S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman. On today's show , the colonial relationship between the Philippines and the United States through the lens of nursing. Plus a documentary tells the story of San Diego's Redondo family , known for the doors they opened in the world of tennis. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Now that we've crossed 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence , it reminds us to also reflect on the US's colonial relationship with other countries. And that includes the Philippines , which the US occupied until the signing of the Treaty of Manila in 1946. That agreement granted the island nation independence from U.S. rule. Reporters Corey Suzuki and Elaine Alfaro recently looked at the impact that treaty on the Filipino and the Filipino diaspora in their reporting series The Forgotten 4th of July. But one thing that was also impacted by American colonialism is the Philippines nursing system. I'm joined now by Kathryn Sinisa Choy , Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley and author of the book Empire of Care Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History. Professor Choy , welcome to Midday Edition.
S2: Thank you. It's a pleasure for me to be here.
S1: So glad to have you on and to have this discussion. First , what fueled your your own interest in looking into into a nursing history here?
S2: Well , my own interest was fueled by personal experience as well as intellectual interest. I'm the daughter of Filipino immigrants born and raised in New York City. And when I was growing up there , the neighborhood I lived in was surrounded by a cluster of hospitals , and so my family and I got to know many Filipino nurses , and they were very visible because of their hospital uniforms. But the way I really got to know them , aside from being professional health care workers , was also as neighbors and as family friends. And so I observed at a very early age that Filipino nurses are such an important part of the growing Filipino immigrant Filipino American community in New York , as well as the broader United States. And I'm a professor of ethnic studies , but my PhD is in history from UCLA. And as I entered college and did my PhD work , I became very interested in U.S. immigration history and women's history. And I learned , as you had pointed out , that one of the major contributions of the Philippines is that it is the world's leading sending country of professional nurses to different parts of the world. But historically , the major destination has been the United States. And so this led to my dissertation and then my first book , Empire of Care , as to how and why the Philippines became such an important force in the nursing diaspora.
S1: Where would you start with the story of nursing and migration in the Philippines? You argue that it's not a recent phenomenon. Correct.
S2: Correct. We might think of it as a more recent phenomenon , but it's not. And I would start with the history of US colonialism in the Philippines beginning in 1898 and soon after that , um , Colonial regime settled , there was the creation of Americanized um training hospitals that trained Filipino nurses and even more specifically , young Filipino women to become nurses. But through the education of an Americanized nursing curriculum that also included the study of the English language , both formal English language as well as colloquial. And so , to give you an example of this impact of Americanized nursing education in the Philippines in the early 20th century , in order to become a licensed Philippine nurse , you had to pass your licensure examination , which included a section on the colloquial English language and what this did in the early 20th century , even though at that point in time it wasn't the intent of the United States to necessarily recruit many Filipino nurses to to work here , as it did in the second half of the 20th century. But one of the things that that colonial education and history did was it laid the preconditions for the mass migrations of Filipino nurses to the United States and to states like California and Southern California , and even more specifically , San Diego.
S1: And so , you know , I mean , this Americanized education system was born out of this idea of benevolent assimilation. Can you talk more about that? Yes.
S2: Yes. Benevolent assimilation was an actual proclamation by then U.S. President William McKinley and then a policy. And the idea was that the United States was coming to the Philippines as friends , as opposed to a being the more traditional kind of colonizing force and hence the the benevolent aspect. And this proclamation and policy came out of how controversial it was during that time period for the United States to to colonize the Philippines and Filipinos who were fighting for their own independence from many centuries of Spanish colonialism. And so it was a very controversial idea of imposing U.S. sovereignty over another people that wanted their independence. And so the idea that this was a benevolent kind of colonialism and that , um , the justification was that Filipinos were not prepared for self-government , and that Americanized education could help them do that.
S1: Talk about the harm behind that for a bit , if you don't mind.
S2: Yeah , there's there's definitely harm in the sense that this is a racial , um , and as we would see with nursing , also a gendered kind of hierarchy that places the United States as a civilized nation , um , as a superior one , um , and hence its justification by claiming that , um , Filipinos were , were unprepared for , for self-government. And this is coming during a time when there were Filipinos who were receiving higher education , um , who were learning about Catholicism. Many Filipinos were adopting Catholicism. Um , so a kind of Christianity. And so the the idea that the United States would impose their sovereignty on an educated people who were advocating for their autonomy certainly created harm in terms of their claims for independence , and fueled a kind of racial unequal hierarchy between the United States and the Philippines.
S1: And so , in many ways , this was a false promise.
S2: Yes , it was a false promise. Um , but it happened. It's part of the the history. And out of it inadvertently emerged this incredible , um , Filipino nurse diaspora that has since contributed a great deal to many countries around the world , including the United States.
S1: And how were Filipino nurses treated upon migrating to the United States? Because you paint a complicated picture in the book. Yes.
S2: Yes. In the book Empire of Care , I showed that over time , the reception of Filipino nurses in the US has definitely changed over time. And there were moments historically when Filipino immigrant nurses were accepted in the United States , especially , um , in the the 1960s and early 1970s. These are like among the pioneering generations of of Filipino immigrant nurses to the United States who were coming in and alleviating critical nursing shortages , especially in public hospitals , especially in inner cities in the United States , as well as rural areas that were really dealing with post-World War Two , um , nursing shortages. And so at that point , they were welcome. But then as they started to come in larger numbers , you know , some of that , um , legacy , um , of US colonial racism , um , would also figure into their , their reception. And so sometimes they would be criticized as being inferior nurses who were not as well prepared as us , uh , domestic trained nurses.
S1: What were the other challenges these nurses face to face in coming to the U.S.? Both in both in the workplace and in their own personal lives?
S3: Yeah , that's a great question.
S2: I think it's so important to remember that they were dealing with a range of challenges. I mean , some of them were , um , what we might consider mundane , everyday challenges of being immigrants in terms of loneliness , especially those pioneering generations of being really the first to come to a particular city or a particular rural area and not have their close family and friends with them , and yet contribute so much to our American healthcare system. So loneliness , not having , um , uh , the accessibility of of Filipino food , which was comforting and familiar to them , although of course , that has been changing , uh , changing today , um , in the United States. But , but those kinds of challenges as well as , um , more serious challenges , issues of , um , sometimes fraudulent , um , hospital and health care recruitment practices , um , issues of labor exploitation , such as being assigned the most difficult work and the most undesirable work shifts , um , were among the the range of challenges that they faced. And yet even with those , um , encountering those kinds of challenges , they they persisted. And they've been such an important part of the Filipino American community and such an important part of our U.S. health care system.
S1: You mentioned the impact that Filipino nurses have had on the nursing diaspora today. In fact , they've done a lot of organizing for issues affecting all health care workers. Talk more about that and how they've raised visibility today.
S3: Thanks so much for that.
S2: Question , because. It's.
S3: It's.
S2: So important today to consider the struggles , but also the contributions of Filipino-American nurses to the United States. And one of those contributions , um , has been to organize themselves in various different kinds of organizations. But one of the most prominent organizations and one of the most historically important , has been the Philippine Nurses Association of America , or the Na. And that was a national organization that was formed in the 1970s when local chapters of the Philippine Nurses Association throughout the United States. I mean , there was a Philippine Nurses Association in the Philippines and then , um , individual overseas chapters in places like New York and Chicago , but also in Southern California , including San Diego. And then they decided that there were issues , um , that involved them and the nursing profession. Issues regarding licensure. Issues regarding the treatment of all foreign educated nurses , not solely Filipino immigrant nurses , and also issues more recently regarding the nursing profession as a whole , including the important role that nurses have played in taking care of all of us during the recent Covid pandemic , and making those contributions of all nurses visible , and their contributions to to health care as a whole and and how important they are as first responders.
S1: What are your thoughts on America's 250th anniversary and how this folds into the conversation? How are you thinking about it?
S2: Oh , that's such a great question , because here we are at , um , the 250th anniversary of , um , something like the Declaration of of Independence. And it gives us a time to really reflect and take an intentional pause on what does it mean to be an American and what is American history. And for me , personally and professionally , it means that , um , American history is not solely about one person or one group of people , but belongs to to all of us that we , um , need to reflect upon the diversity of our nation. And part of this diversity is its immigrant diversity and how immigrants , like Filipino immigrants , um , have made such an important mark on our U.S. history , especially in terms of the health care field. And in many ways , they are very much unsung heroes of US health care. Um , and I'm so pleased to be given this opportunity to , to shed a spotlight on them. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , I have been speaking with Professor Katherine Sinisa Choy , professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley and author of the book Empire of Care. To check out other KPBS coverage on the Filipino community in San Diego and beyond. You can find the reporting series. The Forgotten 4th of July on our website at KPBS. Professor Choi , thank you so very much for your time.
S2: Thank you.
S1: Up next , a documentary tells the story of San Diego's Redondo family , known for the doors they opened in the world of tennis. KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break.
S4: Welcome back.
S1: You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. An iconic Filipino tennis family is the subject of a new documentary. It's called Love All , and it's premiering on KPBS tonight. It follows the Redondo family and their rise in the tennis world from national city to the world stage. Here's a clip from the film talking about the matriarch of the family , mamita.
S5: It was my grandmother. She was the one , for sure that got us started playing tennis.
S6: You know , you want to be accepted in this country. That's she. That's all she wanted. It's not love that you want. You want to be accepted as a person. And as she wasn't , so she wanted. She had a strong desire to make it through tennis.
S1: That was a snippet from the documentary. Love all. I'm Here Now with Sara Pearson , the director of Laval , and Ryan Redondo , CEO of Youth Tennis and Barnes Tennis Center. He also he's actually also featured in the film. Ryan. Sara. Welcome to midday edition.
S7: Thanks for having us. Yes.
S8: Yes. Thank you so much.
S1: So glad to have you both on here. And congratulations on the film. Um , Sarah , how did you first come across the Redondo family story?
S7: It's funny how these stories come about. I actually didn't know about them until a friend of ours walked into our kitchen and said , have you heard about this family? They're absolutely remarkable. But they're also kind of this secret tennis royalty that everybody knows , but nobody quite knows their story. And of course , I was intrigued so.
S1: Well , all of that sounds intriguing. Ryan , you grew up in this legacy of tennis. What was your initial relationship to the sport?
S8: Well , I like to say I was born into the sport. I mean , my father was the oldest of nine. And and as people see in the documentary , you know , my aunts and uncles and my father just , you know , created this foundation. And when I was born , my father was the head coach at San Diego State. So I really mean it. I was in diapers on a tennis court.
S1: And you know , Sarah , you you mentioned this might be more of a secret , though. Um , how would you define the family's legacy?
S7: You know , I think it's this remarkable story. Their legacy is sort of their legacy , but it's also this city's legacy. Um , they have changed everyone around them by , uh , through their grant. It started really with their grandmother , who decided that tennis was going to be the way and the way to do that with what she could do at the time , which in monetary terms wasn't a lot. She made herself a part of the community by watching everybody's kids , by always being around. And at the time , uh , Morley Field was this melting pot of remarkable tennis players , but also of community. And the family grew up in this environment. And I think Because of their Filipino background and also what was given to them. They had this strong desire to give back and their legacy other than trophies and world tournaments , I think is this desire to to put other people on the bridge.
S1: And as we mentioned , you know , the film starts with mamita , and so does that , that legacy. Um , mamita is the grandmother and matriarch of the family. What else can you tell us about who mamita was and her legacy? Ryan , I'll start with you on that.
S8: Yeah , well , she was my great grandmother. And so if I can speak , you know , I would speak through my grandparents and and who they were through her and my my father and my aunts and uncles. And I think Sarah put it really well as it was about service. Um , there was a service to something greater than , again , just winning trophies and , um , titles and whatnot , and I think that was a belonging. I think it was a level of service to others to show what you could become. And , and it was a level of , of excellence that , you know , there was a self determination that she instilled on the whole family to succeed. And and that , again , it wasn't this exterior. Look at us. Look at all the trophies. It was it was something internal by far. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well Ryan , I mean in the film we see you at six years old , uh volleying against a pro. It even got you a Nike sponsorship at the time. What does that moment mean to you now looking back at it all these years later.
S8: Gosh , it's it's um it's remarkable. It's amazing to think back , you know , and I'm just I'm here at Barnes right now and , you know , just down the street at , at sports , the sports arena when I was doing that at six years old. It really just shows the legacy of my family , you know , and how deep rooted they were in the sport. Um , but it also just it to me , it provides this opportunity that started with my great grandmother and passed down that I had , you know , I had that stage and that opportunity to be on that stadium court , um , if you will , in front of 5 or 6000 people at a play. And now , you know , fast forwarding , that's essentially exactly what I'm doing again , and that's what I'm doing for others. And and I think that's , you know , the legacy through my great grandmother that I , I just sees kind of naturally unfolding with what I do is provide that that center court for everybody.
S1: And you've been a player and a coach. You've done it all. How do you feel about the tennis landscape today and your family's place in it?
S8: Yeah , it's interesting. You know , you have Wimbledon going on and you , you , you see this great player like Ayala playing , you know , she just beat the the defending champion. Unfortunately she went down yesterday. But you know the landscape of tennis is extremely international now. And you when you think back in the 70s when it wasn't so international , and I think back on my Aunt Misa or my Uncle Walter , you know , being able to play at Wimbledon as a Filipino and American minority , it's amazing. And so to see how far the sport has come , um , is awesome. But , you know , the real story still hits home that , um , you know , the the talent is there , the talent is still equal amongst all of San Diegans , but the opportunity is not. And I think that that , you know , for tennis , we still have to to open up some doors. And as Sara said , you know , put people on the bridge to have the opportunity to , to show what they're becoming.
S1: And Zahra like in the film , we see the significance of places and public courts like Morley Field and really and really cultivating this talent. I mean , can you talk more about San Diego as a hub for tennis and how that shows up in the film?
S7: I wish I had been there this the period where the film starts as the 1970s , and it was this really unique melting pot of talent , but also of players from all walks of life playing on public courts. Uh , usually tennis can happen a lot between , you know , in private , at private clubs and like we talked about before. Access wasn't readily available. Uh , but now this was a place where talent mattered more than where you played. So , um , everybody was just coming to Morley Field and helping each other. And there was this set of matriarchs and patriarchs who invested in people who really wanted to do well. So there was a support system from all , all walks of San Diego. And I think that was a really , really beautiful thing because in , you know , the term a rising tide lifts all boats. That was something that was happening back then. I think it still happens , but it's such a such a magical and clear example. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And I mean , you kind of alluded to this earlier , but , you know , tennis is an expensive sport and it it takes a village to make the dream happen. And there's a scene where the family talks about money to selling cans and newspapers to make ends meet. How else do we see this idea of community come up in the film?
S7: I mean , there there are many ways it actually is. So the the siblings there , there , there was the grandmother , but there was also the aunt , and she was their informal agent , I guess. So it was her job to get them to tournaments. So we have collected all of the correspondence between her and the families in San Diego offering to help. I mean , there were the Belinsky. They came with clothes. There were checks from the Kellogg family when they saw their rise. Uh , access to clubs when they needed that ability to get transport. And there's even this wonderful , wonderful letter where there aren't rights to the Kellogg family or Kellogg senior , I guess , and says , how might I apply to a tournament like Wimbledon? And there's this wonderful innocence in that. And San Diego takes off , and the Kellogg family begins this correspondence between New York and San Diego to get Marita Redondo to Wimbledon. And she does.
S1: Brian , I'm curious to hear your your perspective on that.
S8: Yeah , I would agree with Sarah. There was that , um , that village , you know , takes it takes the village and , uh , and the infrastructure to be able to launch people out. And that's what San Diego did. And that's what is the beautiful thing about San Diego. Now , San Diego tennis is maybe one of the strongest communities in the country , um , in that respect. And it's because of the people and the partnerships and , and so I think Sara said it perfectly.
S1: And you've actually played a really pivotal role here in helping build up the next tennis generation. Um , through barns. So what more can be done to support local talent , you think?
S8: Uh , wow. There's so much that can be done. And , um. Um , but it really comes down to access , you know , the local talent we have. Like I said , talent is everywhere , but the opportunities are not. And and that's what we're providing. And we're providing opportunities for everybody , not just under-resourced , but you need to provide , um , say , for the next Wimbledon champion. That individual needs to be able to have experiences in professional tournaments and high level junior tournaments and whatnot. So we're trying to provide those opportunities right here in our in our , our local backyard , rather than having to spend the thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars to travel to get there. And then when you think about just the just the basic level of of learning a sport or a game or an art or music , you have to have the opportunities. And so that's what we're also building through all of our partnerships , um , through the schools and parks that we provide our programming at. But really it just comes down to access at every single level. How can we provide more access for youth?
S1: And Sara , in your eyes , how does the Redondo family's story represent the American dream?
S7: You know , it is. It is a story about this family. But I think it's also the story of aspiration. And that is very American. And it's the story. I mean , lots of tennis players have made the same journey , uh , to get somewhere. And I think , mamita , you know , she came to this country. That was a gamble. Uh , and then she decided to gamble again. But I think she was also a little bit of a visionary. And she she saw a path there , much like , you know , we've seen the movie of King Richard with the father of Venus and Serena Williams. And he he understood what those sisters were about. And I think in my research and in my interviews with people , I have come to understand that mamita was a visionary. I don't think we would be here today if she hadn't been right.
S1: Well , Ryan , your family was one of the first to really break the ceiling and bring Filipino-American visibility to the tennis world stage. You mentioned seeing more of that with players like Alex Ayala and who just had a great run at Wimbledon. I mean , what does it mean to see visibility on that level and how is that changing?
S8: It's it's wonderful to see that visibility. Um , you know , I know that there there are studies like socioeconomic studies , psychology studies On , on the metrics of having people see people that look like themselves and how that helps them succeed. And so to see her on that stage on Centre Court. Be able to do that. Just it provides that aspiration for for all people and plug in Filipino , plug in Hispanic , whatever you want to call it. So it's it's awesome to see that. And um , and you know , I believe , you know , not just in the sport itself and playing , but in any leadership role , just continuing to bring awareness. Um , you know , there's a great I'm actually on this board. I'm going to plug them. The Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association , the leaders within the AAPI community being elevated and exposed only helps build the community , and it helps bring awareness to to them as well.
S1: Um , you know , the film has had a few screenings now. What's really struck you about how the movie's been received. I mean , what's the response been like? Oh.
S8: Oh.
S7: I'm sorry. Yeah.
S8: Yeah. Go ahead. Sara.
S7: I mean , for me , the most beautiful moment , I think , was one of the last screenings that we had where the community took ownership of the of the film , which is what I always wanted , wanted to happen. Um , they looked at it and said , you know , this is our community , this this is our people. And , you know , I sort of walked away with this happy feeling that we were we had been able to give this to them , to share and inspire , hopefully to tell many more stories. Um , but that's that's been wonderful. Just the community taking pride and joy in having this story told and recorded , because a lot of the time now they're also talking about , um , Alex Ayala being the first Filipino to or Filipina player to reach Wimbledon , which , you know , is is it? So it's a little bit of a missing part of historical records as well. Mhm.
S1: Ryan what about you.
S8: Yeah I well number one how grateful and lucky the whole family feels to have this documented and to have a story about um the family is , is amazing. So uh , we have a lot of gratefulness to Sarah and her team. Um , but , you know , I found that people really relate to it. They relate to the competitiveness that I think you can see in all of the Redondo. I think they relate to , um , the joy that they , they get. And I and I think that's been something very common , that people see the family as very joyful. But I think the , the story has shown the struggles they have shown , um , the things behind the scene that are normal. And , and I think that that's really important and it ties everybody in together. So I think the connectivity has been really powerful.
S1: I've been speaking with Sara Pearson , director of Love All , and Ryan Redondo , CEO of Youth Tennis and Barnes Tennis Center , and is featured in the film Love All premieres tonight on KPBS at 9 p.m. but if you miss it , don't worry. You can also stream it on the KPBS plus app , and it will include more info on our show notes. Sara Ryan , thanks so much and congrats on the film.
S8: Thank you.
S7: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today.
S9: I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
