Filipino American Activism

Filipino American activism has been part of the civil and labor rights struggles throughout U.S. history. It is transnational in nature, linking Filipino American communities in the United States to the Philippines and other parts of the world. Filipino American activism has taken both individual and collective forms to confront racism and employment exploitation. These forms of activism are well noted in Carlos Bulosan's book, America Is in the Heart. Labor organizing best exemplified Filipino collective activism during the first half of the 20th century. Filipinos were actively organizing in the sugar plantations of Hawai'i and the fish canneries of Alaska, as Pullman porters in Chicago railcars, and in the agricultural fields all along the Pacific West Coast.

Under the organization of labor unions, such as the Filipino Labor Union (FLU), and the leadership of labor leaders like Pablo Manlapit, Filipino rank-and-file workers actively resisted labor exploitation. In other instances, Filipinos joined with Japanese workers and collectively encountered violent intimidation in 1920 and 1924. The Hapapepe Massacre of 1924 best illustrates hostile repression against Filipinos. The incident involved a number of deputized policemen on the island of Kauai and, after the confrontation, 16 Filipinos had been killed. Although Filipinos continued to resist oppression and exploitation in Hawai'i, many others left to the United States in search of other labor opportunities.

In the states, Filipino American activism took on even greater proportions. As in Hawai'i, Filipinos met labor subordination head on with militant fervor in the fields and canneries. In 1927, their labor organizing efforts culminated with the FLU, organized by Pablo Manlapit. After Manlapit was deported from Hawai'i, he started organizing workers in California. Stagnant for a number of years, FLU was revived by Rufo Canete, D. L. Marcuelo, and other Filipino labor leaders in Salinas, California, in 1933. Other unions that Filipinos formed on their own or in collaboration with others include the Cannery and Agricultural Workers Industrial Union; Cannery Workers and Farm Laborers Union Local 7; the Filipino Agricultural Laborers' Association in 1938 (which was later changed to Federated Agricultural Laborers Association because of their multiethnic membership); and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) in 1959. These labor unions produced a number of capable activists, such as Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, and Pete Velasco. AWOC was the catalyst by which the United Farm Workers was eventually established with César Chávez, Dolores Huerta of the National Farm [Page 563]Workers Association, and their Mexican rank-and-file members. Indeed, Filipinos were pioneers in interethnic labor organizing and well known for their militancy in the fields.

Filipino American activism is also characterized by the creation of social clubs and organizations. These clubs and organizations, although not as militant as the labor unions, were critical mechanisms to organize the Filipino American community. Sociologist Jon Cruz notes that the clubs and organizations, especially those that were fraternal societies, were extensions from the Philippines. The Caballeros de Dimas Alang, Legionarios del Trabajo, and Gran Oriente Filipino were three of the most prominent Filipino fraternities.

Other organizations in the Filipino communities included the Filipino Federation of America, the Pangasinan Association, the Cavite Association, and the Visayan Club, as well as others. These organizations provided a sense of home and family for single men, who were disconnected from their loved ones back in the Philippines. They also provided a social space for its members, support, protection, politicization, and occasionally engaged against racist legislation. For example, in 1930 Filipinos established the Filipino Community of Stockton and Vicinity in response to the Watsonville Riots. Their goal was to provide agency and well-being for Filipinos. Four years later, the Filipino Community Center was founded in Brooklyn, New York, to combat racism and racial prejudice, as well as to advocate for Filipino rights in the United States. Although small in number, Filipinas also had their own clubs or were part of women's auxiliaries in larger organizations. In San Diego, the wives of Filipino servicemen formed the Filipino American Women's Club in 1949. They were the first to showcase Filipino American culture to the larger San Diego population in an effort to educate the general community. Throughout the nation, Filipino social organizations and clubs functioned in similar ways. They secured protection for their members, politicized the community against racially motivated acts, and provided a sense of family for single men. Although less militant than labor unions and seemingly more accommodationist, these organizations strived to keep the Filipino community intact.

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