Immigrants in the Crosshairs

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We continue to explore the complex and intertwined roots and manifestations of racism in our communities, and so we'd like to invite you once again to Positively Filipino's third webinar (rescheduled from last week). The focus is on "Immigration in the Time of the Pandemic, Racism and Trump" and will feature immigration activist/author and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Jose Antonio Vargas in conversation with veteran immigration lawyer Lourdes Tancinco. See flyer below for registration details.

If you had registered for the original date, you don't have to register again. Just watch out for your access link in your email inbox.

Meanwhile, life is still worth celebrating and our stories this week give us reason to be happy. A New Yorker shares his trepidation in going out for the first time after the city's lockdown was eased. And three women achievers -- a Filipina nurse in the United Kingdom who has become an award-winning poet, a Fil-Am-Finn skateboarder  in California who's angling for an Olympic gold, and an "adopted Filipina" chef who is championing Filipino cuisine in Buenos Aires -- make us culture-proud. 

Try out the recipe for Cavite Tamales, enjoy reading our curated In The Know links to stories that matter and watch our Video of the Week on "Unlearning Anti-Blackness in Filipino Culture."

Our Stories This Week

Coming Out Of Lockdown In The City That Never Slept By Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr.

Lizzie Skates The Light Fantastic By Anthony Maddela

Home Is Where Her Poetry Is By Joy Watford

Don’t Fry For Me, Argentina By Jennifer Fergesen

The Happy Home Cook: Cavite Tamales From Cantina Sunae By Chef Christina Sunae

Video of the Week:  How do we unlearn Anti-Blackness in Filipino Culture?

In The Know

4 years of Duterte: Grip secure, legacy in the balance, say pundits
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1312012/4-years-of-du30-grip-secure-legacy-in-the-balance-say-pundits?fbclid=IwAR3yVDBrbe9A48Eb9D3RpbkK-kGFyGYIa-Wbv3nm-BTuX8_Bf8ZkTwg7C58 

EXPLAINER: Comparing dangers in old law and anti-terror bill
https://rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/explainer-comparison-old-law-dangers-anti-terror-bill?utm_source=Rappler+PLUS&utm_campaign=0e54192479-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_26_11_34&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3d2e7cb0d7-0e54192479-96744697&mc_cid=0e54192479&mc_eid=5b1f08a2af

Our spirit can never be broken
https://star34.philstarlife.com/article/578539-our-spirit-can-never-be-broken?fbclid=IwAR2pqQgNc0n9c9Z-pKsmlv9PC6kBZhSed7MAz8B7CqEzD7CDK_UjOFZB2xM

In the Crosshairs of History: The Lopez Family
https://rappler.com/video/rappler-talk-video/interview-lopez-family-crosshairs-history-chita-taylor-berta-feliciano?fbclid=IwAR3vfqVt7Zf1hVM0gYawI_mcfkGqQkz6UVTwIquLxnu2RCEt4pGMYjtvTm8

Tribute: Jingle magazine founder and EIC Gilbert Guillermo passes away
https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/07/22/20/tribute-jingle-magazine-founder-and-eic-gilbert-guillermo-passes-away?fbclid=IwAR1HZqIdYeerAO5-mwPgf4U4EIgq-m42KO8Sva7FPU3RmyGHV11Lc8S3ilg

Pulitzer prize winning journalist Jessie Mangaliman dies at 63. Remembered as role model to many.
https://asamnews.com/2020/07/26/former-undocumented-immigrant-and-award-winning-american-citizen-jessie-mangaliman-dies-at-63/?fbclid=IwAR2-obCQuve1USn0etJ3pJHmJqQ899jBPpo61C2mdTl330o0dJC7Dg6N-8c

The heartbreaking story of father and son who died from coronavirus just 2 days apart -- COVID-19 Diaries
https://abc7news.com/society/covid-19-diaries-ca-father-and-son-die-just-2-days-apart/6331493/?fbclid=IwAR1_r88GZ7Qi6MWtJtBeWfnzPXREnjGQnXRy3e6MExmDjrgrZO301BIPx9E

Immigrants, Racial Unrest, and the Pandemic

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The US is a country of immigrants. People originally from other nations who have settled here have, through the centuries, powered this country, enabled it to soar to new heights in innovation and creativity, and continue to push it forward through inventions and new, progressive thinking.

Yet, when the going gets rough, when an economic downturn or a pandemic occurs, immigrants (in this particular time, Asian immigrants) bear the brunt of ignorant tirades brought about by anxiety and fear. And yes, by racism. 

Tomorrow, July 23, the third of Positively Filipino's webinar on Racism and the Filipino American (see flyer below) will feature immigration activist/Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas, in conversation with immigration lawyer Lourdes Tancinco about the very real issues of immigration under the immigrant-unfriendly Trump administration. 

It promises to be a stimulating and enlightening discussion so I hope you'll join us. To register, click on this link: bit.ly/ImmigrantsRacialUnrest

This Week’s Stories

ABS-CBN Shutdown: Shadier The Second Time Around By Ernesto M. Hilario

Cooking For The Cause By Jennifer Fergesen

A Childhood In Pila, Laguna By Maria Clarissa Palileo

Tell My Parents I’ll Be Late By Katherine Doctolero-Bandanwal

The Happy Home Cook: Vegan Ginataang Munggo Guisado By Chef Richgail Enriquez

Video of the Week: Al Jazeera features New York’s Filipino Nurses. 

In The Know Stories

As Philippines fights coronavirus, some fear involvement of the police
https://news.yahoo.com/philippines-fights-coronavirus-fear-involvement-101748878.html

Bongbong Marcos asked Cambridge Analytica to ‘rebrand’ family image
https://rappler.com/nation/bongbong-marcos-cambridge-analytica-rebrand-family-image?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=notificationFormer&fbclid=IwAR1K9vhDqWfU3bd3egwTP3Js-vZLPVkUKkx7rmQ8zFWJtPnHrb4emi1330o

Nicole Ponseca: We Need To Push The Value And Worth Of Ethnic Cuisine
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nicole-ponseca-voices-in-food_l_5f05cc2ec5b63a72c33b8e7e?ncid=newsltushpmgnews

The American Tour Guide Who Knows Manila Better Than Most Manileños
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/this-american-tour-guide-knows-manila-better-than-most-manilenos-a1729-20180302-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-EsquireMoney&utm_medium=Siteshare&utm_campaign=20200714-american&fbclid=IwAR1Rt7rXgsWvOKHejCad43psjZ1V3s1pZ671lnw11JM4-2R3YSYjV3uh16g

How Do You Tell Your Child He Is Undocumented?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/lysley-tenorio-the-son-of-good-fortune.html?campaign_id=69&emc=edit_bk_20200717&instance_id=20422&nl=books&regi_id=47563992&segment_id=33710&te=1&user_id=a6813a01d20d50942afadad6c6f1e549

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

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