A Time for Reflection

The enduring civil unrest following a white police officer's killing of George Floyd, a Black man, has also triggered widespread conversations and reflections about racism, in the midst of a quarantine that has lasted for months. There is soul-searching among individuals of color, too, including Filipinos, as to how we and our immediate circles are responding to this momentous social unrest.

Soul-searching, however, could benefit from the context or guidance of history and social analysis.  For this reason, Positively Filipino is hosting a series of webinars to discuss the historical and sociological roots of racial prejudice against Black Americans--including among Filipinos--to better  understand the challenges posed by the systemic and oppressive racial prejudice that affects us all.

Please join us for these important conversations via Zoom. Details below. To register, please click on this link: bit.ly/PFPigmentsOfHistory

This week’s stories:

Racism: Reflections Of A Bridge Generation Filipino American By Peter Jamero

How Filipinos Are Coping With COVID-19, Part 2: Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France By Cecilia Manguerra-Brainard

Biking In The Pandemic By Criselda Yabes

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 7 By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Read Again: In the Heat of the Night: The Exeter and Watsonville Riots 1929-1930 — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora 

For our recipe of the week, we have Chef Roline Casper’s Ginisang Ampalaya.

In The Know links:

Under Coronavirus Lockdown, a Philippine Priest Hits the Streets
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/world/asia/coronavirus-philippines-priest.html?smid=fb-share&fbclid=IwAR07HGkn8kXJ6d2AdMwCvwf64WYH4bDzM1lPCZYK8g4mjcYyxnUIo27i6s0

In Philippines, a child alleges abuse by Catholic priest — and tests Vatican promise for global reckoning
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/06/23/philippines-child-alleges-abuse-by-catholic-priest-tests-vatican-promise-global-reckoning/?arc404=true&fbclid=IwAR0YvDOdTO3EtI3-T1mb1dQeoQWZZRssJwr_7D4PVGSluwFSS9h_kIVgSCo

Returning to My Father’s Kitchen
https://lunchticket.org/returning-to-my-fathers-kitchen/?fbclid=IwAR3xReU81H0RudZYJWQ45V6LM2mKxA4-OJ1WjEbsXGCX6DSR5dLHeXZaYUM

'My Sons Are Filipinos Because Life in the Philippines Is All They Know'
https://www.smartparenting.com.ph/parenting/real-parenting/i-want-to-raise-my-boys-knowing-filipino-values-a1746-20180329?utm_source=Facebook-SP&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20200619-fbnp-parenting-i-want-to-raise-my-boys-knowing-filipino-values-a1746-20180329-fbold-fbcap&fbclid=IwAR18A2bJhRMo3iHQRLyOVVrmgr3G5xxkqfy1XeyArPLAEYi46UkB1RfEtdg

For Video of the Week: Last June 12, 2020 (Philippine Independence Day), Kabud Multimedia Production uploaded “Yan ang Pilipino,” an uplifting music video of one of the songs from “Halo-Halo Tayo”, a play from the Carl Jung Circle Center.

A Month of Remembrance and Reflection

It's Filipino American History Month once again, a month that reminds us of the long, difficult road our ancestors in this country trekked to pave the way for succeeding generations of immigrants. Positively Filipino joins the celebration by bringing you stories that make up the complex tapestry that our kababayans have woven in America.

One of these stories is the Delano Grape Strike that started in 1965 and lasted for five years. The massive strike for higher wages and improved working conditions for California farm workers was organized by Filipino union leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Veracruz, but popular history has pushed them to the sidelines in favor of Cesar Chavez. Linda Revilla's story, "Remembering Our Manongs and the Delano Grape Strike" corrects this historical error and retells the story of how 1,500 Filipino farm workers walked out of their jobs and changed labor history in the United States.

A good "Read Again" for this month is Abraham Ignacio Jr.'s "Where Exactly Did 'Filipinos' First Land in California?" to put Filipino American history in perspective.

An exciting exhibit on the famous piña fabric of the Philippines is ongoing at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Contributor Manzel Delacruz takes us there as she reports on the efforts of The Hinabi Project to promote the beautiful and indigenous Philippine fabric to an international audience.

From Manila, cultural historian John Silva reviews "Right Footed," the award-winning documentary film featuring the amazing Jessica Cox and how she overcame her disability with the help of her courageous Filipino immigrant mother, Inez.

And speaking of Manila, a young entrepreneur named Dianne Atienza tells us her story of risk-taking and determination when she chose to give up a corporate career in favor of striking out of her own as a "rentapreneur." Want to rent an Airbnb in Manila? This story will help you decide.

Our Happy Home Cook feature this week, Positively Filipino Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino's ropa vieja.

For Video of the Week, we feature a news segment from Fox-9 in Idaho, where a long distance romance began from a gift care package sent miles away to Joana Marchan in the Philippines.

Tension in the Spratlys, Relaxing in Toronto

What's really happening in the western Philippines' chain of islands called the Spratlys, ground zero for Chinese expansionist ambitions? Contributing writer Criselda Yabes reports on the tense situation at Ulugan Bay where the US is supposed to build a military base for joint operations with Philippine forces. Right now, even as China has swiftly built a sophisticated airport in one of the nearby islands, the Philippine Supreme Court has yet to rule on the constitutionality of the US-Philippine agreement. In "South China Sea Row - A Waiting Game," Yabes explains the problem and takes us to the 27-hectare Pag-Asa island ("Life Under the Glare of Chinese Territorial Ambitions") where 25 Filipino families live in peace and harmony with the Coast Guard.

In Toronto, Canada, a Filipino couple -- Roger and Tess Concepcion -- and their three children are successfully running a chain of inns, with the Baldwin Village Inn as its anchor. Regularly recommended by the top travel sites, the Concepcions' B&Bs are known for its home-away-from-home benefits. Read Noni Mendoza's "The Innkeepers of Toronto" to find out why. 

Filipino expats of a certain age will surely remember The Rolling Pin Bake Shop, which was the undisputed source of the best special-occasion cakes in Manila for years. However, chances are that you've never met the creative and entrepreneurial dynamo behind the success of the bake shop. That was the late Gloria Y. Nichols, and our contributing writer and food expert Elizabeth Ann Quirino, in profiling her posthumously ("The Baker of Lasting Memories"), brings back memories of delicious pastries and beautiful cakes from The Rolling Pin.

The Happy Home Cook feature this week is Goldilocks' Leche Flan, another memory-laden delicacy.

Our Video of the Week: Another CNN Philippines feature that will surely please our Kapampangan readers. Yen Baet, an acclaimed Filipina photographer, is one of your own. 

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UPDATES

The documentary "Right Footed," which featured the amazing life of disability activist Jessica Cox, and our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco co-produced, won the Best Documentary Award at the Mirabile Dictu (International Catholic Film Festival), June 22-25, 2015 at the Vatican.

Watch Our Video Again: Inspiring Jessica

Aaron Isip, the young Filipino chef in Paris that we featured in our Video of the Week was awarded the Le Trophee Espoir of Ile de France by Gault and Milleu, a much-coveted honor in the city of gourmands. 

Watch Our Video Again: Chef Aaron Isip of Restaurant Dix-Huit

You read about "Right Footed" and Chef Aaron Isip first in Positively Filipino.