LEAD Filipino aims to involve Pin@ys in public service, civic leadership, and engagement opportunities that relate to Filipin@ American representation in key public policy spaces. To achieve this, we provide community-based cultural programs, workshops and trainings, and collaborate with grassroots partners to advance awareness campaigns and educate local Filipin@ communities.
Vision
To facilitate experiences that uplift and increase the representation of Filipino/a Americans in civic and public leadership across the Bay Area.
Guiding Values
Visibility: Filipin@s are often dubbed as the, “Forgotten Asians.” Due to our political and electoral absence, our needs, stories, and experiences are often eclipsed in public decision-making arenas. Albeit, throughout our history, we have been targeted in landmark legislative decisions that have directly impacted our communities (1934 Tydings-MacDuffie Act) and (1946 Rescission Act), historic contexts (California’s 1960s Farmworker Grape Strikes), and today, from the perspective of visible roles in key leading and policy-making arenas. To challenge this reality, LEAD Filipino works to create spaces that provide visibility and learning opportunities for members interested in engaging in this work.
Representation: Filipin@s are the largest Asian Pacific Islander (API) group in California and data suggests year-over-year increases. Despite these numbers en masse, an underrepresentation of Filipin@s in appointed and public positions persists. As our population continues to grow, the necessity of involving Pin@ys in public spaces to represent our narratives, stories and experiences across public sectors intensifies. At a population of ~1.5 million in our State, our community – like others – has distinct needs and issues, namely issues related to Human Services (Immigration) and Civil Rights (Domestic Workers). LEAD Filipino operates under this and questions: What more can we do to expose and involve Filipin@s in understanding the legislative and public policy decisions that impact our daily lives?
Filipino Studies: Approached with a Filipin@ cultural lens while bridging the Philippines’ and American historic/current context, LEAD Filipino develops and provides programs and projects that educate local community members in initiatives, programs and trainings that address WHY Filipin@s ought to address coalesce around issues of Diversity, Visibility, and Representation and HOW we can move the needle. Our programs and projects bring local Filipin@ civic and elected leaders together, encourage open dialogue, and educate Filipin@s on cultural appreciation, upholding these values and stories, and leading within their own communities.
Civic Engagement: To provide community education, is to build community. Featuring educators, activists, entrepreneurs, historians, civic leaders, and much more from a wide variety of sectors, LEAD Filipino seeks to ignite conversations that wouldn’t otherwise happen in the context of Filipin@ leadership in communities. Through our initiatives like Awareness in Action and Policy. Politics. & Puto Trainings, we encourage participants to share opinions and experiences, while maintaining respect of varying viewpoints, as well. By engaging both youth and adults alike, we challenge Filipin@s to think critically on elevating our community’s voice. We are committed to presenting the community with a thoughtful, enriching and positive educational experience, and given this, our organizers are continuously huddling to bring content that informs, interests, and educates the ages of all participants.
“The paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” – James A. Baldwin