Singgalot (The Ties That Bind):
Filipinos in America, from Colonial Subjects to Citizens
November 19, 2011 – January 15, 2012
Today there are more than 2.5 million Filipino Americans in the U.S. Yet many, including Filipinos themselves, aren't familiar with the details of their history in America: their experiences, rich traditions, and culture. Singgalot is their story.
After tracing the first trans-oceanic trade missions between Manila and Acapulco in the 1500s, Singgalot explores the tenuous political relationship between the United States and the Philippines, when Spain ceded the Pacific-island following the Spanish-American War. Rarely seen historical images detail Filipino migration between 1906 and 1935 as Hawai'i sugar plantations, West Coast farms, and Alaskan canneries recruited Asians to join the labor force. When the U.S. government sounded the call to arms in the 1940s, Filipino immigrants answered, serving as infantrymen and earning respect from a grateful nation. Nearly 20 years later, the 1965 Immigration Act hastened a third major wave of Filipinos who would champion major changes in gender equality and class in the Filipino American community and make significant contributions to the fight for civil rights.
In 2006, the Smithsonian Filipino American Centennial Commemoration marked 100 years of Filipino migration to the United States with insightful exhibitions, special programs, and an extensive curriculum guide. Singgalot celebrates Filipino Americans as they share their struggles, challenges, and achievements with the rest of the nation.
SINGGALOT (The Ties that Bind) was developed by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The national tour has been made possible by Farmers Insurance.
