The Deviant Mother

(Late reflections for Mother’s Day)
Of all the made-up commercial holidays, Mother’s Day, for me, is the least irritating. After all, if I was going to be guilted into blowing money on cards, flowers, and the obligatory brunch, at least it was going to be for Mom. So to moms everywhere, y’all rock.
And this goes double [...]

Read Full Post »

Aspiring to whiteness

As we celebrated the eve of November 4th, I was struck by a comment from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. He pointed out with pride the role of the Latino vote in Obama’s election. I wish I could say that about my fellow Filipinos.
And yes, I know, the Filipino vote is not monolithic. I am [...]

Read Full Post »

Our histories are inextricably connected

Please read professor black woman’s post about the continued exploitation of migrant farmworkers in California, then sign the UFW petition for farm workers’ rights.
For my fellow Pinoys, please remember that in 1965, led by Larry Itliong, Philip Vera-Cruz, and Pete Velasco, 1,500 Filipino farm workers went on strike in Delano, California. The agribusinesses [...]

Read Full Post »

Two Students

About a year ago, a heated exchange broke out between two of my students. This was a community college, where most of the attendees were first-generation college students. The discussion topic touched on career goals, and a shy nursing student, I’ll call her Cam, spoke for the first time.
Cam did not really want [...]

Read Full Post »

Happy Birthday, Yuri Kochiyama

Today marks the eighty-seventh birthday of Yuri Kochiyama, an admirable woman who has spent the past six decades working for social justice.
When her family was interned in an Arkansas internment camp during World War II, Kochiyama saw firsthand the parallels between the treatment of African Americans and Japanese Americans. The petite Kochiyama is a towering [...]

Read Full Post »