PETER’S PINOY PATTER — DECEMBER 2016

Bridge Generation News

As reflected in the above photograph (note the “MABUHAY“ ), a reputation for diversity for my old home town of Livingston CA  is alive and well today. I’ve always been proud of the small town’s openness  in welcoming new communities. When the first Filipinos settled there in the 1920s, the populace warmly accepted them.  Since then, Livingston pinoys have been free of racial incidents — unlike other Central Valley communties.  During my years of public school, Filipino kids hung out with ethnic Mexicans, Portuguese, Armenians, Assyrians, blacks, and Japanese, in addition to Caucasians (mostly Great Depression Okies).  Religion-wise, we got along well with those of the Mennonite, Catholic, Protestant, and Buddhist faiths.  And because of the town’s reputation for openess, historian Anne Loftis interviewed Livingston’s diverse residents for her 1970 book California: Where The Twain Did Meet  — a comprehensive history of the state’s peoples……………. I’m also proud of Livingston’s reputation as the sweet potato capital of California. According to the California Sweet Potato Council, more than 90% of the state’s sweet potato crops come from Livingston.  The town is now working on making sweet potatoes the focus of its new city seal. The annual Sweet Potato Festival, held in October, is a popular showcase for the sweet, starchy staple…………… It is with a heavy heart to convey the passing of Josephine Benita “Bening” (Salting) Flores, 91, of Seattle on October 31.  Born in Stockton and raised in New Orleans, she and her husband, World War II Navy veteran Severo Flores, moved their growing family to Seattle in 1949.  Bening was widely respected within the establishment Filipino community for her quiet grace.  I met Bening when I moved to Seattle in 1970.  Upon learning that I grew up near Stockton, she asked if I knew her brother Arsenio Icasiano.  What a small world — her brother was my father’s favorite mechanic at the old Bohol Garage during the 1940s! I got to know and appreciate the unassuming Bening from my close association with her sons, Roy and Larry Flores. We were activists with the Filipino American Young Turks of Seattle — a savvy group that was instrumental in helping the Filipino community become part of the Seattle socio-political mainstream during the 1970-80s……………… Another personal loss for me was the August 28 passing of former Washington State Supreme Court Justice Charles Z. Smith of Seattle.  Champion of numerous minority causes, Justice Smith served as co-chair of my run for Seattle School Board in 1975………….. Meet native San Franciscan Carlos Carvajal, 85, co-director of the annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, a choreographer, and still an accomplished ballet dancer.  In a June 2015 interview with KQED News, he proudly talked about his family of four generations in the arts, beginning in the Philippines and now counting Carlos and his daughter Lena Hall (nee Celina Carvajal) in America.  His daughter has quite a resume of her own, appearing on Broadway in Cats, Kinky Boots, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch for which she received a Tony Award……………. Happy December Birthdays: Rose (Bucol) Jamero, Rosemary (Quitiquit) Figueroa, Sam Gonzalez, Clem Morales, Mike Nisperos, Phil Ventura.

 Musings

FA Museum: My November blog resulted in comments from loyal readers. Most were in support of my take on the presidential election. But I also heard from readers regarding the October 8 Open House of the Filipino American National Museum in Stockton.  I was particularly impressed with a thoughtful appeal for museum funding in an email from Dr. Andres Tangalin of Seattle. In the hope that his message will help generate the necessary action from FANHS officialdom, I am including it here:

I read your November 2016 blog and noted the wonderful news that the Filipino American Historical Society (FANHS) museum is open and running. As a former national FANHS treasurer and lifetime member, I was elated that the FANHS museum has finally opened its doors. I still vividly recall when Fred Cordova, FANHS’ first president and archivist, proudly proclaimed at the 1994 San Francisco FANHS conference, that FANHS would  have a national museum to educate and document the contributions that Filipino Americans have made in building our American society. Fred also added that Stockton, CA should be the appropriate location since it was where most of the pioneer manongs/manangs first congregated, socialized, and formed their communities. We now have a dedicated Filipino American brick and mortar site through the laborious efforts of local gritty individuals and Stockton FANHS chapter members who collectively made it happen. Thanks Pete, for reminding us that this was a national board policy twenty years ago. I am also encouraged that chapter president Rich Tenaza reminded us that the national FANHS board made a commitment to establish this museum and has a critical  responsibility to generate the financial resources to stabilize and grow the museum’s operations. I anticipate that others who have read your blog about the FANHS museum will also expect to hear from the newly elected board leadership that the museum will be a priority in their strategic plans. The urgency is at hand, I certainly want to know what the planned vision of the museum is to become. Currently immigration, refugees and shifting political policies will be in competition for resources and support. This is not a time for complacency…….Regards, Andres Tangalin Ed.D

Brown Asian Americans? Filipinos were major players in the pan-Asian civil rights awakening during the 1970s that resulted in recognition of Asian Americans as an ethnic category. Now, however, some would argue that East Asian communities (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) have been the primary beneficiaries compared to other Asian communities in the nearly fifty years that “Asian American” has been a category.  Is it time for a separate designation for Brown Asian Americans?  The following may support that argument. Three Filipino and two South Asian Americans — E.J.R. David, Ernabel Demillo, Kevin Nadal, Ali Mattu, Razia Kosi, all distinguished professors – recently authored an open letter to the New York Times for its omission of Brown Asians in their stories of Asian Americans. Among their findings: Of 37 Asian Americans stories, only one (3%) was Filipino, when Filipinos comprised 20% of the Asian American population; 55.5% of the content was about Chinese even though they consisted 23% of the Asian American population.  In addition, the newspaper completely left out South Asians when that group was also 20% of the Asian American population.

Pinakbet — News Across America