L to R: Audee Kochiyama, Lillian Galedo, Carlo del a Cruz. Photo: Bob Hsiang

At their 41st Anniversary event, ‘Strengthening Communities’, April 25, 2013, the Asian Law Caucus honored FAJ Executive Director, Lillian Galedo, with the Yuri Kochiyama Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in building an institution for the Filipino community that provides services and is involved in the social justice movement.

FAJ’s and ALC’s partnership on civil rights work, ranging from immigrant rights, immigration reform and workers rights, goes back decades.  Since 2010, ALC and FAJ have also jointly engaged in election protection efforts to ensure that immigrant voters throughout Alameda County have full and equal access to the ballot.  Our organizations also collaborate on wage theft cases that has won over a million dollars in unpaid wages for caregivers.

“Ms Galedo’s inimitable leadership and dedication to social justice continue to strengthen the partnership between our organizations and advance the civil rights of the most vulnerable members of our community.”

Click here to watch a video on Lillian and the history of the award viagra kamagra viagra

Learn more about FAJ

When: Thursday, June 20, 2013, 5:30pm
Where: Kaiser Center, 300 Lakeside Dr., Oakland, CA (next to Lake Merritt)

Buy Tickets: $75 each

Emcees: Mona Lisa Yuchengco & Lloyd La Cuesta

Featured Speaker: Cathi Tactquin, Executive Director of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

Social Justice Honorees: Assemblymember Rob Bonta, Asian Health Services, Carlos Villa (posthumously), Mari Rose Taruc, Honorata Nono and the Recipient of our first Soledad Fernandez scholarship.

Entertainment: Ben Luis and the Revivals as well as the FAJ performers.

Food: SAVOR an Asian fusion party meal by chef Dominic Ainza, former FAJ youth counselor.

Delight in special treats by shopping at our silent auction. (Donate to the Silent Auction here)

Join other local businesses and corporations in supporting our mission by becoming an Event Sponsor or advertising in the event program book. Download sponsorship and advertisement information.

2013 Event Sponsors:

Kapangyarihan (Power)

Kasama (Partner)

Taguyod (Advocate)

Kalayaan (Freedom)

Join Oakland Sin Fronteras, organizers and community members as we march for May Day and demand just policies and conditions for im/migrants and workers.

Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ) was started in 1973 in Oakland and a second office in Union City in 1982.  FAJ’s mission is to build a strong and empowered Filipino community by organizing constituents, developing leaders, providing services, and advocating for policies that promote social and economic justice and equity.

The Soledad Fernandez Scholarship is a philanthropic project of one of FAJ’s founders, Cora Tellez. The $5,000 scholarship is a project of the Tellez family who were inspired by Soledad Fernandez’s “zest for life and love for her family” among other qualities.  Soledad provided loving care for their infant son for which the Tellez family is eternally grateful. Read more about Soledad Fernandez Bio

FAJ is accepting applications from graduating high school seniors in the San Francisco Bay Area based on the following criteria.

• Be of Filipino descent (must be 50% Filipino)
• Be admitted to an accredited college or university in the US (a community college is acceptable, but grant is reduced to $2500)
• Demonstrate economic need
• Have a cumulative B- grade point average or better
• Demonstrate values and personal characteristics embodied by Ms Fernandez as demonstrated in the essay to be submitted by each applicant (Soledad Fernandez Bio).
• Reside in the SF Bay Area
• Demonstrate some experience with community service.
• Attend an award luncheon to meet family members from the Tellez and Fernandez families.

Relatives of FAJ board or staff members are not eligible.  Our board and staff are listed on our website, www.filipinos4justice.org.

Write an essay (no more than 2 pages) stating how you fit the above criteria and the spirit of Soledad Fernandez — the inspiration for the scholarship — and a cover letter that re-states your interest (in a nutshell) plus all your contact information (name, address, phone number, email address).

Mail to:

Filipino Advocates for Justice
310 – 8th St., # 306
Oakland, CA  94607

Also email the essay and letter to:  jolais@filipinos4justice.org

Deadline April 15, 2013

Meet at Alvarado Middle School behind the band room and march with the community to the James Logan Parking Lot for a 6pm rally.

School Board Meeting at 7pm.

‘On the Side of Justice:  Celebrating 40 Years”

Another challenging and inspiring year has zoomed by.  For FAJ this will be our 40th!

This year we:
•  Mobilized thousands of Filipinos to vote in the November 2012 elections, with 50+ youth and worker volunteers.

•  Youth organizers got a commitment from in Union City officials to construct a new youth center for after school and weekend activities.  We provided, prevention education, after school activities and peer support for 100 youth.

•  50 Filipino domestic workers and caregivers participated in campaign for the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights.  They also fought back against wage theft, recovering over $300,000 in unpaid minimum and overtime wages.

•  FAJ served on the Steering Committee of the campaign for a Bill of Rights, which passed the California State Assembly and Senate.  The Governor’s veto has not deterred workers who believe that dignity cannot be vetoed.  We will be back in 2013.  As Martin Luther King Jr. said  “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Over the past 40 years FAJ developed leaders, organized the community and tackled some of the major social justice issues.  Some highlights are:

1970s –
•  Helped organize a labor/community coalition to stop implementation of Prop 13.

•  Supported campaigns to defend Filipino health professionals scapegoated for failings of the hospitals where they worked.

1980s
•  Organized for amnesty, equality, and fair immigration laws, as well as bilingual education in Oakland schools.

• Organized parents to reform harsh expulsion and suspension policies.

1990s
• Organized to protect affirmative action against Prop 209, an oppose laws that denies access to social programs.

•  Helped lead a campaign for equal benefits for Filipino World War II vets..

2000s
•  Helped airport screeners organize a to keep their jobs after the Sept 11 attacks.

•  Trained youth organizers to win violence prevention ballot measures in Oakland and Union City.

•  Began building our GOTV capacity to empower the evolving new majority. 

Help us with a tax-deductible contribution of $40, or in larger increments of $40, AND join us at our event “On the Side of Justice:  Celebrating 40 Years” June 20, 2013 or you can make a donation of any size here.

Thank you for the support you have extended to us over the past 40 years, our tax ID# is 94-2218907.

Maligayang Pasko at Masaganang Bagong Taon
Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

Lillian Galedo                                                            Renato Almanzor
Executive Director                                                  Board President

‘On the Side of Justice:  Celebrating 40 Years”

Please participate in the democratic process by casting your vote.  Every vote counts.

Consider our recommendations for the State of California propositions on your ballot.

Rock the Balut!!

Download the bilingual,  Tagalog & English, voter guide for California’s 2012 election!

You can also click here to go to Mobilize the Immigrant Vote’s website to get the voter guide in Tagalog, English, Spanish, Chinese, Lao, Vietnamese, and Korean.

FAJ youth working to pass Prop 30

Not sure on how to register to vote? To busy to stop by the post office, DMV, or public library? Join the 18 million and rising  API voters this election and register to vote on our website by following this link.

There are 11 California ballot measures for the year’s election and FAJ along with our partners Mobilize the Immigrant Vote have created a voter guide to help you decide on these important measures. Our recommendations below reflect our priorities and values. All people, regardless of immigration status, have a right to quality education, good jobs, health care, public benefits, affordable housing, healthy environments, and human dignity.

Oakland on October 17th
Also this month is is the reception for “We Are America: Resistance and Resilience” a timeline of Filipino American history.  Come and join us on Wednesday, October 17 from 6:30 to 8:30pm at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center for this event.

In 1994, activists in the SF Bay Area created a 100-year timeline about the civil rights of Filipinos and their efforts over the decades to assert these rights. That timeline will be on display at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, October through December 2012, providing a visual account of Filipino resistance to discrimination and a chronology of the community’s struggle for equality.   In addition to the timeline a display of photos, artifacts, and news articles will be on exhibit for October Filipino American History Month.

(Photo courtesy of Stockton FANHS, Bombed Headquarters of the Filipino Federation of America, Jan 29, 1930.)

Your tax deductible donations will help volunteers curate this exhibit. Click here to donate and identify your donation to the timeline by adding “timeline” to the Address 2 box under billing information.

You can also send checks directly and payable to Filipino Advocates for Justice with “We Are America” in the memo section. Mail to:  310 8^th Street, Suite 308, Oakland, CA 94607.

This project is a collaboration with Filipino Advocates for Justice and Oakland Asian Cultural Center. For more information, contact Terry Bautista at 510-213-9737 or tcb_consultant (at) hotmail.com.

Don’t let that be the case for the 2012 election. You can now register to vote using our website! Just meet the qualifications below and click the “Register To Vote” image below or to your left!

• Be a United States citizen
• Be a resident of California
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction
• Not have been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent

Did you know that 1.2 million Filipinos, 35% of the Filipino population, live in California? Nearly 900,000 of our kababayan are of voting age and over a quarter live in these key counties: Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, Alameda, and San Mateo. This translates into the political power to influence the outcome of elections and legislative agendas at the local, state and national level! Remember your vote isn’t just a vote for yourself. Your vote is a vote for our children, our elders, our immigrant sister and brothers – it is a vote for our community!

Please note that FAJ takes your privacy very seriously and will never share your personal information with anyone or any organization.