STAGING COUNTERSTORIES RACE(ING) IN CIRCLES EXAMINING THE SOCIAL ECOLOGIES OF FILIPIN@ AMERICAN YOUTH IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA LOCAL SESSION WELCOME PINAYISM PRAXIS AND MENTAL HEALTH POMO: A SPACE OF OUR OWN AMERICA’S SECOND CLASS VETERANS __________________________________ __________________________________ (Panel/Workshop) Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales with Co-Presenters Ryan Leano, Kyle DeOcera, Katrina Evasco, Aldrich Sabac, Aureen Almario “Teaching is a performative act. And it is that aspect of our work that offers the space for change, invention, spontaneous shifts, that can serve as a catalysts drawing out the unique elements in each classroom.” (hooks, 1994) To engage students to become “active participants in learning,” teaching is not the only performative act in the classroom, I assert that learning is also a performative act and performance can be used as a learning tool. Critical performance pedagogy is inspired by the Theatre of the Oppressed, where theater is emphasized not as a spectacle but rather as a language designed to: 1) analyze and discuss problems of oppression and power; and 2) explore group solutions to these problems. (Boal, 1979) Critical performance in line with decolonizing pedagogy and counterstorytelling allows students and teachers to co-learn larger historical and contemporary counternarratives while also inserting their own stories both in the classroom and on the stage. (Delgado, 1989; Solorzano & Yosso, 2005) On this panel/workshop, we will share an implementation of critical performance pedagogy with urban youth in Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP), an eight-year old teaching collaborative pipeline where professors/educators train San Francisco State University undergraduates and graduate students to teach Filipina/o American studies and ethnic studies to community college, high school, and elementary school students. In PEP, the classroom is often a stage where students and teachers perform plays, skits, poetry, music and dance/movement together. Also, the community theatrical stage–at the end of the year in their multimedia culminating final show/performance–becomes their classroom where the audience of community members, leaders, teachers, peers, parents, and family become their students. In line with Freire’s school of thought, this use of performance in the curriculum is a “pedagogy of the heart” and a means to provide students a way to “become more human.” Critical performance as a teaching and learning tool allows for the students to not only learn the material in the course but it serves as a forum for them to express their personal counterstories, to complicate and challenge over-essentialized notions and codes associated with youth culture, all the while participating in the development of a critical youth cultural production that aims to address problems in this community and in the world in which they live. Bio: Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales is an associate professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. She is also the director of Pin@y Educational Partnerships and senior researcher with the Educational Equity Initiative at the Cesar Chavez Institute. She is also an ethnic studies curriculum consultant for the San Francisco Unified School District. __________________________________ __________________________________ (Workshop) This workshop will provide 1) A historical overview of hate crimes against Filipina/o and Filipina/o Americans; 2) strategies on how to teach race and racism with students 9th-college, and community spaces. Through the popular discourse of education, the Asian American voice, especially those of Filipino Americans, is frequently left out of the discussion. The popular perception of Asian Americans reflects the “model minority” stereotype where Asian Americans are stigmatized as overachievers (Doan, 2006, Suzuki, 1977). Along with this perception, data on Asian Americans are lumped together into one homogenized category, thus leaving out specific data that reflect the experiences of Asian ethnic groups (Maramba, 2008; Nadal, 2008). One report that focused on California community college equity (2007), expressed that when data on Asian Americans are disaggregated, educational attainment within this diverse racial group have characterized polar representations of success and struggle. The lumping of Asian Americans into one racial category is problematic because it overlooks the experiences and struggles of specific Asian ethnic groups who are academically underperforming, particularly Filipina/o and Filipina/o American students. The model minority myth conceals the cultural, ethnic, experiential, and language diversity of various Asian ethnic groups(Doan, 2006, Suzuki, 1977). The model minority stereotype does not address the lack of curriculum representation of Filipino Americans and fails to recognize the needs and concerns of Filipino American students (Maramba, 2008, Nadal, 2008). Political and educational leaders need to recognize and have the critical insight of the experiences of Filipino immigrant and Filipino American students to provide an equitable and transformative educational space. To foster an equitable and transformative education, schools and the educational curriculum must reflect its students, to support their process of learning (Doan, 2006, Suzuki, 1977). This workshop will provide a history of violence, race and racism against Filipina/o and Filipina/o Americans and how it affects our students today. We will also provide various strategies on student reflection, engagement and community action against racism. Bio: Angelica Posadas is a second generation Pinay, born and bred in San Francisco. Angelica received her Bachelor of Arts in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University in 2007. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP) at Balboa High School. PEP is a service learning education program which partners with SFSU Asian American Studies (AAS), San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), and the Filipino Community Center (FCC). PEP offers a curriculum based on Filipin@ American Studies to elementary, middle, high school, and college aged students; this upcoming Fall will be her fifth year in the program. Alongside her passion for teaching, Angelica has deep roots in community youth work. Many of her previous employment has dealt and is centered around serving low-income youth of color in either after-school programming or case management. Presently, Angelica is the Project Coordinator for the New Directions Employment Program (NDEP). NDEP is a year-round employment and training program that provides youth involved in the Juvenile Justice system with opportunities for work-based learning, life skills, academic support and educational workshops focused on positive youth development. When Angelica is not busy with her students, she enjoys spending time with her three nephews and family who support and love her unconditionally. Bio: Arlene S. Daus-Magbual is a Pinay that was born in East Los Angeles and raised in Long Beach and Riverside CA. Arlene is the Associate Director for Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP). She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of California Riverside, and her Master of Arts in Asian American Studies at the San Francisco State University. She is currently in the Educational Leadership Doctorate Program at San Francisco State University. Her experience with nonprofits includes organizations such as Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Oakland Kids First, Girlsource, the Filipino American Development Foundation and the Filipino Community Center. She currently resides in Daly City, CA with her husband Roderick Daus-Magbual and her Pinay sweetheart Amianan. Bio: Michelle Ferrer has a B.A. in Psychology from San Francisco State University and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in International Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco. Michelle is a pinay educator/writer born in Manila, Philippines and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Michelle has provided leadership development training to teen-age youth for the past eight years through both cultural and creative arts. Michelle joined Oakland Kids First in 2003 and brings a spirit to her work that values youth wisdom, creates safety for others to find their voice, and provides opportunities for learning and reflection. Michelle is a former teacher with PEP in the San Francisco public schools. She has performed her poetry at APAture, Diwang Pinay, Bindlestiff Studios, MACLA (San Jose) and at the Youth Speaks event, “This Kolor Children.” She uses her writing as a medium to begin a dialogue about the impact different forms of oppression have had on marginalized communities. __________________________________ __________________________________ (Panel) Too often, Filipino youth and families ignore or remain ambivalent of how to seek culturally relevant support through services and programs existing in the community for the well-beng of their family. This panel will address and identify issues evident in raising or communicating with Filipin@ Youth and families today. It’s crucial and necessary for educators to be aware and conscious of how to link these services to assist youth and famlies in need. Not only will this panel provide insight into three specific needs of our youth and communtiies, but we will also provide resources and services of organizations that seek to address these issues. The intended audience of this panel are youth, educators, community members, and any persons interested in understanding emerging health issues among Filipino/a American communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bio: Jonell Molina, Teacher, Pin@y Educational Partnerships, City College of San Francisco; Case Manager, Vietnamese Youth Development Center, 150 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA Bio: Ben Cabangun, Teacher, Pin@y Educational Partnerships, City College of San Francisco; Men’s Program Specialist, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, San Francisco, CA. PAPER TITLE: Breakin’ it Down(e): A Community Needs Assessment of Downe Identified Filipino Youth in the San Francisco Bay Area Bio: Jeff Lapitan and Verma Zapanta, Teachers, Pin@y Educational Partnerships, Balboa High School. PAPER TITLE: Findings from the Pin@y Educational Partnerships Social Toxin Student Surveys Bio: Brian Ragas and Jerold Ramos, Downe Organizing Project c/o Liwanag Kultural Center, Daly City, CA. PAPER TITLE: Homophobia in Our Classrooms: Exploring Recent Gay Youth Suicides/Making Connections to Our Queer Filipin@ Youth __________________________________ __________________________________ (Address) Bio: Associate Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. After working on the planning and implementation of Asian American Studies and the School of Ethnic Studies at SFSU in1969, San Francisco-born Daniel Phil Gonzales began a four-decade career in education as a co-lecturer in Asian American Studies. With a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and a Juris Doctorate from Hastings College of Law (1977), he has continuously taught, researched, written newspaper and magazine articles, and recorded video about Filipina/o American history, Asian Americans and American legal, political and social processes, and Philippine/U.S. relations. He resides in San Francisco with Barbara Linda Palaby, his spouse of 29 years, and sons Arel and Balentin. Bio: Assistant Professor, Department of History San Francisco State University. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of History at San Francisco State University, where she teaches courses in US history and race and ethnicity. A third generation Pinay born in Stockton, California, she received her M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA in 1997 and her Ph.D. in history from Stanford University in 2004. Her poetry, essays, articles and curriculum have been published in the books and anthologies Tomorrow’s Memories: The Diary of Angeles Monrayo (University of Hawaii, 2003), Coming Home to a Landscape: Writings by Filipinas (2003), Pinay Power: Pilipina Peminist Theory (Routledge, 2006), Positively No Filipinos Allowed (Temple University, 2006), and in the Pin@y Educational Partnerships Sourcebook (Phoenix Publishing, 2007). She is the past chair and founding board member of the Little Manila Foundation, which works for the preservation and revitalization of the Little Manila Historic Site in Stockton, serves on the advisory board of the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, and is a National Trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society. She is co-author of Filipinos in Stockton, a book of historic photos and essays (Arcadia Publishing, 2008). She is a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow for 2007-2008. She is currently completing her book manuscript, Life in Little Manila: Filipinas/os in Stockton, 1917-1972. Her research interests include Filipina/o American community history and culture, foodways and food history, and Pinay Studies. __________________________________ __________________________________ (Panel/Workshop) This workshop aims to connect the global and local issues of Pinays to the personal. We will provide a history of Pinayism praxis and ways in which Pinays are taking action today to change the realities within their communities and within their lives. Through a short panel and workshop, we hope to provide tools for educators to incorporate Pinayism in their curriculum. We hope that classrooms can be a catalyst for social change by including the counter-narratives of Pinay struggle and survival. Additionally, we will look into the mental health issues of Filipino/a American youth in San Francisco’s Filipino-concentrated neighborhoods, Excelsior and SoMa districts, and investigate how to work with these youth and what mental health issues they may be having through this interactive presentation. Bio: A second generation Pinay, Jocyl Sacramento was born on the cusp of aries in a naval hospital in Oakland, CA. She was raised in Riverside where her family resides. Jocyl has been teaching with Pin@y Educational Partnerships since she relocated to the Bay in 2006 in pursuit of a Masters in Asian American Studies from SFSU. She received her BA in ethnic studies and sociology from UC Riverside. She currently serves as program coordinator at Oasis for Girls in San Francisco, CA. Bio: Nicollette Magsambol loves to teach and learn from her students. She is a daughter.sister.cousin.granddaughter.godmother.friend. And future mother. Community worker. PEP teacher. Through her 1.5 generational and small town experiences, she hopes to shed light on stories that are never told in and out of the classroom. __________________________________ __________________________________ (Roundtable) Kularts Inc. with Allelulia Panis (Artistic Director), Dianne Que (Community Engagement), Allan Manalo (theater, comedy), Fides Enriquez (dance), Olivia Malabuyo (theater, movement, community arts), and Ronald Quesada (music). Moderated by Anthem Salgado (theater, performance poetry) and Irene Faye Duller (theater, performance poetry). Kularts’ Post Modern American Pilipino Performance Project (POMO) is a curated annual event of shared programming highlighting the American experiences of the Pilipino diaspora. It was created in 1998 to focus, highlight, promote, and elevate American Pilipino post-modern aesthetics. POMO’s success over 11 years reflects the widespread interest in Pilipino American contemporary art and the need for a large-scale, annual event dedicated to the Pilipino American post-modern aesthetic. This roundtable aims to discuss and critique POMO as a best practice: its process and presentation of contemporary cultural production. The dialogue will look at the historical/artistic/social contexts surrounding the birth of POMO, the work Kularts has committed to year after year to sustain main stage opportunities for viable, edgy, new forms of Pilipino American performance art. We will look at the mission, the roster of a decade’s worth of artwork/artists, the curatorial challenges, the standards, and the community’s response to this unique performance space. Lastly, the conversation’s larger objective will be to propose to college educators, community organizers, and teaching artists possibilities to engage towards a level of excellence in artistic production, aesthetic, and presentation as they may work towards the intrepid process of decolonization with artist and audience alike. Bio: Founded in 1985, Kularts is the premier presenter of contemporary and tribal Pilipino arts in the United States. We are a not-for-profit arts organization based in San Francisco, California. Our mission is to inform and expand the understanding of American Pilipino culture and preserve the spirit and integrity of ancient Pilipino art forms. We produce innovative artistic works, foster mentorship among emerging and established artists, facilitate local and international collaborations; design and implement educational outreach programs for elementary through college age students; lead cultural tours to the Philippines, and more. __________________________________ __________________________________ (Slide Show Presentation and Discussion) Rick Rocamora Using images and text from the my book “America’s Second-Class Veterans” I will explore the importance of the need to document our own community, how we can use visual voice in our advocacy work and how and why the proliferation of multi-media tools is both an advantage and disadvantage in how we define ourselves. I will also include other presentations of my work in the Muslim community, Silicon Valley and the Philippines. Bio: Rick Rocamora has traveled the globe with his camera, capturing the smiles of children, the determination of freedom fighters, and the swift grace of dancers from his native Philippines, to El Salvador and South Africa. In America, he documents issues about immigrants and civil liberties, including Japanese-Americans who were incarcerated in World War II, Muslim-Americans after 9/11, Silicon Valley’s immigrant entrepreneurs, and Filipino Diaspora. His photographs have been exhibited in San Francisco City Hall, U.S. Embassies in London and Tokyo, the Smithsonian, the Center for Photographic Arts, Oakland Museum, and Gorman Museum. He was recognized as a “Local Bay Area Hero” by KQED and Union Bank of California for his work about the Filipino veterans. “Second-Class Veterans” a documentary film profiling his work about the veterans was broadcast on many PBS stations in 2003 and 2004. He has won awards from Asian American Journalist Association, SF Bay Area Press Photographers Association, California Arts Council, and New California Media. Rocamora, who lives in Oakland, CA, also teaches photography and runs the Exposure Gallery in San Francisco. __________________________________ __________________________________
LOCAL
(Panel)
Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales with Co-Presenters Ryan Leano, Kyle DeOcera, Katrina Evasco, Aldrich Sabac, Aureen Almario
(Workshop)
Angelica Posadas, Arlene Daus-Magbua, and Michelle Ferrer
(Panel)
Ben Cabangun, Brian Ragas, Jeff Lapitan, Jerold Ramos, Jonell Molina, Verma Zapanta
(Address)
Dan Gonzalez and Dawn Mabalon
(Panel/Workshop)
Jocyl Sacramento, Lyra Ibarra, and Nicollete Magsambol
(Roundtable)
Kularts Inc. with Allelulia Panis, Dianne Que, Allan Manalo, Fides Enriquez, Olivia Malabuyo, and Ronald Quesada. Moderated by Anthem Salgado and Irene Faye Duller.
(Slide Show and Discussion)
Rick RocamoraStaging Counterstories: Practicing Critical Performance Pedagogy
Race(ing) In Circles: Teaching Race and Racism in the Classroom
Angelica Posadas, Arlene Daus-Magbua, and Michelle FerrerExamining the Social Ecologies of Filipin@ American Youth in the San Francisco Bay Area
Ben Cabangun, Brian Ragas, Jeff Lapitan, Jerold Ramos, Jonell Molina, Verma ZapantaLOCAL SESSION WELCOME
Dan Gonzalez and Dawn MabalonPin@yism Praxis and Mental Health
Jocyl Sacramento, Lyra Ibarra, and Nicollete Magsambol“POMO!”: A SPACE OF OUR OWN. Celebrating over a decade of Kularts’ Post Modern American Pilipino Performance Project and Encouraging Excellence in Pin@y Artistry
America’s Second-Class Veterans, 18 years of Visual Advocacy for Filipino Veterans
[...] Presenters: LOCAL [...]