Category Archives: blog

blog, diversity, news, race

You don’t know Tracy: The mythologizing of Sandra Cantu

Sandra Cantu was buried yesterday. Today is the public memorial.

Don’t you think it’s time to let Sandra, the Cantus and Tracy rest?

Wherever you are in the world, if you’ve been following the Sandra Cantu story in Tracy, Calif., maybe you should  figure out why it means so much to you.

The Sandra Cantu story breaks my heart-in more ways than one.

I’m sorry, of course, for the little girl and her family. I have a family and daughters. I was a coach of many youth teams including little girls Sandra’s age. I knew how dear those girls were to their families. And  I took my responsibilities seriously, protecting and caring for them  as if they were my own.

Sandra Cantu could have been my prized center half-back.

I’m also sorry for Tracy, the town. Just a few years ago I got to know it  like few others.  As a bureau reporter for the major  San Joaquin county paper, Tracy was my beat. I liked the feel of the little city of about 75,000,  primarily  a bedroom community for San Francisco and Silicon Valley. But there was also a core Tracy built around the ranches and orchards. It made for one of the most diverse communities in America. At the base were the ranchers, mostly from old Italian and Portuguese families. Mix in blacks from the South who came west in the ’40s and ’50s; Latinos and Filipinos who have worked the farmland.; Add to that all the new ethnic and economic refugees (the teacher/firefighter families)  from the Bay Area seeking more affordable homes and simpler lives, and Tracy is about as reflective of the New America as it gets. Continue reading You don’t know Tracy: The mythologizing of Sandra Cantu →

blog, diversity, news, politics, race, sports

Be like Jackie: The Politics of Pigment

Just as you remember to pay your taxes today, do remember to pay homage to No.42. Jackie Robinson.

He’s one of the reasons most of us don’t have to pay the tax for being a person of color in this country.

Robinson, of course, broke the color line in baseball.  Breaking the color line in anything is no small feat, whether 62 years ago or today.

Most of us do it in some way in our lives, some more, some less remarkably than others. Look around you. In your office.

Are you the only Asian, Black or Latino in the room? Continue reading Be like Jackie: The Politics of Pigment →

blog, news, politics, race

As death march ends for Filipino Vets of WWII, a new challenge: Making chicken adobo out of chicken – – – – .

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Fil-vet gets first lump sum check

Former U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba,  representing the VA Secretary, presents the $15,000 “Equity Compensation” check to Alberto Bacani, a 98-year-old Filipino American veteran from Alexandria VA, as Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa looks on, in the Bataan Day of Valor reception at the Philippine Embassy in Washington.

Bacani received the lump-sum payment from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on April 8, in recognition of his U.S. military “active service” during World War II. The first 195 checks were issued on April 6 to qualified Filipino WWII veterans. More than 26,000 applications have been received by the VA and 766 have been reviewed and completed.
(ACFV photo  and caption by Eric Lachica)

But this is where we must go amok.

Normally, it would bring a tear to my eye: the sight of the modern Filipino American hero Taguba (the man who blew the whistle on Abu Ghraib) presenting the first lump sum check to Alberto Bacani, 98, one of tens of thousands of Filipino American vets who have been waiting their entire lives for the U.S. to pay them their due.

But the lump sum money, without interest, is part of a compromise that doesn’t quite make vets like Bacani whole.

Just wait two years to see if anyone is smiling.

On the whole, one must be happy for the Filipino Veterans of WWII who have been finally remembered in that new $787 billion federal stimulus bill passed by Congress.

But being remembered is one thing. Being shortchanged is another.

Nearly 500,000 Filipino nationals who fought under the U.S. flag during World War II were promised full rights and benefits by Roosevelt in 1941. But they were denied by President Truman in 1946 when with a stroke of the pen any and all promises made to the fighting Filipinos were rescinded.

The vets have had their advocates throughout the years, but community politics was all about the Marcos dictatorship until the early ’80s. After that, however, the aging veterans were the rallying cry of the community. And the fight was for “equity”-not compromise.

Every Congress, the battle would be waged. Every year the vets would be a few votes closer. But every year more vets would die. The stall/attrition tactic finds the number of eligible Filipinos down to about 15,000. Lobbying Congress has been its own death march.

To be included in the stimulus is a real breakthrough of sorts. The vets get something: A lump sum of $15,000 for those who are U.S. citizens; $9000 for non-citizens who are in the Philippines.

It’s just not like the $900 a month pension a normal low-income vet would get until the day he dies.

This lump sum comes with a catch. Continue reading As death march ends for Filipino Vets of WWII, a new challenge: Making chicken adobo out of chicken – – – – . →

blog, diversity, race, sports

Opening day a struggle, but Giants’ Lincecum still pride of Filipino American ball fans

Tim Lincecum, or as some Filipino Americans call him, “The Preak,” had a tough go yesterday.

During the first inning when runners reached second and third base, I told a friend of mine, “Oh that’s his white half screwing up.”

Hey, the guy’s half-Filipino, we’ll take credit for the good stuff.

Sure enough, Lincecum got the next batter to swing at a pitch, and struck out the side.  “The Filipino part is still working today, ” I said.  But not well enough. After three innings, the Preak was out of the game.  The Giants still won and that’s what counts.

This year the Giants seem like the most Filipino friendly team in the major leagues.  With Sayang Lincecum  getting his Cy Young tonight ( how’s that for you Tagalog punsters), and with the Manny Pacquiao event on Filipino Heritage night on April 21st, the Giants seem to have discovered what ethnic marketers have known for some time:  Ethnic pride and diversity develops customer loyalty and profits.

I know Gary Radnich (the KNBR talk host and a former colleague of mine from my KRON days)  has expressed how puzzled he is about a boxer being feted at a baseball game. But Pacquiao is the great Filipino-American symbol. A fighter, a champion.  Being in a market with one of the largest Filipino American populations in the country, this  is just a great  p.r. opportunity for everyone. Of course  Pacquiao is  pimping his upcoming  fight, but the Filipino community remains one of the less heralded communities in America. This shines a little much needed light on them.

The Giants great success with a losing team  has always been the fact that they’ve always  approached the business as being more than just baseball.   It’s about the park, and the people who come to it 9 innings at a time, to live their   life vicariously through the achievements of their team. Recognizing the ethnic demographics in the greater community is a great formula that can make  baseball fans for life.

When I’m at a game now,  I see so many Filipino families:  a  mom, dad, two to three kids in tow, all with their gloves. And their garlic fries.

And boy, do they love “The Preak,” who is half-Filipino.

The good half.