Seattle public schools begin teaching Filipino American history

Seattle public schools have started teaching a Filipino American history course. SCREENSHOT/KOMO

Seattle’s public schools have introduced a Filipino American history course for high school students as part of the school district’s “commitment to racial equity.”

Seattle was a prominent port of entry for Filipino immigrants and nearly 200,000 of them have settled in Washington state.

“Filipinx American US History” is part of the Seattle school district’s growing list of literature and history classes, such as Black Studies and Native American Literature, and meets the district’s U.S. history graduation requirement, according to a Seattle Times report.

The year-long class covers events from the late 1800s and current issues, such as U.S.-Philippines relations. Also highlighted are union organizing and activism in Seattle against the Marcos dictatorship in the ‘70s and ’80s.

Community leaders and activists sometimes serve as resource persons for particular aspects of the course.

Local Filipino American educators and organizers have already approached school districts in neighboring Tacoma about adding a Filipino American U.S. History class, reports the Seattle Times.