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We Stand on Their Shoulders
By Eleazar Malabanan
For twelve years the Filipino community here at State has claimed an important victory in the form of art: a mural dedicated to the struggle of the entire community worldwide is displayed. With the recent collaboration of all the Filipino organizations of Mula Sa Ugat, we see how our roots became grew to become the shoulders we stand on. We see the bonds and the community that we all talk about finally form here at state. For at least once a year, we see the whole San Francsico State Filipino community come together to show how much we love our culture, our history, and our ancestors whose shoulders we stand on now.
This year’s celebration was full of many events both old and new. One day dedicated to the education of the public, to ensure we not only celebrate but remember exactly where and why we have the mural. Workshops provided by all the organizations instating the different parts of the mural and how each of the individuals impacted the world today. The next day included many different events as well full of displays of dance, music, and food. Timothy Balilo, Jeannel Poyoaon, and Erin Cruz hosted the event giving life throughout the night and introducing speakers and musicians left and right. Jordan Ilagan, Secretary General of the SF State branch of the League of Filipino Students (LFS-SFSU) and current PCN co-scriptwriter, spoke with passion about his endeavors in the Filipino community and how he strongly believes about the situations that many of us still rather sleep on. Along with the president of NAFCON (National Alliance of Filipino Concerns), Terry Valen who gave a moving speech about the involvement in the community as well as the current battle against racism now with excerpts of the San Francisco Police Department, stating their extremely racist and fascist comments of African Americans and Filipino Americans alike. Not only were these speakers great but the musicians and performs as well. One of the sisters of Alpha Kappa Omicron (AKO) brought her dance team into the celebration to perform an entertaining routine. We also had the opportunity to see LFS and PACE head Coordinator Patrick Racela and IV Kapwa Member Aaron Agudelo rap as well. Finally we ended the night with Hopie, A Law student by day, and Rapper by every other time of the day. These performers allowed us to see their talents as well as just to celebrate the mural that represents who we are as a community.
The Mural Celebration this year shows our growing communities that we still have much work to do. It shows the power of all the organizations combining and the force we can bring to even more events, and more places. We stand on their shoulders, yet pretty soon we will be lifting the people in our community even higher on ours.
Commemorating the Herstory of Women’s Cultural Activism
By Jeannel Poyaoan
Around three hundred community members from all over the Bay Area came together on Sunday, March 8th of 2015 for a march and celebration of the 105th anniversary of International Working Women’s Day.
The event took place at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater in Oakland, California and began in the afternoon with a rally to speak out for justice and to stand up against the oppressions that women face on an international level women constantly resist against violence and imperialism as well as fight for basic rights such as affordable education, quality health care and housing, and well paying jobs. After the rally, all participants congregated and marched around Lake Merritt and nearby gentrified neighborhoods. Throughout the march, participants chanted with one another and held up banners as a form of resistance against gentrification, state violence, and militarization.
The event then ended with a cultural celebration consisted of speeches, poetry, music, and dances to remember and uplift all the women and trans-women who have come before us in the struggle. Youth, working individuals, allies and more were able to build with each other to create this empowering space to uphold the legacy and power of women’s resistance here and abroad as well as celebrate the resilience of women and trans women. Overall, the International Working Women’s Day celebration in Oakland established that we are bound in each other’s and women’s struggles and that we all hold the responsibility to come together as a collective and fight for our self-determination, freedom, liberation as each individual plays an integral role in the movement.
PREVIEW – We Stand On Their Shoulders: The 12th Annual SFSU Fil-Am Community Mural Celebration
By Patrick Racela
Join Mula Sa Ugat (MSU) for We Stand On Their Shoulders: The 12th Annual SFSU Filipino-American Community Mural Celebration on April 8th and 9th at Jack Adams Hall from 6:30PM to 9:30PM. Wednesday April 8th will consist of an educational component covering the history and meaning of the mural. Thursday April 9th will consist of the celebration with free food, giveaways, and performances. We hope to see you there! You may RSVP at our FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/791850370869313/
The vibrant history of the Filipino people has long left its mark in the city of San Francisco. From the manongs and manangs who found refuge in Manilatown after completing seasonal work along the west coast, to the young Pinoys and Pinays who found a cause in organizing the Philippine American Collegiate Endeavor to link with other third world students and communities to fight for relevant education and other burning issues of the time, to those of us today who are part of a community that has upheld a rich tradition of resistance in the face of social, economic, and political issues. We are people who carry the Bayanihan spirit moved to uplift one another, to empower and build our community; it is the same spirit found in those who have come before us.
A mural at San Francisco State University reminds us of whose shoulders we stand on. Finished in 2003, the Filipino-American community mural is the only piece of its kind at any college campus in the US. It is centered on the peoples’ movement in the Philippines and its relation to our experiences as Filipino-Americans. The mural is divided into four sections: solidarity, community, struggle in the Philippines, and struggle in the US.
Solidarity is expressed by Andres Bonifacio’s rising sun, representing the revolutionary tradition of the Filipino people who resisted Spanish colonization for over 400 years. The rays of the sun span across all parts of the Philippines and any place you can find a Filipino. It is derived from his personal Katipunan flag. To the front of the sun are people of color with arms linked together signifying our unity with all people of color.
At the center of the mural is Lorena Barros, an activist from the martial law era who founded the militant women’s organization, MAKIBAKA, representative of youth and students. She is flanked by Purmassuri on the left, a Moro leader who was key in preventing the Spanish from gaining a foothold in Mindanao, representative of indigenous people. To the right of Lorena Barros is Al Robles, a poet and local San Franciscan who pioneered as a prominent leader during the housing movement, representative of the elders in our community. To the bottom left is Philip Veracruz, a farmworker and key organizer of the Delano Grape Strike, representative of the workers. To his right is Violeta “Bullet X” Marasigan, a participant in the Third World strike and founder of the women’s organization, GABRIELA, representative of women. These figures uphold our community; we embody who they are.
The struggle in the Philippines is captured so that we as Filipino-Americans will always have a grasp of our Motherland. At the very bottom of the mural is the Philippine national animal, the carabao. It embodies industriousness and the strength of the Filipino people. Peasants, one of the most oppressed sectors of Philippine society, are depicted planting rice, signifying their ongoing struggle for the right to their land. A woman playing the indigenous instrument, a kulintang, represents the importance of music in indigenous culture. Lastly, students and workers are depicted fighting for a dignified way of life amidst the issues of militarization and poverty engendered to the basic problems of the Philippines.
The Filipino-American struggle is envisioned on the right. At the very top are the organizers and protestors who fought for the I-Hotel, highlighting the issue of gentrification in San Francisco. Below are WWII veteranos and nurses who fight for recognition, equality, and a better way of life. The students of SFSU are depicted to capture the trials and tribulations of our community today.. A DJ is also present to signify our musical experiences, namely in Hip-Hop culture. Finally, farmworkers are shown planting seeds to represent the roots of our community.
We stand on the shoulders of those who come before us. We are at a time where we must be makers of our own history. We must heed the call of movement just as our ancestors have done to fight for a better future.
SPEAK OUT: SF State Students Enact Their Agency
By Daniel Mariano
(Photo credit: Associated Students Inc.)
An element that has found itself in Asian American Studies since the 1980’s is the concept known as “agency”. In AAS, it refers to taking action and making our own history. Over the years, Asian immigrants and Asian Americans have come to be depicted as people that are fully capable of making choices, asserting control over their own lives, and helping change the world they live in. And while agency is a concept that is studied in upper division AAS courses, it is not something that is limited to Asian Americans. Agency is something that comes from within the community as well as from any of us. We can enact our agency to be agents of change.
On Wednesday February 25th, SF State students, those both affiliated with on-campus student organizations and unaffiliated, took to Malcolm X Plaza in order to enact their agency by addressing their grievances to the student population. These included the increasing privatization of education with a proposed $3 million cut to academics in the upcoming 2015-2016 academic year by SF State President Leslie Wong, the opening of a Panda Express on campus despite there being a Panda Express in Stonestown a ten minute walk away, gentrification, and police brutality. It was a day filled with heartfelt speeches and spoken word pieces by various students in order to address the perceived injustices in our communities.
PACE Head Coordinator Patrick Racela and LFS Secretary General Jordan Ilagan speak out against the administration of Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III (Photo Credit: Associated Students Inc.)
The sentiments of the students rang out loud and clear this day. The students are tired of the social and economic injustices that plague society today. It is imperative that students are inspired and empowered to take charge of their education and their circumstances. Today, we face a student debt crisis that only gets worse with each passing year and with each passing budget cut. Students continue to pull out loans that they will in all likelihood never be able to pay back within their lifetimes due to recurring interest rates and higher education continues to be privatized. Meanwhile, university administrative employees will continue to laugh all the way to the bank. People will lose jobs as a result of Panda Express opening on campus as SF State to slowly stray from its roots of historically supporting and working with small businesses and towards being a corporate sellout.
(Banner credit: Karl Catalon)
People of color and ethnic minorities continue to fear for their safety due to the color of their skin or because of the way they dress. And yet, what people can’t seem to wrap their heads around is the fact that life in the United States even in 2015 is still inherently different for both white people and people of color. Racism is still a concept that is very much alive and deeply ingrained in our society. To paraphrase Jon Stewart, if people are tired of hearing about racism, imagine how exhausting it is to live through it on a day in, day out basis.
Members of Mula Sa Ugat in solidarity for social justice. (Photo credit: Associated Students Inc.)
These are only a few of the many issues that we must speak out against. It is imperative that we recognize that historically, many great changes in society were able to take place only through solidarity and taking action. We are in the midst of another great era of great social change in this country. In order to move forward, we must enact our agency and organize workers, leaders, women, and youth and do just that because I know that things can still change for the better. We may continue to struggle for better for many more years, perhaps even decades but we will never stop. The road ahead might be long and perhaps even shrouded in the unknown and we may not live to see its end but we will continue to go down it because we are compelled by justice and a desire for a better future to do so. And in the face of everyone that tell us to turn back, we will keep moving forward.
That is how we will enact our agency.
Kaisahan Balita - Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor 