Preserving Fil-Am History and Remembering Alice Bulos
By Arthur Arboleda (San Francisco Bay Area, California)
March 16, 2021
When I was a high school student, our education system made it seem as if Filipinos did not have a place in American History. The logos of American History dictates that all history isn’t valued equally. This mantra of history education is emphasized even more when we bring in the idea of textbooks. Trying to condense the very dark and complicated past of the United States into a linear chronological format means compromises with history needed to be made, and this compromise was simple; omit history that isn’t valuable to white history.
Among these gaps in history, we see many invaluable Filipino histories cut out for the sake of fitting everything into a textbook. Many of these forgotten moments removed Filipinos from pivotal moments in U.S. history. This includes significant details being forgotten such as Filipinos being the first Asians to immigrate to California, an abridged version of the Filipino American War, Joseph B. Nisperos being the first Asian American to be awarded the Medal of Honor, the hate of the Watsonville riots, Larry Itliong being erased from the Farm Workers history, and the list, unfortunately, is very long.
Within our hidden archive of American History lies maybe the heart of Filipino American politics, Alice Pena Bulos. Bulos grew up in Nueva Ecija in Luzon during World War II. Despite the destructive setting, Bulos finished College with honors in a Master of Arts in social and behavioral science.
In 1969, Alice and her family, husband Donnie, and daughter Elizabeth migrated to the United States. Using her skills in social and behavioral science, Alice conducted studies on the Filipino Community in San Francisco. Eventually, Alice would become involved in politics when she found herself in Sacramento. Alice had been influenced by seeing other Asian American Women participate in politics. Alice was driven to advocate for Asian American women in the workplace.
In 1984, Alice and Donnie created the grassroots organized Filipino American Democratic Club. In a pivotal moment for both Alice and Filipino Americans, President Clinton appointed Bulos to the federal council of aging in 1993. Alice is the first person of Filipino descent to be selected by a sitting President to be appointed to serve on a federal post. In this position, Alice advocated for the proper treatment of elderly Americans which echoes the community’s rally to protect elderly Asian Americans from the uprising of hate crimes throughout the bay area.
Alice’s activism is a product of her vigilance and resilience as a Filipina American, and it’s something that younger Filipinos deserve to hear when they go to school to learn American History. Steve Westley, a long-time colleague of Alice, claims, “This day and age, there aren’t enough heroes, and within Alice, you find someone who is completely selfless. Alice Bulos is the real hero of the Filipino American Community in the Democratic party.” Eventually, Alice would encourage and inspire other Filipino Americans to partake in political careers, amplifying the Filipino voice in American politics. In 2016, Alice passed away at 86. Bulos’ activism united Filipino Americans and her actions as an organizer continue to shape the politics of Filipinos to this day.
It may be difficult to remain optimistic about the state of our history, and it seems like we often have to search and dig endlessly to find where our roots have grown, but Alice’s work prevails in the younger generation of Filipinos advocating for more classes, centered around Filipino History. UC Davis boasts an incredibly rich Filipino community exchanging our history and culture through the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies.
It’s important to remember, that as Filipinos, we have a place in American History, regardless of the education system values it or not. The legacy of Alice and countless other Filipinos that have paved the way for us exists within our natural sense to persevere in difficult settings.
