Filipino Student Activism at The University of Washington: Transforming the University As Well As The Community

Abstract

This thesis asks the questions, “How does the inclusion of Filipino student activism at the University of Washington in the late 1960’s complicate the dominant historical narrative of the Civil Rights Movement and challenge assumptions about Filipinos and their visibility as a racial group?” I explore these questions from the perspective of new western history and through the lens of decolonization. This paper argues the importance of Filipino visibility in historical narrative as a way to mitigate the harmful consequences of colonialism. This paper examines Filipino resistance during the Civil Rights Movement and the significant impacts this made on Seattle as well as the University of Washington.