To celebrate Filipino American History Month 2024, The Filipino American Woman (TFAW) Project explores what intergenerational family therapy looks like through Filipino American poetry. Cohosts Jen Amos and Nani Dominguez Smith welcome past guest, Caitilin Damacion, back to the stage for a deep dive into her Master’s thesis project, For Those I’ve Saved Names For.
For Those I’ve Saved Names For is a traveling exhibit of Damacion’s late father’s poetry, who passed away in 2013. Kenneth Damacion was a farm worker from the Philippines who grew up in Fairfield, California during the Civil Rights Era. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Master’s degree in poetry, but experienced many barriers and roadblocks in getting his work published. Caitilin, his daughter, obtained her Master’s degree from San Francisco State University in 2023. She uses the body of work her father left to illustrate her own thesis project, which covers a broader narrative about the history of Asian American scholar activism.
On behalf of The Filipino American Woman Project, which seeks to amplify Filipina representation in mainstream media, Nani facilitates the launch event of Damacion’s traveling exhibit. The two are joined by Francis Wong, a professor in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, jazz musician, and father figure in Bay Area community organizing for an insightful discussion about migration, student activism, and resistance.
For Those I’ve Saved Names For (FTISNF) is a call to action for Filipino American Representation. Originally a Master’s Thesis for San Francisco State University’s Department of Humanities and Comparative World Literature, FTISNF is now a traveling multimedia exhibit that can be experienced in-person or online at: www.forthoseivesavednamesfor.com.
Shoutout to the late Uncle Kenneth Damacion for leaving us with a valuable legacy to learn from, and to Caitilin for her significant labor of love in packaging his story to share with us. Stay tuned for the drop next month on TFAWPROJECT.COM or wherever you get your podcasts.
