalization isn’t unique. It's not new. The NYT documentary is not
exceptional in its disregard of Filipino American stories. It's just that the
NYT documentary reminded me of the painful reality that Filipinos have been
historically ignored and unappreciated, and how such marginalization still
happens to this day!
You see,
Filipino banishment goes back to the fact that there was a Philippine-American
War that lasted for 15 years and during which thousands – some say 1.4 million
– Filipinos were killed by Americans, but yet such a war seems to be
unacknowledged, hidden, and forgotten. Filipino marginalization goes back to
the days of the manong generation, whose struggles in the farms of Hawaii,
California, and Washington – as well as in the canneries of Alaska – continue
to be unknown to many. It goes back to how the hard work and leadership of
Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, and other Filipino farmworkers are
overshadowed by the celebrity of Cesar Chavez. It goes back to how President
Franklin Roosevelt pledged that Filipinos who fight for the United States
during World War II would be granted citizenship and military benefits - so
over 250,000 Filipinos heeded the call – but shortly after the war ended that
promise was taken back with the Recission Act of 1946. It goes back to the many
ways in which Filipino people have contributed to this country’s rise as a
global power, but the American masses remain oblivious to such historical and
contemporary reality.
These are
some of the reasons why respected Filipino American historian Fred Cordova
referred to Filipino Americans as the “Forgotten Asian Americans.”
This
marginalization is also reflected in my field of psychology – the field that
studies stereotypes, racism, and how they influence peoples' psychological
experiences and mental health. For example, a simple search on PsycINFO – the
largest database of psychology-related scholarly literature – produced 1783
articles, books, dissertations, and book chapters using the word “Filipino.” In
comparison, the term “Chinese” returned almost 49,000 hits. The term “Japanese”
returned over 34,000 hits. The term “Korean” returned almost 10,000 hits. The
term “South Asian” returned over 4000 hits. The search term “Asian Indian or
Pakistani or Afghan or Afghanistani” returned almost 2500 hits. Even a much
smaller Asian group than Filipinos - “Vietnamese” - produced over 2,000 hits.
And in last summer’s Asian American Psychological Association conference, there
was not one presentation or research project that was about Filipino Americans.
This is why
Filipino Americans have been regarded by psychologists as the “Invisible
Minorities.”
But it’s the
year 2016. Filipino American psychology has grown tremendously. We’ve also had
Filipino faces on the mainstream American stage over the past few years. As
examples, we have Manny Pacquiao, the Miss Universe is Filipina, Apl de Ap blew
up with the Black Eyed Peas and is still pretty famous, Jose Antonio Vargas seems
to be always on national TV, Filipino dancers dominate America’s Best Dance
Crew, and Doug Baldwin is a star wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks who
made the Superbowl in 2014 and 2015. We even have Jordan Clarkson as the best
player for the Los Angeles Lakers – and yes, even better than today’s Kobe.
Filipinos
are definitely way more visible now! So what the heck?!?
The
Perplexing Marginalization of Filipinos
It’s
definitely discouraging to see that despite all the work and accomplishments of
Filipino people in the diaspora, Filipinos are still unseen, unheard, and
unknown. That all the work over the decades toward being recognized and valued
do not seem to be making any difference; that when people think of Asians, they
still don’t think of Filipinos. It’s quite disheartening to realize that
Filipinos are still the forgotten Asian Americans and the invisible minorities.
But despite
yet another punch in the face, we have to keep fighting – resilience is a
Filipino trait after all. So with the audacity to still hope that change can
happen, here are five reasons why it’s perplexing for Filipino Americans to be
continually ignored, forgotten, and marginalized.
1.
Uniqueness of Filipino American History
Filipinos
are the first Asians on U.S. soil, with documentation of shipwrecked Filipinos
who were slaves in Spanish ships landing on the shores of what is now Morro
Bay, California back in 1587 - long before the United States of America even
existed. Also, Filipinos are the only Asian group to be colonized by the U.S.,
and this colonial history has serious and widespread implications on identity,
racism, colorism, acculturation, and mental health. Research has shown that
such a colonial history has made the Filipino experience very similar to the Latino,
African American, and Native American experiences. Therefore, it just makes
sense that any project that was interested in Asian American experiences that
“more closely resembled those of Latinos and African Americans than any sort of
‘model minority’ narrative” to at least include the Filipino story.
2. Huge
Filipino American Population
Filipinos
are the second largest Asian American group, numbering around 3.5 million,
which is approximately 20% of the Asian American population. In other words, 1
out of 5 Asian Americans is Filipino. This is especially significant if we
remember that the Asian American community is very diverse – it is composed of
at least a dozen different ethnic groups! Filipinos are also the largest Asian
group in the state of California, which is the most populated state in the
country. Filipinos are also the largest Asian group in the states of Alaska,
Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, Wyoming, and
South Dakota. So that’s 11 out of the 50 states, again approximately 20% of
America. Therefore, proportionally-speaking, whenever any project on the “Asian
American experience” is done and it involves at least five Asian Americans,
then at least one of the featured subjects should be Filipino in order to truly
demonstrate a strong commitment to represent the diverse voices of Asian
Americans.
3. Large
Immigrant Population
Filipinos
are currently the fourth largest immigrant group in the United States after
Mexicans, Chinese, and Asian Indians, as over 1.8 million Filipinos in the
United States are foreign-born. As recently as 2010, however, Filipinos were
the second largest immigrant group in the country after Mexicans. Also, Jose
Antonio Vargas – a Filipino man – is the public face of immigration reform. So
it’s surprising that a Filipino person wasn’t even included in a documentary
that touched on immigration. Combined with the fact the Filipinos are the only
Asian ethnic group to be colonized by the U.S., it should be an easy decision
to have the Filipino perspective be reflected by any project that explores the
“residual outcomes of American influence in Asia, particularly as they relate
to immigration.”
4.
Significant Contributions to “Asian American” Identity
Filipinos
were also instrumental in creating the “Asian American” umbrella term and
political identity during the 60s when the Asian American Political Alliance in
Berkeley was founded, when Asian Americans collaborated with Black, Chicano/a,
and Native American students in San Francisco State University and University
California Berkeley to demand ethnic studies courses, and when Asian American
students and community members advocated for Filipino residents of the
International Hotel in San Francisco. So Filipinos were a big part of the
creation of the “Asian American” political identity, giving Asian Americans
stronger mainstream visibility and political clout and influence. But despite
this, Filipinos continue to be marginalized and glossed over in many projects
about the "Asian American" experience.
5. Filipinos
Experience Racism at a Very High Rate
Filipinos
also experience racism at a very high rate, even compared to other Asians. A
recent study found that 99% of Filipino Americans experience racism on a
regular basis, and that these experiences lead to psychological distress, low
self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Even further, Filipinos also report
commonly experiencing subtle forms of racism called microaggressions that are
unique from the microaggressions experienced by most other Asian Americans. For
instance, contrary to the “model minority” myth, Filipinos are often assumed to
have inferior status or intellect (e.g., Philippines-trained professionals are
treated as not being as good as others) and are often seen as deviant in some way
(e.g., being a gang member or a criminal), which are microaggressions that are
also commonly experienced by non-Asian American groups such as African
Americans, Latinas/os, and Native Americans.
The Struggle
Continues
Another
microaggression unique to Filipinos is that they report commonly experiencing
discrimination even from other Asian Americans. Also more recently, research
found that while 96%-98% of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese individuals
identify as “Asian,” only 47% of Filipinos do. Perhaps this continued
marginalization even within the Asian American community is why many Filipinos
do not identify as Asian Americans. Sure, perhaps Filipinos just don’t feel
connected to other Asian people, cultures, and lived realities. But perhaps
Filipinos also don’t feel welcomed.
Perhaps
Filipinos still feel unheard, unseen, unknown, and unappreciated. Perhaps many
Filipinos don't want to identify with a group that seems to endlessly neglect
and ignore them.
So here we
are, in 2016, and we are still fighting the same fight. Despite our unique
history in the U.S., our large numbers, our significant contributions to the
Asian American community, and our unique struggles with racism, immigration,
health, and in other areas (e.g., education, income, etc.) that challenge the
“model minority myth”, we are still ignored and rendered irrelevant.
We are still
wanting to be seen, wanting to be heard, wanting to be included.
We’re still
perplexed. We’re still complaining.
So again,
why are Filipino Americans still “Forgotten” and “Invisible”? Seriously, why?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E.J.R.
David, Ph.D. has two books, "Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino American
Postcolonial Psychology" and "Internalized Oppression: The Psychology
of Marginalized Groups."
Follow the
author on Twitter: @ejrdavid
More
information about the author here
