BRIDGE GENERATION NEWS

Personality of the Month:  Romel Dela Cruz, Hilo HI, 78:

I first met Romel in 2016 at a Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) meeting of the Board of Trustees.  I was to meet him again on  May 21 when the FANHS Stockton chapter invited him to speak on the history of the sakadas.  Romel captivated the audience in the crowded Filipino American National Museum as he weaved Filipino immigration, agricultural unions, and a ukulele-accompanied song into telling the history of sakadas.  Following is the story of this proud son of a Filipino sakada:

Romel was born on January 27, 1945 to Benigno Dela Cruz and Asuncion Alonzo, both from hard-working Ilocano families. In 1946 Romel’s father was in the last group of 6,000 sakadas recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Plantation Association. However, he would not have made it to Hawaii if not for his bicycle — his sole means of transportation and only possession of value.  Shortly before the group of sakadas was scheduled to sail, his cousin Ricardo Dela Cruz changed his mind.  For years Benigno  had longed to be a sakada.  He persuaded Ricardo to trade his immigration documents for the bicycle.  He arrived in Hawaii a happy man!  Romel and his mother remained behind.  They would not be reunited until 1956.

Romel’s parents highly valued education for Romel — an excellent student in schools at his Hawaii Island (aka “Big Island”) Paʻauilo hometown and nearby Honokaʻa.  He was also academically motivated by older sakadas with whom he toiled in the arduous work of cutting sugar cane during school vacations.  They advised him, “You don’t want to be like us — get an education.” He followed their advice and earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles and a Masters of Public Health at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.  In addition to his family, particularly proud of Romel’s  accomplishments were the sakadas with whom he worked cutting cane as a youth.

During the 1960s Romel was a Peace Corps volunteer assigned to Northern Mindanao in the Philippines.  Although he spoke Ilocano and was taught Tagalog in the Peace Corps, he didn’t understand nor speak the Cebuano dialect spoken in Mindanao.  Out of necessity, he learned it quickly.  In Mindanao, he met, fell in love with, and in 1972 married Jodean Marie Behner-Schneider — a puti (white) fellow Peace Corps volunteer from Michigan.  Their 49-year marriage produced two sons: Rene of Las Vegas who worked on various legislative staffs and Jason also an MPH and a health consultant in Atlanta — plus three grandchildren.  Romel’s subsequent career as Hospital Administrator on Maui and “Big Island” took him to meetings throughout Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.  Jodean often  accompanied him on his business trips, which often became mini-vacations.  Most enjoyable for Romel and Jodean, however, were periodic visits with their grandchildren.  Jodean passed away in December 2021.

Before retiring in 2007, Romel’s most meaningful assignment as Hospital Administrator was his last job in his old hometown of Paʻauilo. Many of the sakadas with whom he worked cutting sugar cane (including his father Benigno) were now elderly nursing home patients at the hospital.  As Hospital Administrator, he made certain that they received the best medical and nursing care.  Romel has been ever grateful to be able to “give back” to those who gave so much to him. In another act of gratitude, he participated in the development of a wooden statue on the “Big Island” honoring the fifteen original sakadas.  The designer planned the statue to stand five feet tall with a flat nose and brown. Why?  Earlier in Waipahu, Oahu, the designer visited another statue honoring the first sakadas. This statue was over six feet, had a long nose, and light-skinned.  When he saw it, he derisively asked, “How many Filipinos do you know look like that?”

Regarding discrimination against Filipinos in Hawaii, Romel observed racial bias to be much lower than on mainland America.  He attributed the differences to Hawaii’s numerous ethnic groups experiencing blatant discrimination around the same time, learning to coalesce, and living together in harmony as Hawaiians while de-emphasizing their own ethnicities.  While Filipinos may continue to lag in influence behind other ethnicities, Romel believes the future will continue to be positive for Filipinos in Hawaii — citing their increasing participation in politics and in the socio-economic arena.

In retirement, Romel continues to be involved with the Filipino community — associated with Filipino organizations as well as mainstream non-profit agencies.  He was unanimously elected to the FANHS National Board of Trustees in 2016.  Most of his time, however, is being devoted to sakada history. Sakadas have long dominated among Hawaii’s laboring groups, laying the foundation for the state’s economic growth and stability.  Critical to preserving the important role that sakadas have played in the history of Hawaii are historians like Romel.  May their work continue!   (Grateful acknowledgements: Romel for his May 23 interview and photos; Lillian Tsang for her Public Radio interview; the FANHS Stockton Chapter and Museum; and Google.) 

Passings: 

Happy July Birthdays to:  Bob Agdoma, Rosita (Adlao) Amen, Dan Inosanto, Gilda Lum,  Rudy Modelo, Loretta (Pimentel) Orpilla, Candido Oyog, Dick Supat.

PINAKBET — NEWS ACROSS AMERICA

Filipino American Historical Tidbits:

On January 1933, Filipino Salvador Roldan and Englishwoman Marjorie Rogers won their anti-miscegenation lawsuit against Los Angeles County when a Superior Court Judge ruled that Filipinos were not covered by California’s law against interracial marriages.

Did You Know:

On June 10 Waltine Nauta — U.S. Navy steward turned White House valet to become the trusted personal aide to Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago — was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for lying to the government by illegally moving classified documents as directed by Trump.  The twice-impeached/twice-indicted ex-president was charged with 37 felony counts.  Nauta was named as co-conspirator with Trump on one felony count of obstruction.

MUSINGS

From White Supremacy in America, (to) It has Always been about People of Color, (to) Equitable Justice for People of Color, (to) Multi-racial Democracy Weakened, (to) Political/Gun Violence) Part XXXVI:

Previous issues have discussed the prevalence of mass shootings and gun violence in America, which has the most gun ownerships per capita in the world.  Mass shootings for this year have reached 310 and rising.  People of Color have been particularly targeted, including Filipinos. Remember Joseph Ileto, the Filipino postal worker who was gunned down in Chatsworth CA by a White Supremacist in 1999?  Over the years common sense measures have been suggested.  Sadly, none have seen the legislative light of day.  Senseless mass shootings and gun violence continue unabated.

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