News Release
October 13, 2011 

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma
California Speaker Pro Tempore 
12th Assembly District 

California Assembly Bill 199 will help ensure that the contributions of Filipino veterans who fought side by side American troops are properly recognized and remembered by future generations.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco and San Mateo Counties), announces the signing of Assembly Bill 199 this Friday October 14, 2011 at Bessie Carmichael Middle School in San Francisco. Bessie Carmichael, whose school population is 50% Filipino, sits in the SOMA district of San Francisco, home to many Filipino WWII Veterans. When this bill was originally introduced in 2004, 98 Filipino WWII veterans were still alive to tell their stories. Today, there are only 17 veterans still alive. Two previous versions of this bill were vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

AB 199, the Filipinos in WWII Social Studies Curriculum Act, is the first step toward ensuring that social science instruction in grades 7-12 includes the significant role of Filipinos in World War II. This bill helps ensure that our children and future generations learn of the contributions and sacrifice of these brave Filipino soldiers before we lose them in history. During World War II, the Philippines was a commonwealth of the United States. Filipino soldiers in the US Armed Forces were in effect US nationals, who fought side by side with American Troops.

Angel Island Immigration Station Turns 100. Obama declares January 21, 2010 National Angel Island Day. Honor your family & friends today with permanent recognition on the Centennial Wall.

REMEMBERING ANGEL ISLAND

During this 100th anniversary year of the U.S. immigration station, Angel Island, you have a rare opportunity to honor your family and friends with permanent recognition on its Centennial Wall. Your donations will go toward permanent recognition on Angel Island of those who came to build America, from all periods of time, whether or not they passed through Angel Island.

For information on donating and naming recognition on the Centennial Wall visit www.aiisf.org/campaign or contact 415-262-4429 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloak7d0e3ddd094a91d4b4cdb0ff499bfd09').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy7d0e3ddd094a91d4b4cdb0ff499bfd09 = 'info' + '@'; addy7d0e3ddd094a91d4b4cdb0ff499bfd09 = addy7d0e3ddd094a91d4b4cdb0ff499bfd09 + 'aiisf' + '.' + 'org'; var addy_text7d0e3ddd094a91d4b4cdb0ff499bfd09 = 'info' + '@' + 'aiisf' + '.' + 'org';document.getElementById('cloak7d0e3ddd094a91d4b4cdb0ff499bfd09').innerHTML += '

More than 200 videos were submitted by members from the AAPI communities to a video challenge called "What's Your Story" sponsored by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Here are the top eleven finalists. You may vote only once, for one of these eleven video entries. The deadline to vote is March 1, 2012. A group of finalists will be selected to come to the White House in March, 2012 to share their stories at a White House Champions of Change event. 

White House staffers Eddie Lee, Associate Director, Office of Engagement, and Miya Saika Chen talk about the "What's Your Story" video challenge.