Introduction to Asian American Studies: Final Zine Project (4) - Lauren Hendrickson - Kelli Kufta - Madi Earnshaw - Hayley Lee

“Filipino Bodies, Lynching, & the Language of Empire” By: Nerissa Balce Group 6: Lauren Hendrickson, Kelli Kufta, Hayley Lee, & Madi Earnshaw

Timeline 1896: Filipinos defeat Spaniards in Kuwait 1897: Provisional Government is established by Gen. Francisco Macabulos 1898: U.S. became involved in the. Philippines & took over the city of Manila in a battle with the Spaniards 1898: Spain & U.S. sign a peace treaty in Paris that ceded the Philippines for $20 million 1899: Manila correspondents make letter of protest complaining about hospital reports & altered number of killings 1889-1902: Philippine- American War 1900: Black soldier’s unsigned letter is published showing the mistreatment of Filipinos by white soldiers 1930s: Filipinos worked as migrant farmworkers 1950s: Writings of DuBois shares the similar acts of racial violence & economic oppression of black Americans & colonized people in

Key Points of Text: The Philippines were considered an important geopolitical site for colonization. Economic & imperialist motives ultimately drove the decision to go through with occupation and colonization. The increase in the Filipino immigrant population started the anti-Filipino sentiment & contributed to the racial violence/discrimination against Filipinos. They were seen as an economic threat & not even classified as humans, but rather ‘monkeys.’ “Filipino Degeneracy” was the American viewing of Filipinos as ‘dark’ savages, ‘children’ & feminized people. Americans argued that Filipinos lacked the manly character needed to self-govern, thus justifying the war & the colonial occupation of the Philippines. Black American soldiers empathized with Filipinos & the ways they were being treated. Filipinos were treated similarly to the ways in which racism existed in the anti-Black & anti-Asian movements. Mistreatments included lynching and negative connotations that continued for years on end. Balce places so much emphasis on the similarities of the discrimination against Filipinos and that of African Americans. She notes that in 1989, “critical voices in the Negro press suggested that for may African Americans, the Philippine-American War was an effort to enforce Jim Crow laws on another dark race.” The idea of control over a ‘dark race’ continued through the annexation of the Philippines and contributes to the idea that colonization was primarily founded on the ideas of white supremacy and white control.

Connection to Today: Throughout the Black Lives Matter protests, there is a video of the crowd chanting “I am black and I am proud”. The line of US Army soldiers is meant to discourage the violent riots but in that line, there is a black soldier mouthing the words ‘I am black and I am proud’. This directly relates to American Philippine war because there were black American soldiers who did not agree with the treatment of the Filipinos but were on the ‘side’ of the Americans. The US is very focused on its image abroad. There are so many different efforts to help underprivileged countries including military involvement in the Middle East, as well as aiding certain foreign elections in the name of democracy. Yet within our own soil there are people living without access to fresh water (Flint, Michigan as well as some indigenous communities), internet (low income families), food security (homeless population) and job security (non-essential workers who have no jobs due to COVID). There are lots of personal problems that the United States should investigate & focus their time on rather than critiquing other countries. Similar to this, instead of dealing with the lynching in the South during the American Philippine war, the United States were more concerned about issues on the other side of the world, not relevant to them. During the time of mass social media, the influence that the media has on people & society, has only continued to gain power within the past century. Evolving from political cartoons that were spread through newspapers to today’s instantaneous twitter or instagram posts that spread to millions in a matter seconds. These different forms of media persuade the perspective of the masses consciously and subconsciously just as the image of Filipinos as savage children influenced the mental image of Filipinos in America.

Black soldier chanting with protesters while holding violence line during Black Lives Matter protests.