The Past Year As Prologue

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A new year brings new beginnings, but it's also a time to take stock of the old year.  This week, Positively Filipino, now starting its 11th year of existence, offers yearend look-backs -- and we've got two of them plus a first-person account of an adventure in the West Philippine Sea.

Manila-based analyst and columnist Ernesto M. Hilario steps back from the day-to-day grit of politics and offers a sweeping view of how the first full year of the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration panned out. His verdict in "Marcos' Year of Hits and Misses."

2023 was also a banner year for Fil-Am visual arts as contributing writer O.M. France Viana, herself an active artist, sums up the year with over 45 links to Fil Am artists, curators, and their shows.  Dive into this visual feast in "2023 Filipino American Visual Arts in Review: An ArtsiLog."

A first-of-its-kind sea voyage -- and hopefully not the last -- was done by a group of about 50 social activists and media people in early December 2023. Part of the larger campaign called Atin Ito!, the goal was to deliver supplies and Christmas gifts to kababayans in the contested West Philippine Sea. Group members also wanted to see for themselves how Chinese Navy vessels engage in a dangerous dance with Philippine Coast Guard vessels and those of Filipino fisherfolk. How did the mission go? Read participant Robert Francis Garcia's account, "Defying Goliath in the West Philippine Sea."

We continue with our information campaign on Anti-Asian Hate with this feature on Los Angeles' foremost Fil-Am organization, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), and its Clinical Program of Mental Health. SIPA's staff of three therapists and three social work interns have their hands full in tackling "the painful consequences of anti-AAPI hatred," as described by PF's LA correspondent Anthony Maddela in "SIPA Helps Stop the Hate."

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Sacramento senior citizen center combats anti-Asian hate with escorted shopping trips
https://www.aol.com/sacramento-senior-citizen-center-combats-130000098.html 

Wing Luke Museum staff recount horrifying moments when hate crime suspect broke into building with sledgehammer
https://ustimespost.com/wing-luke-museum-staff-recount-horrifying-moments-when-hate-crime-suspect-broke-into-building-with-sledgehammer/

A Texas high school is piloting the state’s first-ever Asian American studies course. Could politics stand in its way?
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/19/asian-american-studies-texas-round-rock-isd/

Finding mental health care is difficult for Asian Americans
https://asamnews.com/2023/12/19/shortage-culturally-competent-asian-american-therapists/

Bonneville Elementary community spreads messages of love after hate crime vandalism
https://ksltv.com/608760/bonneville-elementary-community-spreads-messages-of-love-after-hate-crime-vandalism/

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Racism: Can We Talk?

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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

Timeless Star of the Silver Screen

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To fans of Filipino movies, Eddie Garcia is a towering institution, unmatched in the breadth and depth of his talent, his experience and in the variety of roles he has played in the 70 years he has been in the industry as actor and director. Author/poet and movie critic Marra PL. Lanot catches up with this quintessential actor and shares his views with us in "What Makes Eddie Run?'

A landmark victory that should be celebrated and pursued, not ignored. That's the maritime case that the Philippines filed against China before the International Court of Arbitration, a complex process that veteran journalist Marites Danguilan Vitug meticulously chronicles in her new book, Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case Against China. The book is reviewed for us by Dr. Patricio N. Abinales in "High Noon in the West Philippine Sea."

Bookending our lineup this week is "Lucky Charm," an essay by millennial writer Maia Boncan.

Starting with the above piece, we'd like to encourage our young readers to share their thoughts/views and their writing, for a series that we have tagged, "Our Turn."

If you're craving comfort food this cold season, how about trying out our Happy Home Cook recipe this week from PF Correspondent Rene Astudillo: Dinengdeng with Fried Bangus. 

And our links for stories you may have missed reading:

Where 518 Inmates Sleep in Space for 170, and Gangs Hold It Together
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/world/asia/philippines-manila-jail-overcrowding.html?fbclid=IwAR3xMdQXvsf3WhfVkDI_SJST2H3NWtdK1v9bqN85ONyiMn9cQN5uymxK1xs

Meet the Filipina Engineer Who Struggled in Math But Now Works at NASA 
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/newsfeatures-peopleparties/76495/josephine-santiago-bond-filipina-engineer-nasa-a833-20190106-lfrm?ref=home_feed_1%3Futm_source&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20190106-fbnp-newsfeatures-josephine-santiago-bond-filipina-engineer-nasa-a833-20190106-lfrm%3Fref&fbclid=IwAR0S6jjWV9oQ3oUOCviw04_mAvtvy1GjpvwJRghlK4zNL9kzkP6ELXVLOOg

“Stay a While Longer, Doc”
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/specials/content/40/stay-a-while-longer-doc/?fbclid=IwAR13clgfoZCLsr_gZwWE3UW0ry3wW8wZ9MGtYazawdyLJOGgaMIOaWWnMiA

New Saliva-based Test Detects Malaria Before Symptoms Appear
http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2019/01/new-saliva-based-test-detects-malaria-before-symptoms-appear.php?fbclid=IwAR23dLuSPkYuKejtuJmxUjnnrJw1H1RYD9478XGHTz6K3RxsBKB0UVdMmrI

Darren Criss Wins at Golden Globes
https://deadline.com/2019/01/golden-globes-darren-criss-the-assassination-of-gianni-versace-ryan-murphy-filipino-american-1202530126/

For Video of the Week, Grammy-nominated recording artist H.E.R. (aka Gabi Wilson) was interviewed on the Late, Late Show with James Corden, where she acknowledged her Filipino heritage.

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino