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Foreword FOR ALL OF US THERE COMES A TIME WHEN A chance encounter changes our lives. In 1969, one Peter Madelo Jamero Sr.—who had just arrived from Washington, D.C., to work in the Region X office of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare—called to make my acquaintance.This began a friendship and collaborative community endeavors with the Jamero family that have spanned more than thirty-five years. Peter, whom we fondly call “Pete,” and his wife, Terri, have six children whose ages almost mirror the ages of our own eight children . The initial reason for the phone call was to put their older children in FilipinoYouth Activities (FYA),especially the renowned Princesa Drill Team, Cumbanchero Percussioneers, and Mandayan Marchers. We were privileged to work with the Jamero family for almost twenty years in many FYA activities. Pete was the first federal bureaucrat we knew, and we were in awe of his sophistication and ability to navigate the ins-and-outs of government red tape. In 1971, FYA had the opportunity to tap local Model City monies to expand our youth programs and create a small office to meet the increasing needs of a fast-growing Filipino American population in the state of Washington. An enthusiastic group met in our home, and Pete guided us in writing the required “proposal”—a bureaucratic term none of us knew at that time. The late 1960s and 1970s were heady times. Society was changing ,and long-silent Asian Americans had joined the civil rights battles begun by courageous African Americans and were challenging entrenched racism in the forms of prejudices and biases. Qualified American-born minorities who first broke into fields once denied an early generation of immigrants found they had a special role. They were expected to be superachievers but were often restricted by the glass ceiling, which prevented them from being fully rewarded for their hard work. Pete was one of these pioneers who broke ground but often endured personal disappointments. He has held more prestigious and diverse positions than any other Filipino American: assistant secretary of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and director of the Division ofVocational Rehabilitation,assistant professor at the University of Washington, director of the King County Department of Human Resources, vice president of United Way of King County, executive director of the San Francisco City and County Civil Rights Commission, and finally executive director of Asian American Recovery Services.Through all these positions, he has been a good role model for countless young people. On a more personal note, Pete and Terri were among the first to respond to my call for help in 1982. I hoped to form an historical society that would continue to collect Filipino American history and share materials already accumulated through a two-year National Endowment for the Humanities project titled “Forgotten Asian Americans: Filipinos and Koreans.” After two years of meetings, we were ready to incorporate the society but needed a name that would proclaim the group’s intent and at the same time be catchy enough so that people would remember us. Pete won the contest with Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS). Thanks, Pete, for giving us a name that continues to grow in national recognition. Thanks also for many years of pleasant memories. dr. dorothy laigo cordova Executive Director, Filipino American National Historical Society Seattle, August 2005 viii foreword ...

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