Arts and Culture

Don’t Kid Yourself, History and Racism Are Traumatic

Filipinos weren’t enslaved, but as colonized people the tens of thousands who came as laborers were convenient replacements to come and work the agricultural fields of California. There’s not much difference between how Filipino colonials were treated compared with Blacks post-slavery. Filipinos, like Blacks, couldn’t be citizens, couldn’t intermarry, couldn’t own land, couldn’t vote.

Published

3 years ago

February 25, 2023

Oakland Post

Emil Guillermo is a veteran award-winning journalist, commentator, and stage performer. See his vlog at www.amok.com

By Emil Guillermo

“Emil Amok: Lost NPR Host…,” the one-man show I’m doing at Under St. Marks Theater in New York City until March 4, wasn’t really intended as a history show.

But it has turned into that.

I talk about how Filipino Americans continue to overcome the legacy of being America’s first colony in 1898. The U.S. had 13 original colonies, I guess the country just felt the need to have a colony of its own in order to feel its own oppressive power. The impact has lasted with Filipino’s “colonial mentality.”

I also point out how a pattern emerges between African American history and Asian American Filipino history. Filipinos weren’t enslaved, but as colonized people the tens of thousands who came as laborers were convenient replacements to come and work the agricultural fields of California.

There’s not much difference between how Filipino colonials were treated compared with Blacks post-slavery. Filipinos, like Blacks, couldn’t be citizens, couldn’t intermarry, couldn’t own land, couldn’t vote.

But Filipinos had that designation, “American National,” special class, second class, colonized. As non-citizens, the U.S. owned us and considered us “wards of the state.”

As I prepared for my show looking at our collective BIPOC history, it’s incredible how much AAPIs in particular have had to endure. Model minority?

Not if you look throughout Asian American history, from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to Filipino colonialism, to incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. (Incidentally, the 82nd anniversary of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066, that rounded up 120,000 Japanese Americans was this past Sunday).

There’s so much history of discrimination to ponder among all BIPOC communities that if you are a member and think it’s taken a toll on your brain, as well as your entire body, you’re right.

Richard Sima, a neuroscientist and science journalist at the Washington Post, writes:

“Experiences of racial discrimination are consistently linked with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, substance use and PTSD, as well as physical ailments such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Black Americans, for instance, are about twice as likely as white Americans to develop dementia.”

Sima says that over the long term, racism accelerates aging and degrades the parts of the brain that deal with emotion and cognition.

“This is not an effect of race,” Nathaniel Harnett, neuroscientist at McLean Hospital and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, told Sima. “It is an effect of the burdens we place on racial groups.”

The problems really kick in personally when the trauma we experience from race is invalidated or questioned.

How many times do people tell you, “That’s not racism.” Or, “It’s in your head.” Or “You’re imagining things.”

Chances are you’re not imagining things.

But that’s the problem. The self-doubt leads to “individual invalidation” and the struggle over self-worth.

And either we think about it, get vigilant, and struggle to overcome.

Or, we get crushed by it, run out of resources and get overcome as we try to manage the constancy of racism in our everyday experience. When we can’t deal with it all in a timely manner, racism increasingly becomes a mental health issue.

More and more studies are showing the overall impact of race discrimination is a “wear and tear” on the body with neuroimaging data showing a degrading in the brain’s gray and white matter.

The remedy? For some, simply slowing down and seeking mindfulness training can help. For

others, talking to a therapist, or more, may be needed.

There should be nothing wrong with seeking help. But too often, seeking help is either seen as a weakness or a flaw that people would rather not admit to in public.

I choose to do a one-man show about being Filipino in America. It’s not therapy. But it’s entertaining. You don’t have to be in New York, get a live stream ticket and see the show from your home.

Get tickets here: https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:338/

Emil Guillermo is a veteran award-winning journalist, commentator, and stage performer. See his vlog at www.amok.com

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Activism

Essay: Intentional Self Care and Community Connections Can Improve Our Wellbeing

At the deepest and also most expansive level of reality, we are all part of the same being, our bodies made from the minerals of the earth, our spirits infused by the spiritual breath that animates the universe. Willingness to move more deeply into fear and pain is the first step toward moving into a larger consciousness. Willingness to move beyond the delusion of our separateness can show us new ways of working and living together.

Published

1 month ago

October 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Lorraine Bonner is a retired physician. She is also a sculptor who works in clay, exploring issues of trust, trustworthiness and exploitation, as well as visions of a better world.

By Dr. Lorraine Bonner, Special to California Black Media Partners

I went to a medical school that was steeped in the principles of classical Western medicine. However, I also learned mindfulness meditation during that time, which opened me to the multifaceted relationship between illnesses and the interconnecting environmental, mental and emotional realities that can impact an individual’s health.

Therefore, when I began to practice medicine, I also pursued training in hypnosis, relaxation techniques, meditation, and guided imagery, to bring a mind-body focus to my work in medical care and prevention.

The people I saw in my practice had a mix of problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and a variety of pain issues. I taught almost everyone relaxation breathing and made some general relaxation tapes. To anyone willing, I offered guided imagery.

“My work embraced an approach to wellness I call “Liberatory Health” — one that not only addresses the treatment and management of disease symptoms but also seeks to dismantle the conditions that make people sick in the first place.”

From my perspective, illness is only the outermost manifestation of our efforts to cope, often fueled by addictions such as sugar, tobacco, or alcohol, shackled by an individualistic cult belief that we have only ourselves to blame for our suffering.

To put these ideas into practical form, I would quote the immortal Mr. Rogers: “Find the helpers.” There are already people in every community working for liberation. Some of them are running for office, others are giving food to those who need it. Some are volunteering in schools, libraries or hospitals. Some are studying liberation movements, or are working in urban or community gardens, or learning to practice restorative and transformative justice, or creating liberation art, music, dance, theater or writing. Some are mentoring high schoolers or apprenticing young people in a trade. There are many places where compassionate humans are finding other humans and working together for a better world.

A more compassionate world is possible, one in which we will all enjoy better health. Creating it will make us healthier, too.

In community, we are strong. Recognizing denial and overcoming the fragmenting effects of spiritual disorder offer us a path to liberation and true health.

Good health and well-being are the collective rights of all people!

About the Author

Dr. Lorraine Bonner is a retired physician. She is also a sculptor who works in clay, exploring issues of trust, trustworthiness and exploitation, as well as visions of a better world.

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Activism

A Call to Save Liberty Hall: Oakland’s Beacon of Black Heritage Faces an Uncertain Future

For generations, Liberty Hall has been more than bricks and wood — it has been a spiritual and cultural sanctuary for Black Oakland. The building once served as a hub for Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), where Garvey’s call for economic independence and Pan-African unity resonated through the hearts of a people newly migrating to the West in search of freedom and dignity.

Published

1 month ago

October 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Liberty Hall at 1483-1485 8th St., in Oakland was built in 1877 as a store and residence. Wikimedia photo.

Special to The Post

On a quiet corner near the West Oakland BART Station stands a weathered but proud monument to African American history — the Universal Negro Improvement Association’s Liberty Hall, also known as the Marcus Garvey Building. Built in 1877, this two-story Italianate landmark has witnessed more than a century of struggle, self-determination, and community empowerment. Now, its survival hangs in the balance.

Local 188 of UNIA was the largest chapter in Northern California when the organization bought the building in 1925, but a fire burned the roof in 1931, and the chapter sold the building in 1933. The International Peace Movement, founded by Father Divine, used the building through the 1950s.

Since then, the building has been a meeting ground for civil rights organizers, artists, and educators like Overcomers With Hope who have carried that same flame of liberation through Oakland’s turbulent decades.

Today, local cultural organizer and artist Douglas “Pharoah” Stewart has stepped forward to lead the charge to save Liberty Hall. Stewart is already facing “Cultural Eviction” at the Oakland Cannery, and through his organization, Indigenous House, Stewart has rallied a coalition of artists, educators, historians, and community leaders to preserve and restore the site as a community-owned cooperative center — a place where arts, wellness, and economic empowerment can thrive for future generations.

“Liberty Hall is not just a building — it’s a living ancestor,” Stewart says. “This space gave birth to movements that shaped who we are as a people. If we lose this, we lose a piece of our soul.”

Stewart envisions transforming the historic landmark into a multi-purpose cooperative hub — complete with a cultural museum, community performance space, youth tech labs, and creative studios for local entrepreneurs. His vision echoes Garvey’s own: “A place where we can rise together, economically, spiritually, and culturally.”

But the fight is urgent. The aging building faces structural challenges, and time is running short to secure preservation funding. Stewart and his team are now calling on city officials, foundations, athletes, and celebrities to join forces with the community to raise the necessary capital for acquisition and restoration.

“We’re inviting everyone — from the Oakland A’s to local artists, from Golden State Warriors players to Black-owned businesses — to stand with us,” Stewart urges. “Let’s make Liberty Hall a model for what preservation can look like when the people lead.”

The Liberty Hall Project aligns with Oakland’s growing movement to protect historic Black cultural sites — places like Esther’s Orbit Room, Marcus Bookstore, and the California Hotel. For Stewart, Liberty Hall represents a chance to bridge the city’s past with its future, transforming preservation into a living, breathing act of justice.

“This is not nostalgia,” Stewart says. “This is nation-building. It’s about creating sustainable, community-owned spaces that honor our ancestors and empower our youth.”

As development pressures mount across West Oakland, Liberty Hall stands as a powerful reminder of resilience, resistance, and rebirth. The question now is whether the community — and those with the power to help — will answer the call.

For donations, partnerships, or information about the Liberty Hall Cooperative Development Project, contact Indigenous House at www.indigenoushouse.org Douglas Stewart dstewart.wealth@gmail.com

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Activism

MLK Way at 57th Street in Oakland Renamed Bobby Seale Way for Black Panther Co-Founder

In 1962, Bobby Seale and Virtual Murrell cofounded the first known Black student organization called the Soul Students Advisory Council at Oakland City College located at 57th and Grove streets, now MLK. Jr. Way.

Published

1 month ago

October 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Promotional flyer for the renaming event. Courtesy photo.

By Zac Unger

We are so proud to honor the legacy of the great Bobby Seale by commemoratively renaming 57^th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way to Bobby Seale Way in North Oakland. Seale, 88, has dedicated his life to advancing social justice, racial equality, and community self-determination. He played an essential part in the history of our country by co-founding the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in Oakland in 1966 with the late Huey Newton.

Our City has a tremendous history of activism, and it is a legacy we are proud of and strive to continue as our community and country face so many incredible challenges right now.

In 1962, Bobby Seale and Virtual Murrell cofounded the first known Black student organization called the Soul Students Advisory Council at Oakland City College, located at 57th and Grove streets, now MLK. Jr. Way.

Later, they cofounded the first Negro history class, which led to the establishment of the first Black Studies program in college curricula in the country. Murrell is scheduled to introduce Seale at the street dedication.

The author of “Seize the Time,” Seale ran for mayor of Oakland in 1973, coming in second in a field of nine. We are proud to memorialize his legacy by renaming this street so that we do not forget the legacy and change he has made.