‘Isang Bagsak’ as an educational framework to uproot anti-Asian racism

Tony DelaRosa / CONTRIBUTED

NEW YORK CITY — When anti-Asian hate took a darker turn in America three years ago, Tony DelaRosa felt it was time to bring up a solution to what he believes is a deeply rooted American tradition. That tradition is not Thanksgiving, Memorial Day or Christmas, rather it is anti-Asian racism and violence dating back to 1882 when the Chinese Exclusion Act became law.

As an ethnic studies scholar and educator, DelaRosa is well-versed in anti-Asian racism and violence. His hypothesis is that the invisibility and erasure Asian Americans experience to this day are mere symptoms of centuries-old racism and violence directed at Asians.

The solution therefore lies in grassroots education, and his very own contribution is the book “Teaching the Invisible Race: Embodying a Pro-Asian American Lens in Schools”.

Published in September 2023, the book has received favorable reviews and is seen as a useful tool in K-12 education, where it is deemed most beneficial to fill the huge knowledge gap about the life and times of Asians in American society. This solution has been supported by organizations like Asian Americans Advancing Justice, The Asian American Foundation and The Asian American Education Project among others, according to DelaRosa.

“Teaching the Invisible Race” was nominated as a finalist in the BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] category for the 2024 Indie Next Generation Book Awards and won an IPPY [Independent Publisher Book Awards] Silver medal for Education Theory in this year’s awards.

The book has also been featured by Teach for America and Hulu, and in the education podcast of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where DelaRosa is a 2018 alumnus.

According to the Filipino American author, his book’s subtitle “embodying a pro-Asian American lens” pays homage to Black scholars. The Black community coined the term “pro-Black” as a response to Black dehumanization and as a rallying cry for Black identity, history, culture, power and futures, DelaRosa said. “One cannot be pro-Asian American without being pro-Black, because our freedom is bound to each other,” he told Inquirer.net USA.

In his debut book, DelaRosa dedicates a chapter on the theory that “Isang Bagsak” can be a viable educational framework. “Isang Bagsak” means “one down,” a rallying cry anti-martial law activists in the Philippines love to use.

“Isang Bagsak” is rooted in Fil-Am consciousness as well, having been reportedly introduced by the legendary Fil-Am union organizer Larry Itliong to Cesar Chavez during their time together in the US civil rights movement, which made “Isang Bagsak” a rallying cry that unified Filipino and Latino farm workers.

Over time, many activists and movement builders have borrowed “Isang Bagsak” to show unity at their marches, protests, meetings and events.

Artnelson Concordia, a teacher-activist and scholar, and two other Filipino American organizers involved with the Philippine Peasant Support Network (PESANTE), combined “Isang Bagsak” with the United Farm Workers’ Unit Clap in the early 1990s.

“Isang Bagsak” continues to stir unity among young Fil-Am activists. For DelaRosa, “Isang Bagsak” as an educational framework should help educators and researchers understand cross-racial solidarity in theory and practice.

DelaRosa describes “Teaching the Invisible Race” as the book he wished he had in his early teaching career. He specifically wanted to write a book about Asian American pedagogy with a distinctly Fil-Am lens since Asian American studies seem focused on Japanese and Chinese histories.

Tony DeLaRosa / CONTRIBUTED

“Dr. Sohyun An at Kennesaw State conducted a content analysis of the History standards in all 50 states, which concluded that Japanese and Chinese histories were the top two topics expected to be taught explicitly over others,” DelaRosa told Inquirer.net USA.

“Asian America is enormous, complex, expansive and every specific ethno-racial group deserves to tell their side of the story, as well as be a part of the solution,” he added. Beyond helping educators build their racial literacy on Asian American culture, DelaRosa wrote this book for his children, Sebastian and Malaya, who identify as Filipino Cuban.

He himself had grown up in California and Ohio, rarely seeing traces of Asian Americans or Fil-Ams in the US education curricula. This became his experience as both a student and later as a teacher. It could be different for his kids, should “Teaching the Invisible Race” become successfully embedded in America’s K-12 education.

“I want my kids to know that their Tatay was a part of the solution in combating anti-Asian racism and violence. I want them to be able to pick this up later in life and also say, ‘we have critical Ethnic Studies scholars in our blood’,” DelaRosa said. 

The Fil-Am author is commencing his book tour for a second year this month. Previously, he brought “Teaching the Invisible Race” to Columbia University, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and elsewhere. This year, the Wisconsin-based author plans on touring the Midwest more frequently.

“Teaching the Invisible Race” is available in hardcopy, digital, and audiobook. The audiobook is read by actor Tim Lounibos, who has starred in Star Trek, FBI: Most Wanted, Bosch and more. All versions of the book may be purchased at TonyRosaSpeaks.com or wherever books are sold (Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Bookshop or elsewhere).