Filipino American history. 1899-1902 Philippine-American History Essay

Name:
Professor’s name:
Course:
Date:
Filipino American History
Activism by the Filipino Americans may exhibit some slight differences with the civil rights movement of the African Americans even though both served towards a common purpose of improving life through equality across the social, political, and economic aspects of life in the American society. Little is known about the historical activism of the Filipino Americans in comparison to the other minority groups of Asian origin. The African American’s struggles with social, political, and economic injustices, on the other hand, account for wider documentation of historical activism compared to any other minority group in the United States. Nevertheless, both the activists and activism in the two communities held some similarities in their execution of both the common and diverse mandates, forming the basis upon which they fought inequality and other forms of social, political, and economic injustices.
The 1899-1902 Philippine-American led to the annexation of the Philippines by the United States and thus granting the Filipinos access to becoming U.S nationals excluding the right to becoming citizens of the state CITATION Yen10 \l 1033 (Yen Le Espiritu). Attracted by the promises of the American dream coupled with the collapse of the family-owned farming system in the Philippines, the Filipinos immigrated to the United States as workers and plantation laborers in Hawaii, California, and in Alaska as crew members for the fisheries CITATION Yen10 \l 1033 (Yen Le Espiritu). Social policies discriminating against the Filipino Americans condemned the immigrants to a source of cheap labor as their only valued contribution to the United States. The Filipinos witnessed widespread economic exploitations, harsh working and living conditions, and other social injustices. Fishery workers, for instance, were subject to extreme economic exploitation as they pocketed $34.58 out of the $163 monthly salaries paid for their work in the year 1912 CITATION Yen10 \l 1033 (Yen Le Espiritu). The fisheries made a deduction of approximately $128 from the $163 earned by the Filipino workers to account for their food and other daily expenses. The Great Depression further heightened the harsh living conditions of the Filipinos living in the United States. Filipinos living and working in the U.S were exempted from the housing services, and became victims of xenophobia from the Whites as acts of violence and hate against the members of the community increased CITATION Yen10 \l 1033 (Yen Le Espiritu). Racial and sexual stereotypes further prevented them from intermarrying with the White women to preserve the racial purity of the Whites. African Americans have also undergone through their share of social injustices stemming from their liberation from slavery, as they were forcefully brought to the United States as such, to the Civil Rights movement that led to the comprehensive and holistic implementation of the 15th Amendment CITATION His09 \l 1033 (History). Perhaps it is the community’s cohesive approach or union under one racial entity to fight for their rights that make the African American’s struggle more conspicuous than that of any other minority group. The chal...