Asian Journal

John Eric Swing, the late executive director of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), was awarded the first-ever Joseph Ileto Courage Award during Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles' virtual gala this week.

October 25 is Larry Itliong Day in honor of one of the fathers of the West Coast labor movement! Itliong was born on Oct. 25, 1913 in San Nicolas, Pangasinan, and immigrated to the U.S. in his early teens to work as a farmhand and laborer in Alaska. Itliong first joined striking lettuce workers in Washington state. Later, he fished in Alaska and organized the cannery workers there. It was also in Alaska that he lost three fingers in an accident in a cannery, earning him... the nickname Seven Fingers. On Sept. 8, 1965, over 1,500 #FilipinoAmerican grape workers including manongs Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Pete Velasco and Benjamin Gines walked off the fields around Delano, demanding more humane working conditions and increased pay equal to the federal minimum wage. Itliong, leader of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AOWC), asked for support from the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), led by Mexican American figures Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. The latter group joined the strike over a week later, and the two groups merged in 1966 to create the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. The strike, which went national, lasted for five years and ended in 1970 when the UFW reached collective bargaining agreements with several grape growers that would impact over 10,000 farm workers. Helping keep Itliong’s legacy alive: +California Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013 signed AB 123 authored by Assemblymember Rob Bonta which requires the role of Fil-Ams in the farm worker movement be added to the state’s curriculum. +In 2015, Brown signed AB 7, which requires the annual proclamation of Larry Itliong’s October 25th birthdate as Larry Itliong Day in the state and would encourage public schools to teach about Itliong’s life and contributions to the state. +In 2015, Alvarado Middle School in Union City, CA was renamed the Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School. +Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong by Dr. Dawn Mabalon, with Gayle Romasanta and illustrated by Andrew Sibayan, released in 2018, is the first-ever book about the late labor leader. +Support the last remaining Filipino farming community in Orosi

Philippine President Rodrigo #Duterte was among the world leaders seen to benefit from another #Trump victory, according to an Associated Press report. Meanwhile, a #JoeBiden victory could potentially bring a more adversarial relationship between the two countries.

#FilipinoAmerican Todd Gloria, a 42-year-old Democratic Assemblyman who currently serves as the majority whip in the California State Legislature, is looking to make history in less than two weeks in his bid for #SanDiego mayor.

This weekend, community members in #SanFrancisco can experience a diasporic cultural ceremony and street mural tour by Kularts while observing COVID-19 safety measures in SOMA Pilipinas, the city’s Filipino cultural heritage district.

If we are to recover from these difficult times, Filipino American families deserve the confidence that the decision being made to protect and help them are made from a leader with both hands on the wheel," said one Filipino American voter. #2020Election #DonaldTrump #JoeBiden

ICYMI: #FilipinoAmerican stand-up comedian Jo Koy was honored by the City of #SanDiego during a ceremony recognizing #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth. #FAHM2020

New findings from #AARP show that registered #AsianAmerican voters over the age of 50 are most concerned about health care going into the #2020election. Meanwhile, 41% of older voters identified as Democrats, while 33% said they are Republicans. AARP AARP AAPI Community

The Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA), an agency under the Department of Tourism (DOT), will reassess its current policy that allows foreigners as young as 35 years old to retire in the country.

Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia officially assumed her post as Philippine Consul General in New York this week. Philippine Consulate General in New York

Even if the election brings changes to the federal policymakers, or even some state policies, this issue is going to continue, [and] we need to be vigilant and talk about this, said John Yang, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, on the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes.

#MetroManila mayors decided to allow churches to open at 30% capacity as the holiday season nears, but #Christmas parties will not be happening.

As the lifestyles of the Filipinos become more and more western, the rates of prostate cancer increase," said Dr. Edwin Posadas, medical director of the Urologic Oncology Program of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in #LosAngeles.