We are One Filipino-A Movement

I was surfing on the net and accidentally discovered the following videos. If you are a Filipino-American or an American with Filipino heritage these are must videos to see.


We Are One Filipino by Calvin Keen

Who are you? Every generation has to answer this question for itself, and ours is no exception. Self-realization for some is born out of war, as it was for our grandparents; for others, it takes place out of cultural and economic shifts, as it was for our parents. How will it happen for ours? We live in an age of extraordinary change on every level – technological, political, cultural, and economic. As a consequence, our generation uniquely struggles with that perennial question. Every morning, we wake up to a Filipino face; every night, we think of our Filipino family; and throughout the day in between, we struggle with the question of who we are in this world but somehow fail to answer it to our own satisfaction. This has been our experience as Filipinos in every state of life – man or woman, young or old, rich or poor – but the time for change has come.

We believe that the fundamental reason that we struggle to answer this question is that we, as a generation, have yet to claim ownership and responsibility for defining what it means to be Filipino for ourselves. We have, in large part, surrendered this responsibility to other people, whether they are in the media or in show business, in government or in a slum, on a bus taking tourists hostage or elsewhere. However, it is not their responsibility, it is ours. And it is with boldness that we make this declaration of independence to take as our own the duty to redefine Filipino.

We are a movement, not an organization. No one authoritative group sets our direction; no one person charts our course. We are united in purpose but free to express it in our own ways, wherever we are, whenever we want. Every one who claims it has equal ownership of its direction. Through our own creative excellence and our active participation in the life of the global Filipino family, we will take it upon ourselves to show through our own lives the excellence of the Filipino.

We are only one generation removed from a very different life. We trace our roots to another country, another place, where because of circumstances outside our own control, our parents or grandparents felt it necessary to come to America so that we would have a greater opportunity to become whomever God meant us to become. We are the fruits of our parents’ labor and the legacy of their love. Beneath their shadow and surrounded by rapid change, how can we measure up? The time has come to let our light shine.

Now you must ask yourself: Do you believe that being Filipino is merely a label to accept or deny, or do you believe that being Filipino is being the best at who we are and sharing that with our communities and our world? If you believe the latter, then join the chorus of voices whose sounds will forge a new path for our people and a greater destiny than we could have ever imagined. This is the cause of our generation.