Jolibee in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Filipino Americans reside in the Hampton Roads area in the state of Virginia; in 2010 around 40,000 people of Filipino origin lived in that region.[1] In 2000 the population count was around 45,000. As of 2007, there were not many other ethnic settlements in the metropolitan area.[2] On the East Coast of the United States, this is the largest group of people of Filipino ancestry.[3]

History

Many people from the Philippines enlisted in the United States Navy and became U.S. citizens, settling around Navy facilities.[1] U.S. citizenship is a possibility after serving a term of enlistment. Jeffrey Acosta, the husband of a historian, also stated that the Navy paid relatively well for Philippine standards, even if the work was not paid as much compared to work for U.S. citizens.[4] In turn, nurses of Philippine ancestry and Filipinos of other occupations also moved to Hampton Roads.[3]

Filipinos began establishing businesses in the Hampton Roads area in the 1960s.[4]

In the 1990s Filipino cultural organizations began advocating attention towards gangs made up of young people of Filipino ancestry, and the Filipino-American Community Action Group (FIL-AM CAG) responded by establishing a "truce dance".[5]

Geography

In 2022, Norie Quintos of National Geographic stated that Kempsville, Virginia Beach formed "the heart of the Philippine American community."[4] Olongapo in the Philippines is a sister city of Virginia Beach.[4]

In 2010, 17,930 people of Filipino ancestry lived in Virginia Beach. The numbers in other municipalities were as follows: 4,727 in Norfolk, 3,050 in Chesapeake, 1,164 in Newport News, 508 in Portsmouth, 491 in Hampton, and 488 in Suffolk.[6]

Institutions

The Filipino-American Community Action Group (FIL-AM CAG) began operations in 1991.[5]

The Philippine Cultural Center (PCC) is located in Virginia Beach. Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater created this institution in 2000.[1] It has the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) program for children.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bearinger, David (2016-10-31). "Filipino Traditions in Virginia". Virginia Humanities. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  2. ↑ "The Filipino American Community" (PDF). The State of the Region. Old Dominion University. 2007. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  3. 1 2 Capucao, Reynaldo Jr. (2020). "Filipino Nurses and the US Navy at Hampton Roads, Virginia: The Importance of Place". Nursing History Review. American Association for the History of Nursing. 28: 158–169. - Cited: p. 163
  4. 1 2 3 4 Quintos, Norie (2022-05-20). "The surprising story of how the Philippines came to Virginia". National Geographic. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  5. 1 2 Lee, Jonathan H. X. (2018-10-12). Asian American History Day by Day: A Reference Guide to Events. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. PT386 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Filipinos in the US". Old Dominion University. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  7. ↑ Cruz, Pari (2023-05-17). "Philippine Cultural Center bridges community to their rich culture & history in Hampton Roads". WTKR. Retrieved 2023-11-26.

Further reading


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