Like many other minority groups, Filipino Americans have not been able to escape acts of discrimination throughout US history. This post will take you through some of the violent acts that arose in California in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Today it is important to reflect on moments when these acts of discrimination occurred in order to move forward in a manner that prevents more of the same. In the 1920s and 1930s, Filipino men were seen as a threat by white American men in several regions of California. Coming from an American Territory, Filipinos were excluded from the Immigration Act of 1924, which was passed in an effort to limit Asians from entering the United States. To the dismay of American men, Filipino laborers were more desirable to hire due to the fact that they accepted much lower wages by farmers, and they began to date white women. This tension grew and grew until several riots and acts of violence erupted throughout California, leaving Filipinos severely injured or dead, and discriminated against in the workplace. The following are some of the acts of discrimination that occurred.
In January of 1930, hundreds of armed white men stormed the streets of Watsonville to hunt Filipinos in what is known as the “Watsonville Riots.” Resentment towards Filipinos grew in light of the North Monterey Chamber of Commerce’s public call to businesses against hiring Filipinos because they were deemed as a “moral and sanitary threat to the white community.” Mobs targeted the taxi-dance hall that the Filipino workers had reserved and many white girls attended. On the last day of the riots, groups of whites fired shots into a bunkhouse at a San Juan Road ranch while Filipino workers were sleeping. At the age of 22, Fermin Tobera, was shot and killed. Tobera symbolized Filipinos desire for independence and Philippines honored his memory on February 2nd known as “humiliation day.” These events ultimately contributed to the passage of Tydings McDuffie Act in 1934, which granted the Philippines independence from the USA. The Philippines independence in some ways was simply granted in order to limit the influx of Filipinos into America because of the developing Anti-Filipino sentiment across the nation. Moments of Filipino American history cannot be lost in the history books-- or lack thereof. These acts of discrimination highlight the importance of raising awareness of such mistreatment to prevent it in the future. We have the opportunity to learn from the past and shape the years to come. - Your PRs,
Ray and Maya
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