Glossary

=Racial Wellness Glossary=

ACTIVISM

Acting upon to change the wrongs in society. There were various political ideological groupings that addressed the issue of Martial Law. They disagreed on the system of government that would prevail after Martial Law was removed and President Marcos was dethroned. A few wanted to maintain the political system of government, some were struggling for political reform, and others wanted institutional change. Several groups were organized to protest Martial Law and the Marcos dictatorship.

AFROASIAN

A person of African or African American heritage and Asian Heritage. This may also include Afro-Caribbean or other related heritages. For example, the writer Janet Stickmon, author of a memoir about growing up Black and Filipina, Crushing Soft Rubies.

AMERASIAN

This is a term referring to people of mixed "American" and Asian ancestry --- with the assumption often being that the American side is European American or African American. The further assumption is that the father was in the U.S. military and served in a war in Asia --- usually in Korea, Japan, or Vietnam. The relatively high number of enlisted people of color, and the diversity of "American" ethnicities, is often ignored. This term has occasionally been used as a catch-all for Asians of mixed heritage, but is now often used with specifically to refer to the groups mentioned above.

ANTI-MESCEGENATION

Against interracial couples dating or marrying. An effort to prevent the mixing of ethnicities. Laws prohibiting the marriage of anyone legally or socially defined as “white” with someone of another racialized group were “antimiscegenation laws.” Miscegenation is a racist term implying that such mixing is degrading to both racialized groups and that the resulting children will be “lower” than either parents’ race. Different states had antimiscegenation laws naming various ethnic or racialized groups depending on the local demographics. For example, in the South the focus was on preventing intermarriage between “whites” and people legally and socially defined as “Black” (in some states if you were 1/16th Black, in other is you were 1/32nd Black you were so defined).

Landmark Interracial Relationship Cases & Antimiscegenation Laws: The first recorded interracial marriage in North American history took place between John Rolfe and Pocahontas in 1614. The first antimiscegenation law in what was to become the United States was enacted in Maryland in 1661. It prevented the intermarriage of white women with Black men. In the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century, many American states passed antimiscegenation laws. Typically a felony, these laws prohibited the solemnization of weddings between people categorized socially and legally as white and those categorized in specific non-white groups and prohibited the officiating of such ceremonies. Antimiscegenation laws were integral to the institutionalization of slavery because it meant that Black men could be easily persecuted for the “crime” of looking at a white woman—and the cry of “rape” was often used to justify the lynching of Black men during this time. It also kept white women and the ideal of white womanhood as the sole domain of white men. Meanwhile, white men could and did freely have sex with Black women, and antimiscegenation laws prevented such unions from ever being legally sanctioned. Definitions of Blackness were strict; if you were 1/32nd black in some states you were legally Black. That means if you had one great great great grandparent who had been legally and or socially considered Black, so were you. Thus, the mixed heritage children of interracial unions could rarely inherit their white fathers’ property. At the time that antimiscegenation laws were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, sixteen states still had laws prohibiting interethnic marriage. Those laws were not completely repealed until November 2000, when Alabama became the last state to repeal its law. Mixed heritage organizations are now beginning to celebrate June 12th as LToving Day to commemorate the struggle of this and many other brave couples. (For more information, go to http://lovingday.org.) ASIAN AMERICAN

A resident of the United States, (a citizen, permanent resident, or immigrant) who was born in, or whose ancestors came from, Asia. Term coined in 1969 by the late historian Yuji Ichioka, as a powerful political identity that brought together Americans of Asian descent who had been lumped together under the derogatory term “Oriental.”

CLASSISM

A set of interpersonal practices and prejudices that arose as a result of the capitalist power structure. Classism is the idea that people of “higher” class are superior to people from the “lower” classes.

COLONIZATION

The process by which a nation occupies and settles in territory belonging to another people (or unoccupied territory) (from Resistance in Paradise, 186). Also, using force to enforce the belief that “my way is better than your way.”

COLONIALISM

A system in which one nation exercises military, economic, and political power to control another country’s: Land – by establishing colonies or political rule Labor – through slavery and/or exploitation Liberty – by taking away freedom and/or violating human rights Life – by attempting to destroy indigenous culture, ideology, identity, and spirituality Language – to control communication and education Legacy – through the destruction of histories, herstories, and ourstories

Under feudalism, Land = Power. If you want more power, you need more land. The European colonial experience was based on the quest of nations for more power. Often, the understated result of this expansion was the mass murder of indigenous people, as well as the enslavement of Africans and the native population of the continent. The Philippines was a direct colony of Spain, and later, the United States (Artnelson Concordia, Tibak, 2006). (PEP book)

COLONIZER

The country that controls the colony through the use of government and military.

COLONY

A region or country that is controlled by another country.

COMMUNITY

A community does not have to be a place where a person lives; it can be spread out over a city, a country, or even the world. A community is a place that people build and a place they interact-sometimes physically and sometimes virtually. Sometimes a 'real' community does not even exist, but is 'imagined': a commonly shared historical or cultural belief bonds its members together...The concept of community and the reasons why people choose to identify themselves with a particular community is tied in with complex issues of identity: how we define ourselves, how we define and interact with others and how others define us…It also defines who we are, supports our beliefs, gives us friends, and helps us to belong. (From http://www.youthlinks.org, accessed 8-23-06).

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Where your family is from.

DEHUMANIZE

To deprive of human qualities such as individuality, compassion, or civility.

DISPLACEMENT

The act of uprooting someone or community from their home.

DOWNE (also downE)

Beginning in the 1990's, an underground queer sub-culture emerged among Southern California's queer Filipino/a American community, as these men and women began socially congregating among the bonfire pits of the La Jolla Shores beach community in San Diego, CA. They no longer identified as "gay" and created a new identity—Downe. Members within this community explained this space was created to separate gay Asian American men from stereotyped femininity and white-only partnering; a historical stereotype deemed to gay Asian American men by a dominant white gay community.

In 2004, with the launch of the website "DowneLink.com," the downe community has become a movement, encompassing not only new generations of queer Filipinos/as, but also the larger communities of Asian and Pacific American youth. Now, a large presence has also spread to other communities of color worldwide. Testimonies among downe identified men describe the downe movement as a form of resistance against stereotypes, (re)claiming masculinity and other forms of performance not expected of gay Asian men. This community has created a space in which gay Asian men and women are no longer ashamed of dating each other, a space to combat racism, stereotypes, and de/re/construct a gay Asian identity.

More recently, another variation of downe, spelled "downE" with a capital "E", has emerged among the community. Differentiating from "downe" in terms of politicization. To be "downE" encompasses the notion of challenging stereotypes of the gay asian male, however, there seems to be no identity consciousness among these men. These members refuse to identify within the LGBTQI spectrum, and may sometimes identify as heterosexual. This is similar to other communities of men of color who have sex with men of color (MSM), such as men on the "down-low" in the Latino and African American Communities. (contributed by Ben Cabungan 2008)

ETHNIC STUDIES (Original Goals and Beliefs)

Self-determination/inclusion:

Self-determination is the right and power of a people to make decisions and to take action consistent with their own best interests.

The founders of Ethnic Studies believed that inclusion in social and political processes via self-representation was a fundamental principle of democracy.

Self-determination is a correlative element of representation that was necessary to counter the long history of misrepresentation of Third World people in the social institutions of the West, particularly the academy.

Community Advocacy:

Ethnic Studies was envisioned as a forum for presentation of the primary experiences of Third World people, their perspectives on those experiences, and the social, economic and political needs of Third World communities. Ethnic Studies faculty members were expected to be advocates for and representatives of the needs of communities where they had primary experience.

Connection of the Community to the Academy and Community Service:

Consistent with the values held by the student founders of Ethnic Studies and restated by Dr. Nathan Hare, active community involvement by students and faculty is a necessary component of Ethnic Studies. As stated in the previous section on The Strike of 1968-69, Dr. Hare saw application of Black Studies by graduates to address and resolve community issues and problems was the ultimate goal of their program. That value position was shared by all of the departments of Ethnic Studies.

ETHNICITY

A dynamic (always changing) social construct in which people are grouped together by shared language, religion, culture, national or regional origin, political and economic interests, and historical experiences, among others. People are grouped together either by state constructions of ethnicity or by their own desire to identify with others who share the same culture, values, traditions, language, and experiences.

EUGENICS

The idea that a more perfect human race, or ethnicity, can be created by weeding out those considered inferior because of disease, disability, race, ethnicity or religion. Eugenics was promoted through legal and social policies in the U.S. and supported by major institutions and philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie. British and German eugenicists were supported by the well-funded U.S. institutions. Eugenics was the basis for Hitler’s “final solution” of murdering tens of thousands of gays and lesbians, gypsies, and Jewish people, among others considered contaminants of what he called the “master race.”

EURASIAN

This is a term that has had negative connotations in the past, similar to “mulatto” for African Americans. The implication is that a person of “white” and non-white heritage will struggle to fit into the “white” category (with the implication that “whiteness” is superior). Because whiteness is defined by purity, the Eurasian is thus doomed, like the mulatto, to the “tragedy” of a marginal identity living forever between two worlds.

GENTRIFICATION

The process of transforming a working class or supposedly deteriorating neighborhood into one that is more economically profitable, and one that brings in more tax revenue for the city. For example, bringing in Starbucks and upscale clothing boutiques, art galleries and condo projects into a working class neighborhood transforms the neighborhood, both positively and negatively. Gentrification may bring in more money, tourists and residents, but it often pushes out established residents and businesses, and makes the neighborhood unaffordable. Urban redevelopment can sometimes trigger gentrification.

HAPA

This is a Native Hawaiian word, originally meaning simply "part" or "mixed," with no racial or ethnic meaning. It became associated with the phrase hapa haole during the influx of European immigrants, many of whom intermarried with the ali’i, or land-owning class, of Native Hawaiians. Later, as Japanese immigrants were imported as plantation labor, the Japanese Hawaiian population adopted the term hapa, mostly to refer to people of mixed Japanese and European heritage. Today, the word hapa has been appropriated by mainland Asian Americans, and is often used to refer to a person of mixed heritage who has any Asian or Pacific Islander heritage. There is a growing controversy over the use of this term. Some think it should be stretched to include anyone of any mixed heritage, other think it should be restricted to those of mixed Native Hawaiian heritage. The term will no doubt continue to change in its usage.

HATE CRIMES

Any criminal act or attempted act directed against a person(s) based on the victim’s actual or perceived race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. Acts which result in serious injury, even if the injury is slight; threats of violence that look like they can be carried out and property damage. The first hate crimes laws were enacted in the 1870s to punish and prevent the terror wrought upon African Americans by the Ku Klux Klan in the South.

HATE INCIDENTS

Non-criminal act against a person(s) based on the victim’s actual or perceived race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. Incidents include circulating hate material without a threat of impending violence, or displaying hate graffiti in public places that is not directed against a specific victim.

HERITAGE

Heritage is not the same as identity. It is akin to ancestry, but may also encompass culture. In other words, heritage is not necessarily determined by biology. For example, someone of Italian ancestry adopted into a Filipina/o American family might claim Filipina/o heritage from being raised in that culture.

IDENTITY

Identity is not the same as heritage, though many people often conflate the two ideas. Identity is more often about who an individual identifies with rather than what an individual identifies as. Therefore, a person of mixed Filipina/o and Thai heritage may identify first as an Asian American because she feels more in common with other Asian Americans than with either the Thai or Filipina/o American communities. A person of mixed heritage is likely to have a sense of identification with more than one community, so different identities may be fore-grounded at different times. - The collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known. - The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member or group. - The quality or condition of being the same as something else. - The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; individuality. (Dictionary.com)

IMMIGRATION MODELS

• “Land of Opportunity” Immigrants came to the United States pulled by dreams of opportunity and prosperity. But many scholars now believe this explanation is too simplistic, and that many factors influence people to immigrate to the United States.

• Push and Pull Models Many scholars believe that immigrants are pushed from their countries of origin by certain environments and events (for example, poverty and war) and pulled to another country because of their need for labor.

• Imperialism, Industrial Revolution, and Capitalism Other scholars, while recognizing the previous two models, put more emphasis on major global changes in regards to politics and the economy to explain the movements of peoples from one country to another in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the early 19th century, major global economic and political shifts caused by imperialism, the Industrial Revolution, and the growth of global capitalism disrupted local economies worldwide. These dislocations, which includes the extraction of resources from some countries and the need for cheap labor in capitalist countries, causes millions of people to emigrate around the world.

• International Labor Migration These models, in basic terms, views immigration globally, and in light of imperialism, the Industrial Revolution, and capitalism’s growth in the 19th and 20th century. Simply put, throughout the 20th century, people are pushed and pulled throughout the globe. Labor moves from one country to another to find work as capitalism’s influence is felt worldwide.

IMPERIALISM

The system, policies, and/or practices of one nation to establish economic and political hegemony over other countries. Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism. (Lenin 1916)

Under capitalism, Capital = Power. If you want more power, you need to expand your markets. Imperialism is a stage of capitalism where corporations of the Western industrial nations (G7—United States, Japan, England, France, Germany, Italy, Canada) dominate the world economy through their national governments. These First World nations dominate Third World nations, both directly (war and conquest) and indirectly (treaty, economic policy, and so on) in order to advance the interests of their capitalists (Artnelson Concordia, Tibak, 2006). (PEP book)

INTERRACIAL

This term describes relationships, not people. For example, a couple can be in an interracial relationship, but a person cannot be an “interracial person.” An interracial relationship is defined as one in which each partner is from a different racialized group. A similar definition exists for interethnic relationships, for example between someone of Chinese and another of Filipina/o heritage.

MARGINALIZATION

This refers to a process by which a subordinate group is treated as though they are on the periphery of groups who have the privilege and power to be part of the “center” or the mainstream. Marginalization can be a result of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and other structures of oppression. Groups in the “margins” may also choose to create a counterculture to those in the “center.”

LATINASIAN

Of Latina/o or Mexican American and Asian heritage.

MESTIZA/O

Originally used by the Spanish colonizers to indicate someone of mixed Spanish and other heritage, this is the term most Filipinos use to describe a person of mixed heritage—especially someone who is of Filipino and European or “White” heritage. In the Philippines, people also use terms like “Chinese Mestiza/o” to indicate someone is of Chinese and Filipina/o heritage. In Mexico and some parts of Latin America, the term Mestiza/o was originally used to indicate someone of mixed Spanish and indigenous heritage.

MIGRATION

Movement from one place to another.

MIXED HERITAGE

This is a general term inclusive of people who are first generation or multi-generationally “mixed race” or mixed ethnicity. The term is often also inclusive of people who are trans-racially adopted. It is the currently favored term, but it is not perfect and may be supplanted as scholars and community activists debate and clarify the issues.

MIXED ETHNICITY

Being of multiple ethnic heritage that are within the same racialized group (see definition for “Races” below). If “Asian” is considered a racialized group and Pacific Islander is a different racialized group, then a Pakistani-Chinese (both Asian) or Tongan-Hawaiian (both Pacific Islander) would be considered of mixed ethnicity, but a Pakistani-Hawaiian would be considered someone of “mixed race.”

“MIXED RACE”

This term is on quotation marks to indicate that it is problematic (see Jayne Ifekwunige’s scholarship on this issue). Because there is only one human race, there can be no mixing of races. However, we cannot rid ourselves of the term entirely because we are still functioning in a racist society. People of mixed heritage may not want to be called “mixed race;” “Mixed Race” Studies is concerned with the historical, sociological, legal, and cultural study of how race and racism can be analyzed by using “mixed race” as a lens. If someone is called “mixed race” it would imply that he or she has parents belonging to two different racialized groups (e.g. African American and Asian American).

MULTI-GENERATIONALLY MIXED

Mixing has been going on for many generations and some families recognize their multigenerational mixed heritage. For example, in the Philippines, mixing has been going on for at least five hundred years (it occurred even before Spanish colonialism. There was mixing among the Chinese traders, the indigenous population, the Malays, the Muslims and others). Most Filipinas/os today are from multi-generationally mixed heritage families. The issues of multi-generationally mixed people—especially if there is a large community of similarly mixed people—are different from those of people who are “first generation mixed”—those who have parents who belong to two different racialized or ethnic groups.

NATIONALITY

Many people confuse this term with ethnicity. However, nationality just means citizenship. Even that is no longer as fixed as it once was as many countries, including the Philippines, are now allowing dual citizenship in our increasingly “trans-national” society.

OPPRESSION

An unjust or cruel exercise of power or authority.

Institutional Oppression: Unfair and unjust policies or laws passed by the government, schools, the judicial systems, military, and law enforcement. These institutions are used to protect the privileges of elites, or people in power, by withholding privileges enjoyed by the elite and/or basic civil rights from people who don’t have access to institutional power and keeping less powerful people divided. These systems are enforced by mass media, police, schools, and family values

Interpersonal Oppression: Internalizing systemic or institutional oppression, which, in turn, negatively affects your behavior towards others.

Internalized Oppression: Internalizing oppressive messages you see or hear in mass media, in national/state/local governments, or in such institutions as your church and family. You begin to believe, accept and live out stereotypes, lies and misinformation about yourself and your community.

PATRIARCHY

Social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family… control by men of a disproportional large share of power (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition).

PEDAGOGY

Pedagogy: The ART of TEACHING and LEARNING. Philosophies of Education. Pedagogy includes the purpose, content, and methods in the process of teaching and learning. Critical pedagogy is also about praxis. Praxis is theory + practice + reflection.

Art: 1. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in any form. 2. A system of principles and methods employed in the performance of a form. 3. A trade or craft that applies a system of principles, methods, and strategies. - American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000 Teaching: Imparting knowledge, skills, and strategies. Learning has an integral role in teaching. Teaching is a performative act. Pedagogy should be transgressive. - bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress Learning: To gain knowledge, experience, understanding, and/or perspective. Both students and teachers learn in PEPagogy. This also means that there is faith and hope that all students and teachers can learn from each other.

PHENOTYPE

Physical appearance.

“LGBTQI”: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex.

“Queer”: It is LGBTQ. It is not: a disease (mental or physical), an abnormality/perversion, a choice.

“Coming Out”: It is that pivotal moment in a person’s life when he/she comes out as queer. It is a continuous struggle and process, a journey from self-denial to self-acceptance. It is an act of activism and pride.

“Homophobia”: The irrational fear of homosexuals/queer people. This fear can turn into hate.

“Internal Homophobia”: refers to homophobia as a prejudice carried by individuals against homosexual manifestations in themselves and others. It causes severe discomfort with or disapproval of one's own sexual orientation. Also known as self-loathing or self-hating homosexuals.

“Heterosexism”: The assumption that heterosexuality is the absolute norm. The discrimination or prejudice against queer people.

“Crab Mentality”: In this context, crab mentality is seen as minorities (ethnic minorities) bashing other minorities (gays) instead of building solidarity with other oppressed peoples.

“Bakla”: a Tagalog slang word for gay, equivalent to faggot. Some queer Pin@ys have co-opted the term and use it today as a badge of honor and a source of empowerment.

“Tibo”: a Tagalog slang word for lesbian, equivalent to dyke. See above for today’s usage.

POWER

Control, influence, and force over society and its people. The ability to act, produce an effect, or having the control to dominate.

System Goals and the Master Plan: To keep the top 10% wealthiest people in power and keep the other 90% of he population divided.

How does oppression work? It comes in different forms and it is designed to cause hurt, pain, anger, and humiliation. Instead of fighting against oppression, we fight each other. We act divided and cannot see our common struggles.

RACE

This sociohistorical/cultural construct often dictated by the state and by the mass media that artificially divides people into distinct groups based on characteristics such as phenotype, physical appearance, heritage, ancestry, and national origin. Racial categories subsume ethnic groups. Race as an idea was developed during the 17th and 18th centuries by European pseudo-scientists who were building on work that divided the plant and animal kingdoms into various classifications. These scientists classified certain body types and skin colors into separate “races,” such as Negroid, Caucasoid, and Mongoloid. These ideas were never neutral, however, as all of these systems of racial classifications (from divisions of humanity into three groups up to more than fifty) assumed a hierarchy. It is not a coincidence that these systems were developed hand in hand with justifications for slavery, imperialism, and colonialism.

RACE RIOTS

A series of violent acts in the form of destruction of property or physical harm against a group of people because of their race.

RACIAL HIERARCHY

The racial hierarchy developed integrally with the concept of race implies that one racialized group is the closest to God or perfection—those defined as “white.” It is this hierarchy that causes difficulty for people of mixed heritage, as the hierarchy means that one group is always considered above another group so that a person of mixed heritage will be seen as forever torn between a lower group and a higher group—the worst situation being if the person has a “white” parent, because if he or she has any heritage “of color” they cannot, by definition, be “ white.”

RACISM

The systematic subordination of members of targeted racial groups who have relatively little social power in the United States (African Americans, Latino/as, Native Americans, and Asian Americans), by the members of the agent racial group who has relatively more social power (Whites). This subordination is supported by the actions of individuals, cultural norms and values, and the institutional structures and practices of society (Adams, Bell, and Griffin, 89). When we think about racism, we can look back at hundreds of years of acts of racism. The term “racism,” however, did not actually appear until the 1930s.

RESISTANCE

The act or an instance of resisting or the capacity to resist.

SEXISM

The societal/cultural, institutional, and individual beliefs and practices that privilege men, subordinate women, and denigrate women-identified values (Adams, Bell, and Griffin, 162).

SOCIAL MOVEMENT

A large group of people (or community) fighting against a common enemy and for a common purpose. (Artnelson Concordia, Tibak Training 2006)

SOCIETY

The place in which we live.

STRIKE

To stop working as a collective form of protest against an employer (Encarta World English Dictionary). Workers in mines and in factories turned increasingly to strikes and labor union activity during the 1880s and 1890s, as the Industrial Revolution began to transform the American economy. When unions and employers, in their bargaining agreements, cannot agree on a contract–and on the specific wages, benefits, and working conditions in a contract–workers may call a strike.

STRUGGLE

To make a strenuous effort.

SYSTEMS OF LIBERATION

Organization: The process of bringing people together in order to use their collective power to win improvements in people’s lives and to challenge the power structure. It is concerned with Long-term change and addresses the problem at the root. Service-Providing: Providing basic services to people who need them, often to meet people’s basic needs such as food and health care. Education: Raising knowledge about issues so that people affected by the issues can be informed. Examples of victories that have been won as a result of people organizing and fighting for change: Voting rights, citizenship rights, a minimum wage, the right to form a union and strike, public transportation, ethnic studies, rent control, an end to segregation, and more.

THIRD WORLD

Underdeveloped countries that are disadvantaged and have economies that are dependent on the First World.

UNION

A continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment (Webb, Sidney; Webb, Beatrice (1920). History of Trade Unionism. Longmans, Green and Co. London. ch. 1). Unions operate based on strength in numbers. With numbers, unions have the ability to strike and halt work, stopping an employers’ progress and affecting profits. With the ability to threaten strike, unions are also able to bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and improvement of working conditions. Unions began to play an important role in the American economy in the 1880s, when railroad workers formed a union and went on strike to protest poor wages. Through the Wagner Labor Relations Act, passed in 1935, the federal government guaranteed the rights of workers to organize labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and to take part in strikes. However, this law affected few Filipinas/os because domestics and agricultural workers were exempt from the new law. Nonetheless, Filipinas/os formed their own labor unions. Some of these unions were independent of the large, industrial unions like the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the two main labor organizations in the United States.

URBAN REDEVELOPMENT

After World War II, as middle and upper class whites fled the cities to live in suburbs, many American city planners, politicians, developers and housing