The And The Filipino Migrant Workers - 1426 Words

The Asian-Americans of No-No Boy and America Is in the Heart faced faced great discrimination, but both groups internalized the hatred and fear in different ways. Carlos Bulosan and the Filipino migrant workers dealt with a lack of governmental support in all sectors of civilized American life including fair pay, housing, and protection. The Japanese-American no-no boys were similarly undermined by whites, but also by Japanese-Americans—a community they were originally a part of. The no-no boys were not a community restricted by similar intentions or goals or regrets; they were strictly a classification of imprisoned Japanese-American men. The two communities shared a struggle for identity and fitting in; however, the Ichiro fought†¦show more content†¦The exploitation and passivity by whites over the subjects of workers and human rights was blanketed over all Filipino workers who immigrated to America for work. The cannery workers sold to work in Alaska had sever ely garnished wages and poor housing that instilled a mentality of anger towards the factory owners and bosses, enough to spark the protests for Filipino trade unions. All with the same goal of becoming self-sufficient, socially-recognized Americans, the Filipinos had the ability to band together in their struggle for freedom and self-worth. Bulosan s dream of America was one of freedom; every man that shared Bulosan s notion of America was able to take part in a movement to overcome their oppressor. Bulosan attempted to gather Filipino workers support in his newsletter process, and the underground group of activists including Pasquale and Jose acted as leaders for the Filipinos unionization. Any success that Bulosan s newsletter campaign had can be attributed to the mutual understanding of the Filipino-American s grapple with identity. Bulosan s character specifically had an attainable goal that drove his actions: â€Å"It was this small yet vast heart of mine that had kept me steering toward the stars,† (314). All involved in Bulosan s newsletter were driven together towards a goal of education and unification of the Filipino workers—the workers themselves needed little convincing to realize that they re strife was conquerable. Their