ShareThisAwards diplomas to 2 Filipino graduates of US Naval Academy
WASHINGTON (PhilAmPress) – U.S. President Barack Obama closed the Asia and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration with a White House reception for their leaders, citing “the incredibly rich heritage and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders” in bulding the nation.
Filipino Americans like American Idol sensation Jessica Sanchez were among those who joined others with roots from Asia and the Pacific during the event at the East Room of the White House on May 28.
The AAPI Heritage Month celebration opened with ceremonies and exhibit at the Smithsonian Library in Washington D.C. where foremost Filipino author and labor union organizer and workers rights and minority rights fighter Carlos S. Bulosan was featured with his poem “I Want the Wide American Earth” which he composed for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 37 based in Seattle, Washington. Bulosan, author of the book “America is in the Heart, had also been commissioned by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt together with Will Durant, Booth Tarkington and Stephen Vincent Benet, all Pulitzer Prize winners for the “Four Freedom” essays.
In an earlier event in Annapolis, President Obama handed diplomas to graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy, including two Filipinos – Christine Joy Jiao Layug of Oakland, California and Chinna Louise Eulogio Salio of Mountain Province.
Christine Joy has 10 uncles either actively serving or retired from the US Navy – not counting her father Roy and maternal grandfather (now both retired).
Salio was the only Filipino graduate in Annapolis Class 2013. Born in Mountain Province and studying to be a nurse, she eventually entered the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City and chose to pursue her career at Annapolis where her younger brother Kendrick is now a sophomore and when he graduates, they will become the first Filipino sister-brother alumni from the US Naval Academy.
At the same event, Obama stressed the need to “fix the broken immigration system” of the country
“Generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders helped build this country, and helped to defend this country, and to make America what it is today,” said Obama.
“It’s a history that speaks to the promise of our nation — one that welcomes the contributions of all people, no matter their color or their beliefs, because we draw from the rich traditions of everybody who calls America home. “E pluribus unum” — out of many, one,” the President stressed.
“And every day, we’re reminded
of the many ways in which Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders have all contributed and enriched our nation throughout our history,” Obama added. “Obviously for me, I don’t have to look any further than my own family. I’ve got my brother-in-law here, Konrad, who is — Konrad Ng, who’s heading up the Smithsonian Asian American Center — it probably has a longer name than that. My sister, Maya; their beautiful daughters — my nieces, Suhaila and Savita.”
Obama recalled his encounters with Asians and Pacific Islands in Hawaii where he grew up and the US mainland. “I can think back on my college years when my roommates were Indian and Pakistanis, which is how I learned how to cook keema and dal. Very good. And of course, I can dig back into my own memories of growing up in Hawaii and in Indonesia. And so certainly it’s been a central part of my life, the entire Asia Pacific region.”
He added: “And the artists joining us today exemplify that creed. So we’ve got performers like Karsh Kale, who fuses the best of East and West, mixing eclectic beats with the sounds of his heritage and creating music that’s distinctly his own — that’s a trait, obviously, that’s distinctly American. We’ve got musicians like Paula Fuga and John Cruz, whose work represents the spirit of my native Hawaii and reminds us that we’re all part of the same ohana. We have authors like Amy Tan, who uses her own family’s immigration story to trace the stories of others. She makes out of the particular something very universal.”
“We value these voices because from the very beginning, ours has been a nation of immigrants; a nation challenged and shaped and pushed ever forward by diverse perspectives and fresh thinking,” he said.
“And in order to keep our edge and stay ahead in the global race, we need to figure out a way to fix our broken immigration system — to welcome that infusion of newness, while still maintaining the enduring strength of our laws. And the service and the leadership of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have proved that point time and again,” Mr. Obama said.
Obama said the ceremonies was an opportunity to honor the legacy of those who paved the way, like the late Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, the first Japanese American to serve in the US Congress, and celebrate the pioneers of the present generation, like Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, one of the first female veterans elected to Congress.
He cited Sri Srinivasan whom he appointed and whose nomination was confirmed by the US Congress as the first South Asian American federal appeals court judge.
Obama said that in every election, at every board meeting, in every town across America, “we see more and more different faces of leadership, setting an example for every young kid who sees a leader who looks like him or her.’
“ And that’s a good thing. We’ve got to keep that up. We’ve got to do everything we can to make sure everybody works hard, everybody plays by the rules, everybody has a chance to get ahead — to start their own business, to earn a degree, to write their own page in the American story — that the laws respect everybody, that civil rights apply to everybody,” Obama said.
“That’s who we are at our best and that’s what we’re here to celebrate. That’s the challenge that I believe we’re going to meet together,” the President said.