© Copyright 2014 Joseph A. Bernardo From “Little Brown Brothers” to “Forgotten Asian Americans”: Race, Space, and Empire in Filipino Los Angeles Joseph A. Bernardo A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2014 Reading Committee Moon-Ho Jung, Chair Margaret O’Mara Vicente Rafael Quintard Taylor Program Authorized to Offer Degree: History University of Washington Abstract From “Little Brown Brothers” to “Forgotten Asian Americans”: Race, Space, and Empire in Filipino Los Angeles By Joseph A. Bernardo Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor Moon-Ho Jung Department of History Through archival research, close readings of literary works, and oral histories, this dissertation traces the various formations of Filipino American urban space in Los Angeles from the 1920s to the 1980s under the backdrop of the rise of U.S. empire. This dissertation argues that the emergence, disappearance, and later reclamation of "Little Manila”/“Historic Filipinotown" throughout the twentieth century marked critical shifts in articulations of American imperialism. As the United States had a formal colonial presence in the Philippines and Filipinos subsequently migrated to the United States as colonial subjects, whites in Los Angeles segregated, contained, and marginalized their “Little Brown Brothers” in a Little Manila district downtown, deeming Filipinos as “unassimilable” and a “racial problem.” However, as the U.S. state expanded domestically and globally in unprecedented ways during the World War II and postwar periods, Los Angeles city officials destroyed the Little Manila neighborhood ii while Filipinos increasingly moved to suburban neighborhoods as whites shifted their view of Filipinos in the United States as “loyal” Americans worthy of citizenship. By the 1960s and 1970s, as U.S. imperialism placed greater political emphasis on globalization and multiculturalism, the lack of a distinct Filipino enclave in Los Angeles, in turn, racialized Filipinos as “invisible.” Efforts to become “visible” and address pressing needs of Filipinos in the United States through campaigns to gain state recognition proved elusive, deeming Filipinos as socially and politically inept by nature to address their own marginality in the United States. Such calls of “invisibility,” therefore, were more products of liberal multiculturalism and its contradictions than on supposed cultural traits. Key to the shifting racialization and spatiality of Filipinos is the discourse of racial liberalism and its power to maintain U.S. empire and white hegemony. “From ‘Little Brown Brothers’ to ‘Forgotten Asian Americans’” contends that the deployment and proliferation of an emerging U.S. anti-racial, anti-imperial discourse, which contributed to the historical amnesia, or “invisibility,” of U.S. imperialism in the Philippines, shaped and produced the varying manifestations and racializations of Filipino American urban space throughout the twentieth century and beyond. iii For my Gerlie iv Acknowledgements This project has been in the making since I was an adolescent when I first developed a political identity as a Filipino American in suburban Los Angeles. Though I would never have dreamt that my thoughts of a “Filipinotown” would someday become a dissertation, I am quite awestruck at my intellectual and political development based on the now divergent claims and arguments I make in this study. I am therefore indebted to the people and places that have influenced me throughout the years. Though this dissertation bears my name, it has undoubtedly been a collective effort. First and foremost, I thank the University of Washington Department of History for the scholarly support, financial assistance, and most importantly, the vote of confidence during my almost seven years as a graduate student. Additionally, I am indebted to the UW Graduate School Fund for Excellence and Innovation, the UW Southeast Asian Center, the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, the Simpson Center for the Humanities, and the Studebaker Fund for the numerous fellowships and grants I received, enabling me to complete my doctoral program without severe financial burden. None of this work would be possible without the many people who assisted me in my research. I am indebted to the knowledgeable librarians and archivists who helped me navigate through the seemingly unmanageable world of archives. In particular, I thank Eloisa Gomez Borah and Amy Wong at UCLA, Dace Taube at USC, David Siegler at CSUN, Azalea Camacho at CSULA, Theresa Salazar at UC Berkeley, Sara Gunasekara at UC Davis, Bill Frank at the Huntington Library, Dorothy Cordova and the late Fred Cordova at the FANHS National Pinoy v Archives in Seattle, Jonathan Lorenzo and Elnora Tayag at the Filipino American Library in Los Angeles, Linda Fernandes at the Asian Pacific Resource Center of the Los Angeles County Library, Michael Holland at the Los Angeles City Archives, Reme Grefalda at the Library of Congress, Monique Sugimoto at the Pacific Region National Archives in Riverside, and Rita Cacas and Eric Van Slander at the National Archives in College Hill. I also thank Philippine Consul General of Los Angeles Ma. Hellen Barber for her vital assistance in allowing me unprecedented access to the records at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. I am likewise grateful and indebted to the numerous people who agreed to be interviewed for my dissertation, whose names are listed in the bibliography. All of your life stories brought an unassuming humanity to my study, which I hope is reflected in the pages that follow. At the University of Washington, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most erudite scholars in academia. To my chair, Moon-Ho Jung, thank you for your guidance, encouragement, critique, and most of all, patience over the last six-plus years. You pushed me beyond what I had thought was possible, and I thank you tremendously for it. You have been an invaluable mentor and have undoubtedly influenced the way I engage Asian American Studies and its social justice principles. To Vince Rafael, whether you know it or not, your work has deeply influenced my thinking about Filipinos and the Philippines. I am forever indebted to you. To Quintard Taylor, James Gregory, and Margaret O’Mara, thank you for the stimulating conversations, academic mentorship, and scholarly inspiration. To Chandan Reddy, thank you for your kindness and encouragement even during the countless times I doubted myself. Though I did not have the chance to work with most UW professors in a formal capacity, I am nonetheless grateful to Rick Bonus, Kiko Benitez, Laurie Sears, and Richard Johnson for the constant academic advice and encouragement. I also thank scholars outside of UW whom I vi have met throughout the years. In particular, I thank Eric Tang, Rick Baldoz, Celine Parrenas Shimizu, Rhacel Parrenas, Karen Tongson, Dylan Rodriguez, Lucy Burns, Martin Manalansan, Augusto Espiritu, Anthony Ocampo, Enrique De La Cruz, Carol Ojeda-Kimbrough, Florante Ibanez, and the late “Uncle” Roy Morales. Thank you for your sacrifice in paving the way for Asian American scholars like me to enjoy our privilege. In the same vein, my dissertation would never have come to fruition without the people who introduced me to the discipline of Asian American Studies. I thank Ben Zulueta, Paul Spickard, Jon Cruz, Diane Fujino, Joe Mazares, Steve Wong, as well as the members of UCSB Kapatirang Pilipino and CSUN FASA. I am especially grateful to Alan Segui, who has repeatedly, and without hesitation, served as an academic and life mentor. I also thank my mentors and colleagues whom I crossed paths with during my time at San Francisco State: Dan Gonzales, Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, Dawn Mabalon, Madeline Hsu, Lorraine Dong, Marlon Hom, Tracy Buenavista, Dillon Delvo, Kimmy Maniquis, Kathy Aguas-Aclan, Rizalene Zabala, Darren Brown, Alice Tam, and all of my fellow PEP teachers. You have all taught me that scholarship should always be more than just mental gymnastics. That said, I thank those who have given me the chance at attempting to take theories of social justice into action, especially Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Ana Guerrero, Ryan Carpio, Arsen Melikyan, and the rest of the CD13 family; Shane Goldsmith, Evelin Montes, and Margarita Ramirez of the Liberty Hill Foundation; Vanessa Vela-Lovelace, Jilly Canizares, and Kat Carrido of Fil Am ARTS; Joel Jacinto, Dennis Arguelles, and the late Peter Corpuz of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans; Aquilina Soriano Versoza and Lolita Lledo of the Pilipino Workers Center; Arturo Garcia of People’s CORE, and countless others. I thank you all for your vii unwavering confidence in my work and for the “unofficial” fellowships I have received during my graduate study, allowing me to keep calling Southern California my home. I have been lucky to meet such brilliant people at the University of Washington of whom I am proud to call my colleagues, especially Julie Myers, Balbir Singh, Sue Shon, Elloise Kim, Will Arighi, Symbol Lai, Julie Kae, Hoang Ngo, Michael Viola, Vanessa Au, Jacob Greenberg, James Pangilinan, Steve Beda, Chris Johnson, Nathan Roberts, Anoop Mirpuri, and members of the UW Asian American Studies Research Collective. Maraming maraming salamat to Kuya Jed Domigpe for helping me make my “broken” Tagalog skills less “broken.” To my intellectual circle in Los Angeles: Jen Nazareno, Nic Ramos, Mark Sanchez, James Zarsadiaz, Emily Raymundo, and Mark Pangilinan, you have summoned the deepest part of my mind to think more critically, creatively, and patiently. I cannot wait for our post-Ph.D. conversations. A special thanks goes to Precious Singson who has been a partner and confidant in every step of this dissertation process. I am also thankful to have met Carmel Laurino, Roger Habon, Amalia Aquino, Joseph Guanlao, Orlando Morales, Breckie McCollum, Meg Viera, and Marie Valdez. Your passion and kindness during my time at UW kept me warm during the cold and dark days in Seattle.