We Stand on Their Shoulders

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"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."

    - Joseph Campbell

This weekend, Positively Filipino is hosting an event honoring 12 Filipino American pioneers (our manongs and manangs) whose lifework and achievements have paved the way for succeeding generations to find their own paths in US society. Their personal journeys have not been easy. They grew up at a time of discrimination and silencing. They didn't have the advantage of our current numbers or social media to make their voices heard. They had to claw their way out and up before they were able to shine in their respective niches.

They are, by any measure, our community heroes.

In paying tribute to them this week, Positively Filipino aptly joins the celebration of National Heroes Day (a yearly celebration on the last Monday of August) in the Philippines and Labor Day (September 1) in the US.

Stories This Week

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 60 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

20th Cinemalaya Pays Tribute to Pathbreaking Films by Pablo A. Tariman

[Partner] On Peace and Freedom Week: Awakening Heroism United for Peace and Climate Action by Cecilia Guidote-Alvarez

Read Agains:

From Spain to Delano—The Radical Roots of Farm Workers Unions

Jose Abad Santos: Hero And Front-liner

In The Know

She Survived the Maui Wildfires. She Couldn’t Survive the Year After.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/business/maui-wildfires-survivors-deaths

Young math whiz in Cebu uses amazing talent to find dad
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/590157/young-math-whiz-in-cebu-uses-amazing-talent-to-find-dad

Bini is not just P-pop — they’re a new vision of Filipino womanhood [interview]
https://nextshark.com/bini-ppop-filipino-womanhood-interview?

50 years of friendship: Celebrating the top 10 Filipino restaurants in Abu Dhabi
https://yallaabudhabi.ae/food-drink/top-10-filipino-restaurants-in-abu-dhabi/

Filipinos in Las Vegas
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1656996828418534

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

As the election nears, anti-AAPI rhetoric is increasing. Here’s how leaders can offer support
https://www.fastcompany.com/91176794/as-the-election-nears-anti-aapi-rhetoric-is-increasing-heres-how-leaders-can-offer-support

Harris campaign ads target anti-Asian hate and protecting Obamacare
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/21/2264776/-Harris-campaign-ads-target-anti-Asian-hate-and-protecting-Obamacare

Bachelorette contestant Thomas Nguyen reveals he received racist online hate during show
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/10/vietnamese-american-bachelorette-contestant-racist-hate-slur/

Hate crime charges handed down in beatdown of Muslim man
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/27/anti-muslim-hate-crime-new-york/

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Anniversary of a Death Foretold

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Today marks the 41st anniversary of the assassination of Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. -- a crime so consequential to Philippine contemporary history that there has not been a dearth of stories recalling, analyzing, commenting on the historical moment and its earthshaking consequences. 

Here's one of them: https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/ninoy-aquino-was-not-alone

The main protagonists of this tragedy -- Ninoy and Ferdinand Marcos -- remain subjects of speculation and scrutiny, with Ninoy of course emerging as the tragic hero and Marcos the despicable villain. But as journalists the world over know, every big story has a more interesting backstory, just like this one. Toronto-based Rogie Concepcion, a fraternity brod of both Ninoy and Marcos, writes about his encounters with Ninoy and some of the [many] stories the latter told. 

*****

In this issue, we are reviving a series we started some years back, Pinoyspotting which highlights random encounters of Filipino travelers with kababayans in various places and situations. Here's a group of them, crew members of Viking's Mani longship which plies the Rhine River in Europe. With almost half a million Filipinos working in the merchant marine industry, it's a given that you'll meet some in any cruise you're taking.

*****

A young woman who chose to be a farmer, an environmentalist, a non-profit leader and an advocate for staying put in the homeland. Cherrie Atilano, as profiled here by constant PF contributor Ian Layugan, is a worthy role model for Filipino youths who seek a meaningful, sustainable path in the service of Mother Earth. 

*****

Our Video of the Week again comes from the creators of The Filipino Story, an online series that celebrates being Filipino. Historian Prof. Xiao Chua answers questions from FilAms posted on Instagram. 

In The Know

An Aggressive China Is Pushing the Philippines and Vietnam Closer Than Ever
https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/an-aggressive-china-is-pushing-the-philippines-and-vietnam-closer-than-ever/

Fiesta in America bridges the gap for Filipino Americans in New Jersey
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/16/filipino-cultural-showcase-this-weekend-in-east-rutherford-new-jersey/

In ‘And So It Begins,’ Ramona Diaz asserts moving past nostalgia
https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/interview-and-so-it-begins-ramona-diaz-asserts-moving-past-nostalgia/

PH seen struggling with shortage of accountants
https://business.inquirer.net/475199/ph-seen-struggling-with-shortage-of-accountants

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Study highlights challenges in detecting violent speech aimed at Asian communities
https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-highlights-violent-speech-aimed-asian.html 

‘Unity is strength:’ Oakland Chinatown elders tackle public safety
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/06/oakland-chinatown-elders-community-safety-asian-black-documentary-violence-theft/

Upstate NY’s Karen community seeks justice after fatal shooting
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/19/karen-refugee-killed-in-us-after-fleeing-military-junta-in-myanmar/

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Our Votes Matter

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Fact: "In the 2020 and 2022 elections, Democrats won Asian Americans’ votes in national elections by noticeably smaller margins than in years past." Author/academic James Zarsadiaz, in his op-ed piece first published in the Los Angeles Times, traces the history of Asian Americans’ increasing slant towards the Republican Party, an interesting shift worth watching. But will the recent upheaval in the US presidential elections -- the phenomenal ascendance of Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate -- alter this trend? As Filipino telenovelas would urge: Abangan ang susunod na kabanata (watch for the next episode).  

The Philippine call center industry in the Philippines is big business and already a permanent presence in the nation's economy. It's just fitting then that an award-winning fictionist - Glenn Diaz, a professor at Ateneo de Manila - makes a call center the setting of this crime thriller, The Quiet Ones. New York-based writer/academic Elaine Joy Edaya Degale reviews the book. 

We continue to spotlight Filipino artists, this time a pointillist born and bred in the Philippines' art capital, Angono, Rizal. Dolpee Alcantara Jr.'s signature technique and vivid colors are discussed by first-time contributor Leodovico Padua Masuli. 

Our Video of the Week, another of The Filipino Story's inspiring episodes: "I Didn't Want to be Filipino."

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

North Valley JCC shooting: 25 years later, the enduring fight against hate continues
https://abc7.com/post/north-valley-jcc-shooting-25-years-later-enduring-fight-hate-continues/15167111/

Nassau County mask ban: Many concerned over 'possibility of bias and hate crimes'
https://www.yahoo.com/news/nassau-county-mask-ban-many-235320938.html

New York City mayor hosts dialogue to address unmatched levels of hate crime
https://www.philippinenews.com/new-york-city-mayor-hosts-dialogue-to-address-unmatched-levels-of-hate-crime/

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff