By Grace Fitzgerald
As we approach the 54th anniversary of President Ferdinand Marcos’ proclamation of martial law over the Philippines, we must remember the hostile political state that drove hundreds of thousands of Filipinos to seek sanctuary in the United States, and we should recognize the courageous, innovative FilAm activists who persistently fought against the Marcos regime and martial law everywhere.
On September 21, 1972, President Marcos proclaimed martial law across the Philippines. From 1972 to 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos immigrated to the United States, many hoping to escape the possibility of violent political persecution from the authoritarian Marcos regime.
However, September 21 also marked the creation of the National Coalition for the Restoration of Civil Liberties in the Philippines, a powerful alliance of anti-Marcos advocacy groups. Throughout the 1970s, politically active FilAm groups would rise, including the Katipunan ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP), the Friends of the Filipino People (FFP), the Movement for a Free Philippines (MFP), and the Ninoy Aquino Movement (NAM). City, national, and international chapters rallied people to fight against martial law and global imperialism and advocate for the independence of the Philippines from authoritarianism and foreign intervention.
FilAm activists highlighted the human rights violations and authoritarianism of the Marcos regime to the global eye. These FilAm advocacy groups publicly protested the Marcos regime by effectively using ethnic publications to spread their messages, expanding advocacy networks to create a larger political presence and broadening international networks.
Additionally, FilAm activists and community organizations helped provide medical, legal, and professional support to Filipino immigrants. According to James Zarsadiaz*, Chicago was a key hub for the international martial law movement as the movement spanned across classes, religions, and ideologies. FilAm activists, religious groups, most notably Methodists, and the ethnic media together created communities of belonging in Chicago rooted in civic engagement and that sustained the fight for democracy and the respect for human dignity in the U.S. and the Philippines.
The building of international pressure and Filipino solidarity against President Marcos’ regime led to the 1986 organizing of the Filipino People Power Revolution and the successful end of Marco’s 20-year rule in the Philippines. Approaching this anniversary, we should remember that FilAm activism and civic engagement culminated in a successful international campaign for freedom, and we should channel this as we confront our current local, national, and transnational struggles.
* Raising Hell in the Heartland: Filipino Chicago and the Anti-Martial Law Movement, 1972-
1986 by James Zarsadiaz
Source: American Studies, Vol. 55/56, Vol. 55, No. 4/Vol. 56, No. 1 (2017), pp. 141-162
Published by: Mid-America American Studies Association
Grace Fitzgerald is a Filipina-Irish American student and Social Transformative Research Collaborative (STRC) fellow at DePaul University. The STRC undergraduate fellowship aims to increase scholarship surrounding people of color in the United States. Grace is a senior double major in History and Applied Diplomacy (Concentration: International Law) and looks to study constitutional law in the future.
Inspired by her lola’s story, Grace is currently researching Filipinos in Chicago during the 1970s and 1980s, a majorly understudied area of Filipino American studies. Grace’s mother’s side is from Manila, where she previously visited in December, 2023. Grace’s research reveals and examines the political and social landscape surrounding community sponsorship and mutual aid. This research deepens the historical record of Chicago’s Filipino American community and highlights stories that detail the struggles for power, divisions by regions and political affiliations, and different approaches to representing transnational FilAm identity to Chicago and the United States.
Grace has participated in local, regional, and national research conferences as a poster and panel presenter and as a moderator. She currently works at DePaul Special Collections and Archives as a student assistant.
You can connect with Grace on Instagram @gracefitzzy or on LinkedIn. Grace is the current Vice President of DePaul’s Asian Cultural Exchange (ACE), the president of DePaul’s Chinese Studies Association (CSA), a coordinator of ACE’s modern dance team (ACE Modern), and a member of the DePaul Filipino student association (Kalahi).
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