Community Spotlight: Filipino American History Month: Associate Professor Michael J. Viola Examines Filipino/a American Activism

In 2009, the U.S. Congress recognized October as Filipino American History Month. According to the Filipino American National Historical Society, the month celebrates the first recorded presence of Filipinos at what is now Morro Bay, Calif., on Oct. 18, 1587. At the beginning of the 20th century, as a result of the Philippine-American War (1898–1902), a vast wave of Filipino immigrants arrived in the United States. Filipinos migrated in large numbers to serve the labor needs in the canneries of the Pacific Northwest and the agricultural fields of California’s Central Valley. Associate Professor of Justice, Community, and Leadership (JCL), Michael Joseph Viola’s research centers on the experiences of Filipino/a Americans, a topic which is connected to his own history as son of immigrant parents from the Philippines.

“I have dedicated my professional and academic life to centering the experiences of historically marginalized and underrepresented communities in this country, and this commitment is very much connected to my family’s history and my own personal identity,” said Viola.

Viola’s parents immigrated to the United States in 1970. They moved to Fresno, Calif., where he grew up. Reflecting on his experience in schools, Viola explained, “I did not learn much about Filipino American history or the important struggles of Latino and Filipino farmworkers in the region I called home.” Viola’s upbringing informed the questions he pursued through his research, where he critically explores what it means when specific groups do not have the gift of historical memory. Specifically, for Filipino/a Americans, who comprise the second-largest Asian American group in the nation, Viola explores the consequences when educational curriculums and popular culture often fails to mention their historical contributions to social justice struggles in country.

Viola received his doctorate degree in education from UCLA, where he completed a dissertation project that focused on Filipino/a American activists of the hip-hop generation, which refers to communities of color born between 1965 and 1984. Viola has published multiple peer-reviewed articles from this study.

“In my article ‘Toward a Filipino/a Critical Pedagogy’ published in the Journal of Asian American Studies, I explored the formation of a radical U.S.–born Filipino/a American identity cultivated in the experience of transnational activism. “I demonstrated how popular education programs not only offer insight to the formation of radical identities but also suggest alternative community engagement models in a contemporary context of the neoliberal restructuring of schools and society,” explained Viola.

Another of Viola’s articles, “W.E.B. Du Bois and Filipino/a American Exposure Programs to the Philippines,” published in Race Ethnicity and Education, draws upon the insights of Pan-African social theorist W.E.B. Du Bois. “I explored how the cultural practices of hip-hop are utilized by a Filipino American exposure participant as a vehicle to give voice to marginalized perspectives. Viola co-edited a book pertaining to the specific theme of global hip-hop titled, Hip Hop(e): The Cultural Practice and Critical Pedagogy of International Hip-Hop, which received the 2014 Critics’ Choice Award from the American Educational Studies Association.

“Ultimately, my research pushes back on the framing of schools as the only places where knowledge is acquired and instead highlights the various ways in which youth construct knowledge through interaction in a variety of domains, contexts, and cultural practices,” Viola continued.

Viola, who is also an affiliate faculty member in the Ethnic Studies Program, has recently co-edited a special issue of the academic journal Critical Ethnic Studies titled Solidarities of Nonalignment for fall 2019. This work extends his research beyond Filipino/a American activism to explore and problematize how solidarities are formed across political, geographical, and other forms of difference.

“Similar to my research, I believe that teaching must transcend disciplinary traditions to understand the full complexity of social problems and connect to the diversity of human experiences. As such, my courses invite students to cross disciplinary boundaries so that our learning can make important connections across differences in a caring, courageous, and academically challenging way.”

Building upon his past research, Viola is currently writing a book tentatively called A Filipino/a Radical Tradition that bridges three areas of his scholarly interest: critical educational studies, community-based participatory research, and Filipino/a American activist contributions to international and interracial solidarities. This manuscript centers on Filipino/a American activist politics and pedagogies (from 1965 to 2015), critically analyzing their specific contributions to the U.S. farmworkers’ movement; the formation of ethnic studies; and the Third World solidarities against martial law and varying forms of state repression.

“In my book, I seek to foreground how anti-imperialist Filipino/a American struggles offer alternatives to global hierarchies and systems of injustice that have impeded our common humanity,” Viola said. “Specifically, I inquire how a deeper understanding of Filipino/a American activism within interracial and international solidarities can contribute theoretical insights to the production of radical knowledge and community practices for freedom.”

You can read a popular review by Viola of the classic text America is in the Heart by Filipino American activist and poet Carlos Bulosan. In this piece, Viola articulates the importance of Filipino American history in light of recent anti-immigrant sentiments.