Episode 120 – Fil Am Allyship in the Black Lives Matter Movement (Social Distance Series)

This Filipino American Life

The murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others at the hands of the police department has ignited outrage all around the world and once again, exposed the deep wounds of racism and inequality in the United States. While it’s easy to dismiss this unrest as somehow “outside” of the Filipino American community, it is impossible to ignore our role.

As Filipino Americans, we are certainly complicit to racism in the United States. How many folks in our community make snide remarks about Black people? How many Filipino parents send their children to private school because too many Black or Latinos attend the local public schools? How many 2nd and 3rd generation adopt African American culture without paying homage to its founders or giving back to the Black community?

One of the calls from Black Lives Matter leaders is to help educate our own communities on how we perpetuate and reinforce anti-Blackness. In this TFAL episode, we have an intra-community discussion on anti-Black racism in our communities and in our society. We speak to long-time community advocates Kimmy Maniquis and Kalaya’an Mendoza. Listen as we discuss how the Black Lives Matter Movement is important to all Filipino Americans, how we can talk to our friends and family who aren’t supportive of anti-racism, and how to support the Movement in multiple ways.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For Folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

Here is the video we referenced in the podcast about Kalaya’an, his faith, and talking with a Catholic priest: