Celebrating Filipino American History Month

This October SFUSD is celebrating Filipino American History Month, a month to celebrate the contributions of Filipinx Americans to the American political, economic, and cultural landscape. At SFUSD, our schools have offered lessons and other activities to honor Filipino history and culture. For example, Hazeline Mandapat and JustineRay Madarang from Sunset Elementary School put together this presentation on Filipino role models, cultural icons, and common Tagalog phrases.

SFUSD celebrates the Filipinx community all year round through Kababayan SFUSD, an organization of SFUSD Filipinx employees who organize community events and help support the success and well-being of Filipinx students. This May, they held a virtual districtwide graduation ceremony for Filipinx seniors and families, following up on the inaugural ceremony last year. They also partner closely with the Filipino Mental Health Initiative of San Francisco.

We’ve put together a resource guide with content to learn more about Filipinx American history and ways to engage with the local Filipinx community.

Note: The adoption of the “x” in “Filipinx” by members in the Filipino American community is an attempt at inclusivity and breaking past the binary of gendered markers imposed by colonization. Filipinx should be seen as synonymous with Filipina or Filipino, without the gendered prescription.