"As a society, we strive to be color blind. yet, the reality is that others are not color blind."
A Need to Represent
by Sheelagh Cabalda
As a Filipino American woman in her twenties, the world is a constant challenge---to rethink, to reconstruct, to reconfigure so that the world fits into my perception of American society. Culture, education, politics, race, sexuality, class, gender, religion, community. How is it that all of these elements relate to being a person of color in American society? What does it mean to be a person of color in the United States? And what does it mean to be a second generation Filipino American living in Jersey City?
What I wrestle most with in my mind is the fact that I am a person of color, and that means that I need to REPRESENT. For some, such a term---‘person of color’---makes no sense. As a society, we strive to be color blind. Yet, the reality is that others are not color blind. Every time I walk home late from the PATH station in downtown Jersey City, Latino teens on the corner will patronize me by speaking to me in Chinese. So many times, I would like to lecture them, “Listen, my brother. We’re all in the same struggle here.” By struggle, I mean that as people of color, we experience the same discrimination and oppression by those in economic and political power. In fact, some scholars would argue that the Filipino American experience is similar to the Mexican American experience. To rethink. Rethinking my place in the United States as a member of American society, as an American citizen of Asian descent. Despite the fact that others might stereotype me as the model minority or as a foreigner, I am American, an Asian American with more than 100 years of history in the United States. Rethinking my sense of history means reeducating myself. I should be able to see myself represented in American history. And the Chinese who built the transcontinental railroad does not cut it.
To reconstruct. Sure, being of Filipino descent has much to do with my identity. But my American identity also incorporates an understanding of Asian Pacific American issues such as the Pan-Asian identity. Moreover, the reconstruction of Pan-Asian identity includes 300 other Asian ethnicities, some of whom are also present in these United States. We do not hear too much about the Hmong, Cambodians, Tongans or the Carolinians. As it is, when the average person thinks of Asian, s/he only names the obvious---Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. Filipinos and Indians, too, if the average person attempts to be more inclusive. To reconfigure. Taking action. To be proactive in the community means lending a hand to reconfigure the different communities to which one belongs. I am a member of the higher education community as an administrator at New York University. I am a member of the Asian Pacific American community as an advocate for Asian American students at NYU. I am a member of the Asian Pacific American community in Jersey City and in New York City. What does it mean to reconfigure? Reconfigure what? The community. Taking responsibility for raising others’ consciousness about issues affecting the community---voting rights, immigration policies, second class citizenship, welfare, affirmative action. Educating myself about Asian Pacific American issues will enable me to rethink my role in American society, to reconstruct Pan-Asian identity, and in turn, to reconfigure the Asian Pacific American community. With that, I challenge every individual with whom I come into contact---to rethink, to reconstruct and to reconfigure.