On “Community-Centered Collection . . .”

I will admit that “Community Archives” is a buzzphrase I tend to use while pitching on the importance of preservation. The concept of the community archives always materialized in my mind as a centered collection that provides access to a specific community of people. As a cis-hetero Filipino male, I dream of a living archive accessible to individuals like me emphasizing and appraising materials about the ongoing dialogue of Filipino identity in the United States. The University of Maryland Philippine and Filipino American History & Heritage collection offers promise, but the primary resources housed under “Filipino American Community Archives” leads to “The Rita M. Cacas Filipino American Community Archives,” a collection focused on its discipline to collect materials on the experience of Filipino American communities in the D.C. Metro Area. This is not to be critical of UM’s mission, because representation matters especially on a university level where stakeholders could very well be based on the advocating voices of its population and the resources that are sought for. Thankfully, I’m glad to know that fellow Filipinos in northern Virginia are curious about the history we share.

It’s a whole part of opening up the possibilities to continue exploring the very concept of community archives in its honest approach. Michelle Caswell in her piece “Community-Centered Collecting: Finding Out What Communities Want from Archives” writes about the South Asian American Digital Archive’s (SAADA) establishment of a community archives. The piece opens with a definition that community archives assume “. . . independent, grassroots archival organizations better match the priorities and needs of local communities than mainstream government and university repositories . . .” (Caswell, 2015). Even more interesting is SAADA’s appraisal process to figure out the user needs of the community, exploring “very specific moments in community history in response to highly-charged political environments, battles over the boundaries and makeup of group identity, and damaging stereotypes of the community in the mainstream, Kaplan (2000), (Caswell, 2015). By uncovering the archival needs of South Asian Americans, Samip Mallick presented an opportunity for user research at the South Asian Awareness Network’s (SAAN) conference, asking an audience of more than 250 people to answer anonymously two questions:

“What stories from your parents’ or grandparents’ lives do you wish you knew more about?”

“What stories from your generation would you like your grandchildren to know about?” (Caswell 2015).

The answers showed themes from the responses of participants covering what participants wanted to know about their grandparents and imparting stories to a future generation: social justice activism and participation, feminist and LGBTQ activism, the struggle of the minority in American society, technological change, the importance of September 11, 2001’s impact, and the choice of nontraditional professions related to generational conflict (Caswell, 2015).

A Case for Filipinos

The following is an exercise of answering questions in relation to the themes found in SAADA’s questionnaire. In addition, these answers do not relate to my professional practices. I am answering on behalf of my experiences as a Filipino American. I stand in alliance and solidarity with the goals of the SAADA’s mission to build a community archive while recognizing the importance of their work at the SAAN’s conference. My hope is as a Southeast Asian that works as a librarian, archivist, and researcher of color, I can help build bridges to support the importance of community archives and fellow researchers attempting to preserve their story in the face of hierarchal systems that prioritize majority voices to fulfill notions of legacy. While this profession can often get bogged down to specialization in disciplines and approach, I think it’s important to preserve one’s self and reflect on what I can answer in order to reach out to future generations of Filipino practitioners who will contribute to the dream of a Filipino Community Archive. My hope is that this at least gives into the psyche of what it was like navigating the experience, touching on what I think a community of other Filipinos might have felt growing up.

1. What contributions have you made to social justice activism?
   The contributions I have made have been to work in collections where I believe that materials for Filipinos, Southeast Asians, and other marginalized voices could be included. I have also worked in collections to actively search for initiatives that make visible the importance of voices of artists in a predominantly white spaces. So, most of my contributions to social justice activism has been professional.
   
2. Does this extend into activism for feminist and LGBTQ initiatives?
   Yes. I have advocated for feminist and LGBTQ voices. To not support feminist and LGBTQ initiatives for Filipinx individuals is to not support the perspectives of other humans alike. My goal for extending my activism is to understand the experiences of Filipinx individuals in the face of marginalization, especially during the 1970s. I want to learn more about these experiences especially through the lenses in art and literature.
   
3. What struggles have you had as a minority in American Society?
   Each and every day has its struggles, and I think the biggest one is determining the origins of why family made its way to the United States and what historical precedents in the 1990s made for this possibility. It’s also the struggle of understanding where Filipinos stand in American society – that’s a constant. I think that recognizing privilege was the defining moment, because once I did, I felt empowered to help other individuals facing much bigger systemic inequalities and experiences of racism than me.
   
4. What technological changes have you faced when working in the field?
   Equity and its intersection with technology. It’s not until a year ago that I’ve even owned my first phone! (One that has not been passed down). Experiences are often shaped by the amount of resources one works with, and I think that utilizing tools that are available to you could have its limitations. So adjusting to find the proper tools in a vast environment has been a challenge. Furthermore, technology, especially the constant shifts in social media and streaming apps, have left me wishing for a simpler approach. Am I getting old?
   
5. What important historical event has had an impact on you?
   The 2008 recession. There’s something about witnessing your high school teacher explain the severity of the event when you feel as if you have no real stake in it. More or less, it affected me at a later time, because there was no way to fully understand it without immersing myself in the professional world. I think about that teacher and if he felt he had struck a chord in us after all those years.
   
6. What generational conflict exists in your choices to work in the information science field?
   Being a librarian, archivist, and researcher has its rewards. For one, you are able to convey a story with the pieces of information you are left with – often arranged in their original order. You are in charge of preserving legacies, and it could alienate you from considering your own. But I also imagine that I could have worked other jobs – military, health field, or publishing. I think all those years in high school, hiding in a corner in the library may have influenced this. The conflict is explaining what exactly I do, and I hope this at least explains it a little.

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References

Caswell, M. (2015, April 24). Community‐centered collecting: Finding out what communities want from community archives. Retrieved August 16, 2020, from https://asistdl.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/meet.2014.14505101027