ni Kevin Casasola
Last week PIlipinx visibility Week at UCLA. We planned an Exposure Trip to NorCal for the last event. Our members were from Samahang’s internship. I went to some historic Pilipino towns with 22 general members We visited Oakland, Stockton, and SOMA in San Francisco during our visit. We learned about the rich Pilipino history in these towns and their fight against problems of gentrification, limited resources, and small communities. In my experience north, I saw a resilient Pilipino community, that even though there were a lot of hardships, they survived. While in Stockton we toured the town with a professor from Sacramento State and then we ate at a local Pilipino restaurant.
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The name of our tour guide was MC. He is a community organizer in the South of Market. Their current campaign now is to give the designation of Cultural Heritage District to SOMA. After our exposure trip, we learned that it passed! In San Francisco, MC presented about the how Pilipino communities form. MC let us walk around South of Market. He pointed at the different places of cultural significance. I am sure that he is the fastest tour guide. On our last day, we ate with Samahang Alumni and watched Berkeley’s PCN before heading home.
Ashra Tugung is one of our general members said the following about our Exposure Trip.
In one word I would describe exposure as investment: Investment in yourself, your community, and your future. Don’t try to run away from your roots, because I did that for quite some time and I’m figuring it out now. It makes me sad that I didn’t know the information I know now, because it is a way for me to connect to my community and a way for me to support my community better by making a change.
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