Tobera was an American National from the Philippines who worked as an ag worker in 1930 in Watsonville, California.
His death is a symbol in an era of anti-Filipino riots across the nation, most notably the five-day riots that took place in the central California coast town of Watsonville.
Tobera was in his bunkhouse when a group of white men shot up the living quarters. Tobera was shot in the heart. The mob of white men tracked down the Filipinos who they knew
had been dancing with white women in a Watsonville dance hall. They took out their revenge on Tobera.
It remains the single most famous example of what I call “Filipinophobia” in America.
On the video go to 15 minutes in to hear a discussion of Tobera.
See all my columns here.
On the race beat, we were all wearying of Rachel Dolezal’s tale knowing there was something more important to talk about.
But Dylann Roof’s old fashioned racism with the fresh-faced millennial look wouldn’t have been my first choice among replacement subjects.
Roof’s massacre was deplorable. And his tirade against blacks, sounded like the things said about Filipino immigrants like my Dad in one of the most racist periods in California in the 20s and 30s.
It made for an unlikely Father’s Day gift I wasn’t expecting.
Click here to read my column on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.
Emil Guillermo's amok commentary on race, politics, diversity…and everything else. It's Emil Amok's Takeout!
