Activism

A Season Where Hispanic, Asian and A Little Black History Converge

We all have some Hispanic heritage in California, whether we own it or not. The style, the language, the names of our cities and streets. All an homage to our link to Spain.

Published

3 years ago

October 1, 2021

Christy Price

September 15 - October 15, National Hispanic Heritage Month - handwriting in Huun paper handmade in Mexico, reminder of cultural event/ iStock

And so here we are in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month which began on September 15 and continues on through October 15. It’s a strange straddle over two months, but what do you expect from an imperial culture that went in and dominated lands and people?

We’re not just talking about being born “Hispanic” in that positive, “let’s go out and have some flautas and margaritas” kind of way.

There’s that nagging negative side, too.

We all have some Hispanic heritage in California, whether we own it or not. The style, the language, the names of our cities and streets. All an homage to our link to Spain.

But as an Asian American Filipino, born here in California, the link to Spain goes back more than 500 years when the Spanish conquered the Philippines.

My Hispanic heritage? As a colony of Spain, the Philippines got the full imperial treatment. My name? Spanish. My food? All sorts of Spanish influences. My beliefs? Spanish and Catholic to the core.

The Spanish colonization gave way to the American colonization, which started after the Spanish American War ended and the Philippines was sold to the U.S. for $20 million.

I like to say that’s slightly less than Draymond Green makes for the Warriors.

The colonization process continued as the U.S. taught English to the Philippines, and then brought Filipinos like my dad to California in the 1920s and 1930s to work the fields.

Born under the American flag as a colonized Filipino, my dad was allowed to enter the U.S. as an “American national.” No papers necessary. But he wasn’t a citizen. Nor a slave. He was a colonized ward of the state. About 30,000 of them, mostly men, came to California to be a labor force, working the fields for ten cents an hour.

They also found out just how unwelcome they were. They couldn’t vote, own land, and they couldn’t intermarry. There were anti-miscegenation laws that prevented the mixing of races.

If a Filipino was caught with a white woman, he was shot, killed, and even lynched.

Filipinos? Like Blacks? Yep.

My father chose to stay in the Bay Area to work in restaurants. He lived in the Fillmore. Most of his Filipino townmates went to work migrant agricultural jobs up and down the Central Valley. That was their life for decades.

Grape Strike: The Filipino-Mexican Merger

In Delano, north of Fresno, Larry Itliong led the Filipino agricultural workers in a strike against the table grape growers on Sept. 7, 1965. They wanted $1.45 per hour.

But the Filipinos were mostly elderly in their 50s and 60s. They realized they needed to join in coalition with Cesar Chavez who ran a community organization for Mexicans at the time. Chavez wasn’t a unionist. He didn’t want to strike.

Five years ago, on the 50^th anniversary of The Great Delano Grape Strike, I talked to Gil Padilla, a co-founder with Chavez of the National Farm Workers Association. He told me Chavez was persuaded by Itliong.

“He was the one who made the negotiations,” Chavez had said. “Larry was the one who made sure we became a family and we merged.”

The 1965 merger of the Filipinos and the Mexican workers in solidarity in the United Farm Worker strike against the grape growers also symbolized the merger of the labor movement and the Civil Rights Movement.

That’s what I think about when I think Hispanic Heritage Month, which overlapscFilipino History Month which starts on October 1.

There’s some complicated history intertwined, both positive and negative, with a lot more diversity than you think.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He vlogs at www.amok.com

Facebook: emilguillermo.media ; Twitter@emilamok

Christy Price

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Activism

Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies

Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society.  Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

Published

14 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

According to the FBI, a report covering a two-year period found Black children accounted for 57% of all juvenile arrests for prostitution. In addition, 40% of sex trafficking victims were Black and 60% of those victims had been enrolled in the foster care system.

“It is time to hold the perpetrators who take advantage of our children accountable,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank.

“It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” added Harris who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month. Harris was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.

Harris said the PAJA is the only civil rights organization in the state that supports SB 1414.

Harris urged other Black-led groups who favor anti-trafficking legislation more focused on criminal justice reforms (as opposed to stiffer penalties), to “join the movement.”

Many of those civil rights groups fear that SB 1414 could lead to the incarceration of more Black youth.

Those sentiments were echoed in a panel discussion organized by Black women advocates on April 26 to examine the cause and effects of human trafficking in California’s Black communities. The virtual event was hosted by the Forgotten Children, Inc, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for survivors and victims of human trafficking through anti-trafficking campaigns and initiatives.

Panelists shared the psychological impact of sexual exploitation on youth and children in the long term.

Author and educator Dr. Stephany Powell shared statistics and information revealing that African American women and girls are the most trafficked nationwide.

Powell, who serves as the senior advisor on law enforcement and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that national data indicates that sex trade survivors are disproportionately women of color. She stated that male survivors often go unnoticed because boys rarely report trafficked crimes.

Powell said that decriminalizing prostitution in California could increase human trafficking. She argued that Senate Bill 357, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which was signed into law in 2022 and legalized loitering for prostitution, caused a surge in street-level prostitution.

Panelist and psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow shared opposing views on decriminalizing prostitution. She said that decriminalizing prostitution could help survivors gain access to state resources and support.

Despite opposing views, Powell and Morrow agree that the Black community needs resources and educational programs to address human trafficking.

Oakland Post

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Obituary: Social Justice Leader, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Passes at 94

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family. He was 94 years old.

Published

15 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

The Rev. Cecil Williams, civil rights activist and social justice leader was the head pastor of San Francisco’s non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church.

By California Black Media

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family.

He was 94 years old.

The reverend was a civil rights leader who advocated for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the Bay Area.

Williams was the head pastor of the non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church. The church welcomed individuals from the queer community and people struggling with homelessness, housing instability and substance use disorder (SUD).

Through his work, Rev. Williams attracted national attention. Prominent political and cultural leaders such as Maya Angelou, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Clinton all attended church services at Glide.

Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) said she is deeply saddened about the passing of her dear friend.

“The Reverend changed the lives of millions through radical love, support, inclusivity, and a commitment to service to the most marginalized,” Lee said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the reverend inspired people across California to embody the values of generosity and acceptance.

Rev. Williams was, “a visionary leader whose legendary compassion and love for his community transformed the lives of people from all walks of life,” Newsom said.

Rev. Williams served as the chief executive officer of the Glide Foundation until his retirement in 2023.