My October Reflections, part 3
Understanding the Filipino American History Month
My two October reflections—“We Are Here Because You Went There: Reframing Filipino American History Month Through Empire, Resistance, and the Politics of Memory” (FB post 10/2/2025) and “October Belongs to Us: Filipino American History Month as Movement, Memory, and Refusal” (FB post 10/3/2025)—are part of an ongoing discourse I began during my tenure as a regular columnist for Philippines News (Cultural Lens and Mirrors), Manila Bulletin-USA, Manila Mail, and the San Francisco Examiner’s Filipino Insiders at a time when print media was predominant.
While I have preserved a collection of clippings and archived versions of my earlier essays and published articles, most are not accessible online and are absent from contemporary digital repositories. Given the current relevance of these topics, I find it both appropriate and timely to revisit these works and continue the conversation that has engaged me since relocating to the United States in 1984.
Through my Facebook series—A Past Revisited, Connecting the Dots, and Reflections—as well as my website (mccanlast.com), I aim to share my stories and writings with both new readers and those who followed my work in print media. I welcome your engagement, feedback, and comments.
The essay titled "Understanding the Filipino American History Month" appeared in the Philippine News column "Cultural Lens and Mirror" on October 13, 2004.
Understanding the Filipino American History Month
JUST a few days ago, I received a long-distance call from Madison, Wisconsin. It was a Filipina writer-friend of mine who was locked in a friendly debate with her co-worker.
“MC, is October Filipino American History Month or Filipino American Heritage Month?” my friend asked.
I didn’t answer right away. I paused briefly, trying to understand the context of her query.
“My team has a project for the month of October,” she continued, “and we couldn’t agree whether we should celebrate Filipino American Heritage Month or Filipino American History Month (FAHM). I tried Google and all the sites I saw say it’s Filipino American History Month. But I also read recent press releases online calling the month as Filipino American Heritage Month. So, which is the correct one? You’re the historian.”
My friend’s question inspired me to write this article to clarify the issue.
The celebration of October as Filipino American History Month was pioneered by the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) and their many chapters and affiliates continued promoting the celebration throughout the United States. This was based on the resolution the trustees of FANHS ratified on March 16, 1991. It reads:
“…Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Trustees of the Filipino American National Historical Society establish Filipino American History Month and that it be observed annually and nationally throughout the United States and its Territories during the Month of October, commencing in the Year 1992 to mark the 405th Anniversary of the Presence of Filipinos in the Continental United States as a significant time to study the advancement of Filipino Americans in the history of the United States, as a favorable time of celebration, remembrance, reflection and motivation, and as a relevant time to renew more efforts towards research, examination and promulgation of Filipino American history and culture in order to provide an opportunity for all Americans to learn and appreciate more about Filipino Americans and their historic contributions to our nation, these United States of America.”
Most Filipino American newspapers and magazines such as Filipinas Magazine have featured “Filipino American History Month” every October. However, some college campuses and schools such as Bessie Carmichael School and Filipino Education Center prefer “Filipino American Heritage Month” or “Filipino Pride Day.”
I pointed out to my inquiring friend that school calendars, at least in the San Francisco Unified School District, recognize Columbus Day, Indigenous People Day and Immigrants’ Pride Day in October.
However, October as Filipino American History Month has not yet attained the prestige of other similar minority celebrations, such as the Black History Month in February, Women’s History Month in March, and the Asian American Pacific American Heritage Month in May. These celebrations are mandated by an official declaration from the federal government to the local counties and cities. There are bills and proclamations that call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe these months with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs that raise awareness and appreciation of their respective histories.
Even the mainstream media such CNN, PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS and their local affiliates develop their programming schedules in conjunction with these popular and widely accepted celebrations. On the other hand, you can count with one hand the number of local Filipino American media outlets, including The Filipino Channel, which feature the Filipino American History Month.
It’s wonderful to know that the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. as well the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco are sponsoring literary events as part of what they termed as the “Filipino American Heritage Month.”
Why has the Filipino American History Month celebration in October not yet been at par with the three history celebrations I mentioned earlier?
First, FAHM doesn’t need to be at par with the three aforementioned history celebrations, but it should at least penetrate the consciousness of Filipinos in America enough to engage in relevant discourse.
Take the case of the Black History Month. It should be mentioned that although blacks, now called as African Americans, have been here in America a few years after the white settlers took their roots in the continent, and they have played important roles in history as far back as the colonial times, wars of independence and the civil war that almost irreparably broke the union. But it was not until the latter part of the 20th century that they gained deserved recognition in history books and in the media.
African Americans owe this transformation of mindsets and breakthrough in historical conscious ness to the celebration of the Black History Month which was started in 1926 as “Negro History Week” by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a renowned black teacher. He was saddened to learn when he began his teaching career that none of the schools taught the history of Black Americans.
The appropriate date he designated to study black history is February because the month coincides with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and W. E. B. DuBois, three historical figures responsible for forwarding the causes of the Black American population. In February, we also remember and commemorate the passing of the 15th Amendment, granting blacks the right to vote (Feb. 3, 1870), the founding date of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (Feb. 12, 1909), and the fatal shooting of the charismatic black Muslim leader, Malcolm X (Feb. 21, 1965).
On Jan. 31, 2000, President Bill Clinton proclaimed February as National African American History Month. A decade earlier, in May 1990, President George H. W. Bush designated May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
The same can be told to the Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month in May. Although it is a heritage month, much like the Black History Month and Women’s History Month celebrations, APA Heritage Month originated from a congressional bill. The bill was sponsored by representatives Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California and in the Senate by senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga. Both bills were passed with a joint resolution with the White House that called upon President Jimmy Carter to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian/Pacific Heritage Week. President George H.W. Bush expanded it into a month-long observance in May.
Why May? May was chosen by the sponsors, mostly seasoned politicians of Japanese ancestry, to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and marking the contribution of the Chinese Americans, the largest Asian group in the country, with commemoration of the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.
As an integral part of the APA community, Filipinos celebrate the May festivities such as Flores de Mayo, Santacruzan, town fiestas, and Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) in some universities in conjunction with the APA Heritage Month.
As for historical significance, we have May 1, 1898, Admiral George Dewey’s Battle of Manila Bay, the first battle in the Philippines, an extension of the Spanish-American War in Cuba, between American and Spanish forces. The Dewey Memorial Tower in Union Square in the upscale downtown district of San Francisco commemorates the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 that made America an imperial power in Asia and Pacific. For San Francisco, the war (Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War) brought prosperity to the local economy; considered by historians as the second Gold Rush. For Filipinos, it meant 600,000 deaths, loss of independence and freedom. The Philippines became a U.S. colony for a half-century.
It is neither in May nor October but in June and July when Filipinos are reminded of their history lessons, the declaration of the Philippine Independence of June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite by Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo and the U.S. granting of independence to the Philippine Republic on July 4, 1946. It is during these patriotic seasons that Filipinos throughout the country vibrantly demonstrated their flag, national symbols, history, cultural heritage and community-building festivals such as Fiesta Filipina, Philippine National Week, FilAm Friendship Day, and Independence Ball.
FANHS may argue that October is chosen as Filipino American History Month because it marked the first “Presence of Filipinos in the Continental United States as a significant time to study the advancement of Filipino Americans in the history of the United States.” The FANHS’ “history month” resolution was concurred with proclamations by states such as Oregon, Washington and California, counties, and city governments. In California, according to the book “Filipino Americans – Pioneers to the Present” by Corcordia R-Borja Mamaril:
“On October 21, 1995, California Governor Pete Wilson joined Filipino Americans from across the nation in commemorating a monument at Morro Bay.”
However, after reading the plaque placed at Morro Bay, designated as a historical landmark by the FANHS, and initiated by the California Central Coast Chapter, some historians, including myself, have doubts regarding the historical significance of said incident.
“During the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade era from 1565 to 1815 Spanish galleons crossed the pacific between the Philippines and Mexico. On Oct. 18, 1587, the Manila Galleon Nuestra Senora de Esperanza commanded by Pedro de Unamuno entered Morro Bay near here. A landing party was sent to shore which included Luzon Indios, marking the first landing of Filipinos in the continental United States. The landing party took official possession of the area for Spain by putting up a cross made of branches. The group was attacked by native Indians two days later, and one of the Filipinos was killed. Unamuno and his crew gave up further exploration of this part of the coast.” (Source:
In his essay – “Did Philippine indios really land in Morro Bay” – posted on the Internet (Source: Sulat sa Tansô at www.bibingka.com/sst/esperanza/morrobay.htm. U.S., Apr. 9, 1997.), Mr. Hector Santos of Los Angeles dissected the assertion of FANHS. To state that Filipino American history was started with this date and incident, according to Santos is indeed “a big claim.” He further argued: “How did this event affect the history of America, Spain, Mexico, or the Philippines? How much did it change the course of the lives of indios in the Philippines? Not much, I’m afraid. Any Filipino American claiming connections to the Luzones indios who were in California in 1587 is reaching too far and would be the laughingstock of those who know that the indios on the Esperanza were just passing through. They left no lasting legacy in California.”
He offered a correction to the FANHS stance: “The Morro Bay landing is historic in the sense that it gives Filipinos a record of their participation in the affairs of the New World, albeit unwillingly and under involuntary servitude.”
With the Morro Bay incident (1587) together with the commemoration of the anniversary of the “Permanent Settlement of Filipinos in the Continental United States” (1763, Louisiana), FANHS promotes the October celebration as Filipino History Month “in order to focus on the story of our nation’s past from a new perspective by concentrating on the critically economic, cultural, social and other notable contributions Filipino Americans had made in countless ways toward the development of United States History.”
Don’t get me wrong in questioning the validity of October as the Filipino American History Month. I salute FANHS and wholeheartedly support their mission which is “to promote understanding, education, enlightenment, appreciation and enrichment through the identification, gathering, preservation and dissemination of the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the United States.”
Like FANHS, my intention in writing and working in the community is to instill historical consciousness. But awareness of historical facts, people, places and events is not enough. Critical thinking and frameworks of viewing or seeing things and events are of paramount importance in studying history.
My metaphor is the use of cultural lens and mirror. In real life, we must check occasionally whether our lens and mirror aid us to see clear images or distorted reality. It has been my practice to reread, re-restudy and reinterpret, and to the extent of retelling and rewriting historical events every 10 years or so. That’s why I do have this compulsive habit of not throwing away anything written, taped, or documented. My mindset: these materials will be of value in the future. Historical knowledge recognized as accurate today may subsequently be disproved or reconsidered considering new evidence. Hence, revisiting history, especially during history month celebrations, is a worthwhile exercise if it promotes popular discourse and new narratives towards a holistic understanding of our people’s history.
Check part 4 of this series of reflections...