June is National Immigrant Heritage Month!

By: Elaine Lehman

 

June is National Immigrant Heritage Month! Established in 2014, this commemoration reaffirms the premise of this Nation’s founding and is reflected in the U.S. Constitution: America has been and will always be a nation of immigrants. At a time when the issues of immigration – documented and un- are at center stage, it is imperative that we celebrate the vibrant diversity of immigrants and their intersections and achievements in this imperfect but beautiful country. We celebrate our unique blend of East and West that make us Filipino wherever we may be.

“I am a Filipino. In my blood runs the immortal seed of heroes– seed that flowered down the centuries in deeds of courage and defiance. In my veins yet pulses the same hot blood that sent Lapulapu to battle against the first invader of this land, that nerved Lakandula in the combat against the alien foe, that drove Diego Silang and Dagohoy into rebellion against the foreign oppressor.

That seed is immortal. It is the self-same seed that flowered in the heart of Jose Rizal that morning in Bagumbayan when a volley of shots put an end to all that was mortal of him and made his spirit deathless forever…

The seed I bear within me is an immortal seed. It is …the symbol of dignity as a human being. Like the seeds that were once buried in the tomb of Tutankhamen many thousand years ago, it shall grow and flower and bear fruit again. It is the insignia of my race, and my generation is but a stage in the unending search of my people for freedom and happiness.

I am a Filipino, child of the marriage of the East and the West. […]

I am a Filipino, and this is my inheritance.”

-Excerpt from “I am a Filipino” by Carlos Romulo, 1941