In the month of July, we will be learning and celebrating the Filipino culture in the USA and will be Honoring women in the US military service. Hope you enjoy reading it!
FILIPINO HERITAGE MONTH
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements began in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Spanish–American War at the end of the 19th century when the Philippines was ceded from Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris.
As of 2019, there were 4.2 million Filipinos, or Americans with Filipino ancestry, in the United States with large communities in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Texas, and the New York metropolitan area.
Filipino sailors were the first Asians in North America. The first documented presence of Filipinos in what is now the United States dates back to October 1587 around Morro Bay, California, with the first permanent settlement in Louisiana in 1763, the settlers there were called “Manilamen” and they served in the Battle of New Orleans during the closing stages of the War of 1812, after the Treaty of Ghent had already been signed. Philippine independence was recognized by the United States on July 4, 1946. After independence in 1946, Filipino American numbers continued to grow. Immigration was reduced significantly during the 1930s, except for those who served in the United States Navy and increased following immigration reform in the 1960s. The majority of Filipinos who immigrated after the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 were skilled professionals and technicians.
Despite being from Asia, Filipinos are sometimes called “Latinos” due to their historical relationship to Spanish colonialism; This view is not universally accepted. The Philippines experienced both Spanish and American colonial territorial status, with its population seen through each nation’s racial constructs. This shared history may also contribute to why some Filipinos choose to also identify as Hispanic or Latino, while others may not and identify more as Asian Americans. In a 2017 Pew Research Survey, only 1% of immigrants from the Philippines identified as Hispanic.
The Philippines is 90% Christian, one of only two predominantly Christian countries in Southeast Asia, along with East Timor.[91] Following the European arrival to the Philippines by Ferdinand Magellan, Spaniards made a concerted effort to convert Filipinos to Catholicism; outside of the Muslim sultanates and animist societies, missionaries were able to convert large numbers of Filipinos.[90]
Cuisine
The number of Filipino restaurants does not reflect the size of the population. Due to the restaurant business not being a major source of income for the community, few non-Filipinos are familiar with the cuisine. Although American cuisine influenced Filipino cuisine, it has been criticized by non-Filipinos. Even on Oahu where there is a significant Filipino American population, Filipino cuisine is not as noticeable as other Asian cuisines. One study found that Filipino cuisine was not often listed in Food frequency questionnaires. On television, Filipino cuisine has been criticized, such as on Fear Factor, and praised, such as on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and Bizarre Foods America.
Filipino American chefs cook in many fine dining restaurants, including Cristeta Comerford who is the executive chef in the White House, though many do not serve Filipino cuisine in their restaurants. Reasons given for the lack of Filipino cuisine in the U.S. include colonial mentality, lack of a clear identity, a preference for cooking at home and a continuing preference of Filipino Americans for cuisines other than their own. Filipino cuisine remains prevalent among Filipino immigrants, with restaurants and grocery stores catering to the Filipino American community, including Jollibee, a Philippines-based fast-food chain.
In the 2010s, successful and critically reviewed Filipino American restaurants were featured in The New York Times. That same decade began a Filipino Food movement in the United States; it has been criticized for gentrification of the cuisine. Bon Appetit named Bad Saint in Washington, D.C. “the second best new restaurant in the United States” in 2016. Food & Wine named Lasa, in Los Angeles, one of its restaurants of the year in 2018. With this emergence of Filipino American restaurants, food critics like Andrew Zimmern have predicted that Filipino food will be “the next big thing” in American cuisine. Yet in 2017, Vogue described the cuisine as “misunderstood and neglected”; SF Weekly in 2019, later described the cuisine as “marginal, underappreciated, and prone to weird booms-and-busts”.
Honoring Women in USA Military Service
From the battlefields of the American Revolution to the deserts of Kuwait, women have been serving in the military in one form or another for more than 200 years. They have had to overcome decades of obstacles to get to where they are today: serving in greater numbers, in combat roles and in leadership positions all around the world. Although women were not always permitted to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces, many still found ways to serve their nation.
During the Revolutionary War, as colonial militias armed themselves and joined George Washington’s Continental Army, many of these soldiers’ wives, sisters, daughters and mothers went with them. These women traveled alongside the Continental Army, where they boosted morale as well as mended clothes, tended to wounds, foraged for food, cooked and cleaned both laundry and cannons.
Some women found ways to join the fight for independence. Margaret Corbin, for example, disguised herself as a man and traveled with her husband to the front lines of the Battle of Fort Washington, where she helped him load his cannon. When her husband was shot by enemy fire, Corbin carried on fighting, even after being shot three times. She was given a military pension in acknowledgment of her efforts, and years after her death was reburied at West Point with full military honors. Similarly, Deborah Sampson fought disguised as a man for years before her true sex was revealed. Other women, such as Lydia Darragh, also supported the war effort by spying on behalf of the Patriots. However, women’s roles in the military became even more crucial during the Civil War, as their support expanded.
As more women broke through barriers and established themselves as capable service members working in defense of the nation, the list of “firsts” slowly became less noteworthy in comparison to the sheer number of women serving, as well as their significant contributions to their respective branches. In the Gulf War, from just 1990-1991, more than 40,000 women deployed to combat zones, although they still could not technically serve in direct combat roles or assignments.
Below is the link for your reference and all that our women have and are doing for their nation.
https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military