Filipino Slaves in the Land of the Free:

An Ethnic, Post-Colonial, and Transnational Criticism on

“America is in the Heart” by Carlos Bulosan

Lecca Colleen O. Billones

West Visayas State University College of Education

Literary Criticism for Teachers (ELE 208)

Dr. Hazel P. Villa

February 13, 2020

 In 1898, following the Spanish-American War, the United States assumed colonial rule of
the Philippines, thereby extending its “Manifest Destiny” to the Pacific (Mendoza, 2014). This
newly found relationship between the Philippines and America led to the influx of Filipino
migration to the U.S. Perhaps one of the many things that influenced most Filipinos to work in
America is the success of the pensionados. The Pensionado Act of 1903 (or Act 854) refers to
the law which allowed qualified Filipino students to study in the United States. Passed on 26
August 1903 by Governor-General William Howard Taft's government through the Philippine
Commission, this act provided funds for such students, called Pensionados, to acquire their
college degrees at American schools. One-hundred three students comprised the first wave of
pensionados (The Pensionado Act of the Philippines Genealogy Project, n.d.). By the 1920s,
most pensionados returned home to well-paying jobs. The success of the pensionados was
something that many wanted to replicate. Around 1910-1938, thousands of Filipinos migrated to
the U.S. Unlike the pensionados, they were non-sponsored. Hence, they have to work to pursue
education, earn a living, or have a career. One thing was clear for these Filipinos. America is the
greener pasture they have been looking for.

With the same thought, Allos tested his luck in America. It was in 1930 when he arrived
on the west coast of U.S. The 17-year-old boy left his home country packed with hopes of
bettering his life. He had suffered so much living in a poor family, where they could barely
afford to send their brother, Macario to school. He was supposed to fulfill his American dream.
But, it was quick when he realized that the dream was a nightmare. He had to work in dangerous
jobs, moved from one place to another, and had his life on the line because of race-based
violence.

The story of Allos was preserved in the book, America is in the Heart. Allos or Carlos
Bulosan wrote this autobiographical novel that recounted his life in poverty from the Philippines
to the United States. He was a poet, essayist, novelist, fiction writer, and labor organizer. Now,
his book is one of the most famous Filipino classics.

This essay tells that Filipinos are considered as stigmas in the American
community. America is in the Heart shows that the life of Filipinos in America is not as
pleasurable as what most of us expect. Filipinos fear for their lives because of racial difference.

Upon stepping foot in America, Allos began working in a cannery, where he only earned
fifteen dollars after all his hard work. He knew he had to get away from that life. He thought that
if he could get away from the cannery, he will see another aspect of America- the America he
dreams about. As he said in chapter 14 (Bulosan, 2017, p. 106), “I want to see the other aspect of
American life, for surely this destitute and vicious people were merely a small part of it.” With
this goal, he left and worked in orchards, plantations, and moved around aimlessly, seeking for
the other America. However, wherever he went, the aspect of America didn’t change for the
better. Farmers paid Filipinos in significantly lower wages than white workers (Depression Era:
1930s: Watsonville Riots | Picture This, n.d.). On one occasion, Allos and his brother Marcello,
whom he accidentally met while wandering from one State to another, were paid only fifty cents
for eight hours of work (Bulosan, 2017b, p. 139). It was then when realization dawned on him
that there was no other side of America. In chapter 18, pages 139 to 140, he said that “The days
of hunger and loneliness came. Aching hunger and stifling loneliness. Every dawn was an
opening of a cavern of starvation and exile; from the touch of friendly hands, of friendly voices.
And every hour was a blow against the senses, dulling all impulses toward decency.”This
happened when most of his fellow Filipinos that became close to him were either murdered,
critically ill due to overworking or falsely arrested by the police. It didn’t help either when a job
vacancy was scarce at that time.

Ironically, the low wage that they suffered from became another reason why they were
treated as stigmas in the eyes of the white men in America. Despite how scarce job opportunities
were, Filipinos were still hired because they can be paid in low salaries. As the man said in
chapter 18, page 143, “You can hire these natives [Filipinos] for almost nothing.” He then added
that, “They are too glad to work for white folks.” Because of this, Filipinos were more in demand
than poor white men. As retaliation, they worked hard to oust the Filipinos from their country.
They set fire on the vineyard where Allos worked and they killed many Filipinos on different
occasions.

White men also hated the Filipinos because of race-mixing. In chapter 19, page 145,
Bulosan mentioned the Roldan vs. The Unites States case. Salvador Roldan applied to the county
clerk of Los Angeles County for a license to wed a woman of Caucasian descent and was (the
county) refused such license (Roldan v. Los Angeles County, 18 P.2d 706, 129 Cal. App. 267 –
CourtListener.Com, n.d.) because there were anti-miscegenation laws that prohibited the
marriage of Mongolians and Caucasians. According to Ancestors in America (n.d.), Appellate
Court rules that Roldan could marry Marjorie Rogers, an Anglo woman because Filipinos are
"Malays, not Mongolians.” The anti-Filipino forces however soon get legislation added onto
existing laws to include Filipino-white in anti-miscegenation prohibitions (PBS - “Ancestors in
the Americas”: Timeline, n.d.).

The racial hate had grown so much even to those who exercised the law. In America is in
the Heart, chapter 18, page 138, detectives violently took Alonzo, a friend of Allos, who was
living with a white divorcee. He was called a “brown monkey” which is a slur towards Filipinos,
and he was asked, “How did you make this white woman stuck with you, googoo?” He was
slapped and kicked and they jailed him. Sadly, this was not the only police violence fueled by
racial hate in the selection. Others led to worse-case scenarios such as death.

Allos and his fellow Filipinos came to America to have better lives. Sadly, they ended up
in a hellish situation that is a far cry from America they desire. They have faced starvation,
alienation and loneliness of being away from their motherland. Worst of all, they received
immense hate. They were considered as stigmas and were hated for allegedly taking away the
jobs and women of white men.

This is an act of injustice and blatant discrimination. In the first place, the Americans were
the ones who opened their doors for Filipino migration but they treated Filipinos as a cheap
resource. In the end, the Filipinos suffered the most.
References:

Bulosan, C. (2017). CHAPTER XIV. In America is in the Heart (p. 106). Anvil Classics.

Bulosan, C. (2017b). CHAPTER XVIII. In America is in the Heart (p. 139). Anvil Classics.

Bulosan, C. (2017c). CHAPTER XVIII. In America Is in the Heart: A Personal History (p. 143).

Anvil Classics.

Depression Era: 1930s: Watsonville Riots | Picture This. (n.d.). Picture This: California’s

Perspectives on American History. http://picturethis.museumca.org/timeline/depression-

era-1930s/watsonville-

riots/info#:%7E:text=By%201930%2C%20almost%202%2F3,discrimination%20and%2

0violence%20from%20Whites.&text=In%20addition%2C%20White%20Americans%20

saw%20Filipino%20men%20as%20sexual%20competition.

Mendoza, S. (2014). Filipino Settlements in the United States.

https://www.deanza.edu/faculty/mendozasherwin/ewrt1bwinter2014/Espiritu.pdf

PBS - “Ancestors in the Americas” : Timeline. (n.d.). Pbs.Org.

https://www.pbs.org/ancestorsintheamericas/time_25.html

Roldan v. Los Angeles County, 18 P.2d 706, 129 Cal. App. 267 – CourtListener.com. (n.d.).

CourtListener. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/3292597/roldan-v-los-angeles-

county/
The Pensionado Act of the Philippines genealogy project. (n.d.). Geni_family_tree.

https://www.geni.com/projects/The-Pensionado-Act-of-the-

Philippines/13372#:%7E:text=The%20Pensionado%20Act%20of%201903,study%20in%

20the%20United%20States.&text=These%20students%20were%20called%20Pensionad

os,expense%20of%20the%20colonial%20government.