On the Fourth of July, the United States comes together in celebration—barbecues and fireworks, parades and patriotic songs.
It is a day that honors the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, when a group of revolutionaries envisioned a nation built on liberty, equality, and self-rule.
For millions of Americans, including the vibrant and growing Filipino American community, this date holds meaning. But it also carries historical complexity.
For Filipino Americans, many of whom straddle two cultural identities and two national stories, July 4 is not only about the birth of the United States. It also echoes the Philippines’ own journey to sovereignty, a path deeply entwined with the very country now celebrating its freedom.
A shared calendar, a divergent past
Few remember that the Philippines once celebrated its independence on July 4 as well.
On that day in 1946, the United States granted formal sovereignty to the Philippines after nearly 50 years of colonial rule.
For many older Filipinos, especially those who immigrated in the mid-20th century, this date carried emotional and political weight.
But that independence was hard-won and long-delayed.
In 1898, Filipino revolutionaries had already declared their independence from Spain. Yet, in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, the Treaty of Paris transferred control of the archipelago to the United States. One empire had simply been replaced by another.
What followed was the Philippine-American War—a brutal, often overlooked conflict that claimed hundreds of thousands of Filipino lives and marked the rise of the United States as a colonial power.
The U.S. justified its rule through language like “benevolent assimilation” and civilizing missions—words that ring hollow when measured against the realities of occupation and resistance.
The immigrant experience: between opportunity and history
Despite this colonial past, the relationship between the Philippines and the United States evolved into something more complex—intertwined by migration, military alliance, shared language, and education.
Today, Filipino Americans make up the third-largest Asian American group in the United States. They are teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, caregivers, elected officials, artists, and soldiers.
Filipino migration to the U.S. stretches back centuries—beginning with the arrival of “Manilamen” in California in 1587, and expanding with waves of laborers in the 20th century.
Thousands served under the U.S. flag in World War II, defending both Philippine and American soil, with the expectation of recognition and reward.
Many of those veterans spent their remaining years fighting once again, this time in legislative halls, seeking benefits and promises long denied.
The power of dual consciousness
To live as a Filipino American is to carry two histories. One is rooted in the American dream—of opportunity, democracy, and justice. The other is shaped by the history of exclusion, colonization, and sacrifice.
This dual consciousness doesn’t weaken patriotism. It enriches it.
Filipino Americans celebrate the Fourth of July with pride—but also with remembrance. They understand that freedom is often imperfect, and that progress requires both celebration and reflection.
From the fields of Delano, where Filipino farmworkers helped spark the American labor movement, to the battlefields of Bataan and Corregidor, where Filipino soldiers fought and fell under the American flag, their presence is woven into the fabric of American history.
They came not just to labor, but to lead. Not just to serve, but to shape.
Most of those World War II veterans are gone now. Their voices have faded, but their stories endure—passed down through families, honored in quiet rituals, and etched into the citizenship of their descendants. Some received belated medals and apologies. Many did not. But all of them belong to the story of this country.
And though their time has passed, their legacy lives on in every Filipino American who celebrates the Fourth not just with fireworks, but with purpose.
Between two flags, modern-day Filipino Americans do not choose one over the other. They carry both—bearing witness to history, honoring sacrifice, and shaping a future where freedom truly belongs to all.
