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Reviews
American Workers, Colonial Power: Philippine Seattle and the Transpacific West, 1919–1941
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Dorothy B. Fujita-Rony
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University of California Press, Berkeley, 2003. Illustrations, photographs, maps, notes, bibliography, index. 320 pages. $21.95 paper.
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Reviewed by Robert R. Swartout, Jr.
Carroll College, Helena, Montana
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| American workers, colonial power makes an important contribution to our understanding of the Asian experience in the American West. As Dorothy B. Fujita-Rony explains in the introduction, her intention is to place the "Filipina/o" experience in Seattle and elsewhere within the analytical context of American social history, immigration studies, and the New Western history. This multidisciplinary approach to the subject allows Fujita-Rony to examine issues and themes not always considered in traditional ethnic studies. |
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Part 1, "Charting the Pacific," examines the historical forces at work within the Philippines that led to the migration of Filipina/os to America, and especially Seattle, in the 1920s and 1930s. She stresses that, unlike other Asians, Filipina/os were not foreign immigrants, because they came from within America's own colonial empire. Because many of them had had some exposure to American-style education in the Philippines, they often gravitated to American schools and colleges in the colonial metropole of Seattle, especially to the University of Washington. While attending such schools provided some individuals a certain degree of social and economic mobility, personal experiences also serve as reminders of the degree of racial animosity and segregation still prevalent in much of American society in the pre–World War II period. |
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Part 2, "Working the American West," discusses how Seattle often served as a transit point for Filipina/os employed as farm laborers and cannery workers from California to Alaska. Because these working-class communities were overwhelmingly male, strong bonds — often based on either actual or fictive kin ties — were developed to maintain a sense of cultural identity. Within Seattle itself, the Filipina/o community often represented a broad range of economic and class levels. Those who had attained some level of higher education sometimes achieved greater economic security and higher social status. Much of Seattle's Filipina/o population — which was concentrated in the city's Chinatown district — also developed common interests with other Asian Americans, such as Chinese and Japanese, as well as with Native Americans. |
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Part 3, "Power of Choice," focuses primarily on how Filipina/os attempted to pool their resources to achieve common political goals. These community-building efforts ultimately led to major Filipina/o involvement in union organizing during the interwar period. The most famous of these developments was the establishment and growth of the Cannery Workers' and Farm Laborers' Union (CWFLU). Fujita-Rony demonstrates how union organizing — often involving such issues as gender, race, and privilege — could divide and unite Filipina/o efforts to achieve some level of community formation. |
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This is a deeply researched and carefully argued analysis of the Filipina/o experience in Seattle and the American West. At times, however, the analytical framework seems to overpower any narrative flow. Although individual stories are occasionally told, particularly at the beginning and end of different chapters, it is not always easy for readers to get a sense of the human dimensions of the story. It is not until page 118 (out of 210 pages of text), for example, that readers get any census figures for how many Filipinos and Filipinas lived in Washington state (1930 served as the peak year, with 3,374 males and 106 females). Moreover, because the analytical framework is emphasized, there is little, if any, chronological structure to the book. Perhaps a more significant issue — especially for readers with a limited knowledge of the history of Seattle — is that there is little attempt to place the Filipina/o story within Seattle's broader history. Other than mentioning Seattle as a "metropole" for America's own overseas colonies, the author provides no detailed background on Seattle's historical evolution. |
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Fujita-Rony sometimes adopts a writing style that may appeal to certain academics but may also limit the book's appeal to a broader audience. Summarizing the Filipina/o involvement with the Cannery Workers' and Farm Laborers' Union, for example, she writes: "This story helps us to see that the CWFLU's history is contested space in which competing narratives articulate different versions of this story. In order to more fully understand the union's history, it is important to contextualize it within the formation of the community as a whole" (p. 199). |
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Despite these limitations, American Workers, Colonial Power is well worth examining for anyone interested in the Asian experience in the American West. It demonstrates both the common features and the important differences that Filipina/os had with other ethnic groups. By placing her story within the context of America's colonial experience in the Pacific Rim, Fujita-Rony has provided an original and thought-provoking analysis of a people whose experiences deserve far more attention from historians than they have received to date. |
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