What We Need To Uplift During Filipino/a/x American History Month

The first Asian Americans to arrive in the U.S. were Filipinos in 1587 in the Transpacific Slave Trade. 

Cesar Chavez worked alongside Filipino labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz. 

The word boonies comes from the Tagalog word bundoc meaning mountains from when American soldiers were in the Philippines during the Philippine-American war. 

Are any of you learning this for the first time?

This month, we asked some of our Filipino/a/x staff at APANO to share what they want to uplift during October as Filipino/a/x American History Month (FAHM). This is what they had to say.

“Something we need to uplift during FAHM is the Filipino diaspora - all of us finding ways to stay connected to our roots despite where we grew up. As a 'mestiza' who visited the Philippines for the very first time this year, I was amazed by how many shared values and traditions carry across oceans. It reminded me that being Filipino can look different for everyone – and that's something to celebrate!” –Elora, HR Operations Director

“Something we need to uplift during FAHM is Filipinx history of expansive & open gender & sexual expression. Not only do we have queer & trans figures in our mythologies, including the moon god Libulan and but historically the Philippines has contained a rainbow of gender & sexual expressions. Babaylan were priestesses - this spiritual guide role was also expansive, inviting all those who were called to, to occupy this role; many who were assigned male at birth were also Babaylan.” –Jules, Cultural Work Manager

“Something we need to uplift during FAHM is Filipinos come from a long lineage of resistance and organizing. It’s time we uplift people like Silme Domingo and Dr. Dawn Mabalon who have been left out of our history books and community memory for too long, including in Asian-American spaces.” –LP, Communications Manager

American history and Asian American history. The history of Oregon and the history of Portland. They are incomplete and inaccurate without the stories and generations of Filipinos who have called this country home for centuries. 

So when we say Happy FAHM, let’s continue to celebrate and embrace the breadth and depth of what it means to be Asian American – which have always included Filipinos.

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