“LET’S PULL TOGETHER”: A Story of Filipina/o/x American Journalism

When the United States took possession of the Philippines in 1898, following the Spanish-American war, reporters for White-owned publications located in the United States’ political center portrayed Filipinxs in overtly racist, sexist and classist ways. At the same time, Filipinxs in the United States were writing about their own experiences on their own terms. In the early twentieth century, Filipinxs were among the largest Asian populations in the United States, and they generated an abundant record of publications in cities across the country. According to some scholars, in the first forty years of the twentieth century, at least 44 Filipinx run periodicals were in existence (Vengua 2010: 1) with as many as six to eight in Los Angeles (Bogardus 1934: 581-582). These publications such as the Philippine Examiner, which was published in 1943 in Stockton, at times called on their readers to “stick together for the best interest of the community.” This chapter examines Filipinx American journalists and journalism and the important roles they played in helping to create communities in regions where Filipinxs and Filipinx Americans experienced severe forms of racism; from being excluded from living in certain parts of White-dominated cities to bombings of Filipinx community buildings. Approaching the subject from FlipCrit and Peminist perspectives, the chapter surveys the historiography on the topic, describes some of the methodological challenges in studying historical Filipinx American journalism, redefines what constitutes Filipinx American journalism, and posits questions and opportunities for future research.