Education and Work

Generations who were born in the Philippines after or during U.S. colonization grew up with extensive knowledge of the United States. In classes, students learned American history, culture, and the English language. Some students immigrated to the United States to pursue scholarships at U.S. colleges and universities. Others graduated with degrees in higher education in the Philippines yet were only offered jobs that required no degrees.

The portraits of graduates from American and Philippine universities are powerful images of accomplished and educated Filipino/a Americans. While Philippine degrees were valued differently—and otherwise discarded—upon immigration to the United States, their portraits say otherwise. The visual agency and accomplishment captured in the graduation photographs is in tension with the imposed levels of value that U.S. systems would impose on degrees. The celebration and exchange of portraits are historically significant; early daguerreotypes and calotypes were reserved for wealthy, white men. Further, the three-quarter pose, and graduate gown or cap, are visual cues of intelligence and power.

DG Elegado’s portrait is black and white, taken in the early 60s (figure 1). He wears a cap with the tassel on his left, a black, crisp bow tie with a white button down, and a graduation robe. DG looks directly into the camera, unflinched. His gaze is confident and calm; he appears accomplished, engaged, and ready to use his education for good. The picture is from DG’s graduation from Agricultural Engineering in the Philippines. Shortly after graduation, the U.S. government contacted 125 graduates to come, all expenses paid, to work in America. DG’s daughter, Aileen Elegado remarked: “My dad was excited and envisioned working in Corporate America.” When DG arrived, he and the other graduates were surprised to be put to work picking vegetables in the Salinas crop fields. The Filipino laborers in the fields eventually joined the labor movement with Larry Itlong and Ceasar Chavez. Filipino workers are often forgotten from the movement, and many furthermore forget the imperialist intentions and origin of their labor in the fields (NPR, 2015).