In 1974 a handful of men and women decided to encapsulate their hopes and dreams as employees of the County of Los Angeles. They recognized their right to peaceably assemble in order to portray and achieve their cultural, economic, moral, political, religious, and social objectives in terms of the God-given resources and talents available. Their mission as an organization was a commitment to the fostering of brotherhood and unity among members, the preservation of their identity and culture, and the protection of their interests, welfare, and rights as County employees, and thus secure for themselves and their posterity the blessings of freedom, justice, and peace. This is their story.

From the frying pan of missed or fading opportunities in the Philippine pre- and martial-law years of the ' 70s, these few brave men and women took to the friendly skies of America, landed in Los Angeles, into the fire of progress burning in the suburbs and in their hearts. Even before they could visit Disneyland they had already heard so much about this beautiful country, this land of the free and home of the brave as advertised, a republic of many states, one nation under God - with liberty and justice for all. Scarcely had they started their first day working for the County of Los Angeles, when they heard or saw sporadic incidents of injustice, discrimination, and unfair treatment on the job - at the hands of regular people like us, of all shapes, sizes, and color regardless, whose bureaucratic power had gone to their heads, enough to treat a fellowman or woman differently. Our "kababayans" were also told, even lectured, about the many opportunities this land had to offer. They realized, however, that many of the opportunities were visible all right, but they were behind a "glass ceiling", hence not accessible to those with the wrong color or the wrong ethnic code and connections.

So this motley group of "Pinoy" professionals from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao decided to band together in order to fight discrimination wherever found, and advocate Affirmative Action for Equal Employment Opportunity for one another. Thank God, in keeping with the theme of "liberty and justice for all", this County also had systems in place to fight discrimination on the job, according to the provisions of  Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Empowered by that, and after a few special meetings, the L.A. County Filipino-American Employees Association (LACFAEA) was born in early 1974. A selected few, pioneers in their own right, received the mandate to lead, by viva voce votation. They took the helm and harnessed the aggregate talent according to the needs of the hour. The rest is history. To us, the beneficiaries of their hard work, the torch has been passed.

(to be continued...)

- pbt