Our roots are our superpowers
Intersections
In this mini-documentary series, six stories open a window into the complexities of Filipino identities taking shape as migrants and new citizens in the USA.
As a young immigrant in Alaska, E.J. David tried to erase his Filipino-ness. He just wanted to fit in. All that changed when he met his Athabascan wife who showed him what it was like to be proud of one’s heritage, despite the pressure to assimilate.
E.J. R. David struggled with race, identity, and marginalization for most of his life. Today, he has a Ph.D. in Psychology and has authored several books on this subject. At home, it becomes personal. With his wife, Margaret, they work to heal from past traumas and unlearn the damage of a colonized identity through their children.
“We’re trying to teach our kids to be proud of their roots, to see themselves as just as Filpino and just as Athabascan as other folks. I want them to be fully proud of that, to be fully engaged, and feel like they fully belong because I really consider their heritage as a source of strength.”
“I look at my children and I see hope. I think about how will my children see me when they look back? Will they see a father who kept fighting and kept resisting and kept trying to do better?”
“My kids are both 100% Filipino and 100% Athabascan. And if people say that doesn’t make sense because that’s 200%, then we teach our kids that it doesn’t need to make sense because superpowers don’t make sense. We’re trying to teach our kids that their roots are their superpowers.”
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E.J. R. David, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at University of Alaska Anchorage and the author of several books on race, identity, and decolonization. As a young immigrant, he felt the pressure to fit in. His Athabascan wife showed him what it’s like to embrace one’s heritage, despite outside forces to assimilate. Today, they raise their kids to draw their strength in their identity as Filibascans.