This month marks the 31st year our FilAm community is celebrating Filipino American History Month (FAHM). October was the month chosen in 1992 by the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), as initiated by the Seattle-based historians Fred and Dorothy Cordova [read about her in our In The Know links below].

Why October? The first recorded landing of Filipinos (then called "Luzones Indios") happened on October 18, 1587 in or around Morro Bay, California via the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Buena Esperanza. For more information about this, read again Abraham Ignacio Jr.'s story. https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/where-exactly-did-filipinos-first-land-in-california

Since 1992, FANHS chapters and FilAm community organizations in various cities and states in the US have commemorated the month with events and activities to mark the presence of Filipinos in the US. And what a presence we have! Already, the Philippine national language is the dominant household language in 15 US cities, and the third most spoken (next to English and Spanish) in the state of Nevada [See "Tagalog Spoken Here"].

Finally in 2009, the US Congress made it official: October is FAHM, a designation that is recognized in all 50 states. In 2015, the Obama administration celebrated the first FAHM in the White House.

How to celebrate FAHM this year? Check out your local libraries and community centers; many of them have cultural presentations, film showings and exhibits on FilAms. [See our Community News section for information.] If you're in Northern California, visit Stockton, where the FANHS Museum is located. Gather friends and family for a Filipino meal or two in restaurants serving Filipino food. Watch films and read books that tell our people's stories. The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. is about to come out with "The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects" [Read Titchie Carandang's "Historical Memories Are Made of These"]

Positively Filipino has, through the years, compiled real stories -- good and bad-- about our FilAm communities, including those that pay tribute to those who came before us and on whose shoulders we stand on as we navigate our way through this idea called America. [Read Again "We Stand On Their Shoulders, Part 1 and 2].

It's not always pretty, our stories in this land. The past three years have been particularly fraught with the increasing incidents of hate directed against Asians. Veteran journalist Cristina Pastor visits Noel Quintana, our kababayan in New York City whose face was slashed when he was in the subway on his way to work one morning in 2021. Despite his trauma, he soldiers on, speaking out against racism wherever and whenever he can. Determination and resilience, that's what he's demonstrating.

And that, in essence, is what our community is celebrating this eventful month of October 2023.