Read on Twitter
As far as I can tell, I'm the first Filipino-American to serve in elected office in the history of the District of Columbia. I am deeply humbled, but hyper-aware that the experience of my ancestors here necessitates that I fight for a just, liberating city. lemme explain:
when the US colonized the PH, thousands of Filipinos came to DC. some were students (the "pensionados"); others were nurses, dockworkers, soldiers, deskworkers, housekeepers. they had no say in the government that colonized them, even when in the US
in many ways, DC is like the Philippines then: lacking self-determination and a say in nat'l affairs, ostensibly bc of a high population of POC, and at any time subject to the imperial whims of the federal gov't. not far off to call DC a modern-day colony.
the PH is a footnote in US textbooks, but we helped build this country, largely against our will. the US extracted PH talent and resources in nursing, agriculture, mineral resources, etc; exploited its strategic military position; discarded PH vets that fought in WW2
and now here I am, a contradiction: an American-born kid of Filipino and French immigrants, incessant critic of all three states, and swearing an oath as a public official to a country that saw my ancestors as subhumans to be subjugated
we can't forget: when the US colonized the PH, Black folx in America spoke up against imperialism. the Civil Rights mvmnt won immigrant rights for Asian-Americans+others in 65. Black and Fil-Am students, among others, fought together for ethnic studies + control in universities
the struggle against displacement in Fil-Am neighborhoods owes its strategies and success to the struggle against displacement in Black neighborhoods. these shouldn't be viewed as debts; they are proof that our liberation is intertwined.
DC is a racist, violent city, with barely any say in its nat'l gov't. no ANC, no CM, no Mayor alone can solve our problems. each one of us has to step up if we want to win - thru mutual aid, solidarity, taking control of our budgets + planning, etc
one more thing: it's not lost on me that the State Dept. lies in my single-member district, where bureaucrats sign off on arms and military aid to the PH govt which ends up killing and violating the human rights of thousands
anyway, thanks for coming to my rambling t*d t*lk. check out http://humanrightsph.org to learn more about what i'm talking about in the last tweet + the Philippine Human Rights Act, it would mean a ton <3
