Asian Pacific Americans’ Social Movements and Interest Groups

Nicole Uychiat

Blog 1

ASA 2 - Section A03

September 30, 2015

“Asian Pacific Americans' Social Movements and Interest Groups” caught my attention because the author wrote about “The Opposition Movement in the Filipino-American Community” and I identify as Filipino-American. My parents, moving to the States in their adulthood years, have talked to me about the anti-Marcos movement before. The thing that stood out to me was that Filipinos united to stand for what they believed in, such as human rights abuse.

I am a part of a FilAm organization on campus and one of the pillars we emphasize is politics. Every year our FilAm club, as well as FilAm clubs across the entire state of California, gathers for an event known as Friendship Games. Although the event consists of friendly competitions against other schools, not many people know that the event is a large political movement as well. Although we are a minority as Filipino-Americans, we come together in solidarity to make it known that this is how far we have come in the United States. Our parents and ancestors sacrificed and faced oppression to get us where we are today.

How would the world we live in be different today if Filipinos did not unite to create the anti-Marcos movement?