National Federation of Filipino American Associations

Dexter Ligot-Gordon is a Past NaFFAA National Youth Chair. He is based in Region 8.

This past week has been for me a whirlwind of celebration, inspiration, and emotion. Filipinos for Obama (now named Kaya) gathered in Washington DC, to be a part of this historic moment–a pivot in the trajectory of our nation. Despite all the fanfare, the flurry of celebrity, and the behind the scenes politicking- one particular experience symbolized the gravity and the meaning of this inauguration to me.

On the Monday before the Inauguration, our Washington DC Chapter of Filipinos for Obama/Kaya responded to President Obama’s call to service and organized a project to make care packages for our Filipino World War II veterans, write letters to recent veterans, and to fundraise for USO in support of our nation’s current service-women and men.

I arrived at the OCA office where we hosted the service project. I was taken aback by what I saw. The entire building was full to the brim with tourists, locals, youth, elderly, community members, current service men and women—most of whom were not Filipino. While the organizers had only brought enough supplies to make 50 care packages, over 200 volunteers showed to give a part of their busy schedule to answer a call to service.

The DC Chapter provided a brief educational on the Filipino World War II Veterans issue, about the proud service that our manongs and manangs gave to the United States, and their unjust dismissal. For most, this was their first exposure to the Veterans Equity issue—they were astonished at this injustice, and pledged their support for our cause.

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Thank you to Chicago Tribune for providing the full text of President Obama’s inaugural speech. We are chronicling the complete text in our website as a reminder for our NaFFAA members that whether we agree to agree or agree to disagree, without a doubt, President Obama’s presidency is a huge and significant milestone in our quest for “The Impossible Dream” — our political empowerment in the US.

First of all, here are the 44 Presidents of the United States of America.

From ChicagoTribune.com: Click here for the videos of the swearing-in ceremony and the videos of his inaugural speech (in three sections).

President Obama’s Inaugural Address

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

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NaFFAA Region 8 (Northern CA) and The American Legion Bataan Post 600 are very honored to host the visionaries of New York’s Children’s Orchestra Society, Violinist Yeou-Cheng Ma & Guitarist Michael Dadap. Proceeds will benefit the American Coalition for the Filipino Veterans’ campaign to pass the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill and the Children’s Orchestra Society.

Scroll below for videos.

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Congratulations to Rodel Rodis, Esq., one of the co-founders of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) and the founder of the Global Filipino Networking Convention (6thGlobalCebu.com), for his 18 years of service as a City College Trustee of the City College of San Francisco.

Download your invitation here: http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/6035394/5lvbn9ww3oy9jvmp6gr

Board President Lawrence Wong & Board Vice-President Dr. Natalie Berg cordially invite you to join the City College community in celebrating three-term Board President Rodel Rodis’ 18 years of service as a City College Trustee.

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January 15, 2009 is a very significant date for minority populations in the United States. It is the birthday of one of the most revered moral leaders in the United States, Martin Luther King (he was born on January 15, 1929). Listen to Martin Luther King’s compelling speech, “I Have A Dream.”

January 15, 2009 is also a significant date for many of us as we gather at the lobby of the Bank of America building at 11:30am, 555 California Street, San Francisco, CA. We consider this “meeting of common and shared advocacies” our way of honoring what Martin Luther King continues to stand for.

January 15th at 11:30 am

The seven major banks we will be protesting have received bailouts in excess of $150 billion. But no one, including the government, knows what they are doing with the bailouts. Our protest will begin at 11:30am in the lobby of the Bank of America Building at 555 California Street. We are scheduling meetings with senior management from the B of A, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, US Bancorp, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. At approximately 1:00pm we will march from our last bank meeting to the San Francisco Federal Reserve for a meeting with the senior management at the Federal Reserve Bank.

Our message on Martin Luther King’s actual birth date is intended to be a message to the new Obama administration and congress as it begins drawing up new legislation. Our issues will include preventing foreclosures, major loan modifications, support for small businesses under the Obama economic stimulus plan, excessive executive compensation, full transparency, and philanthropy to the underserved.

With your help, this could be the most fascinating, and certainly most productive “walking tour” of San Francisco for the year 2009.

[“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ” - MLK ]

Please contact

Preeti Vissa
preetiv@greenlining.org
(510) 926-4022

or

Jose Pecho, NaFFAA, Region 8
jp8cho@aol.com
(415) 240-4906

UPDATE:

From Baylan Megino

Congratulations to NaFFAA on their participation in the Bailout protest which made the SF Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/16/BUSF15B9KR.DTL.