OAKLAND, California – A rare glimpse at turn-of-the-century graphics from the American press during the US annexation of the Philippines and the resulting Philippine-American War (1896-1902) is on display at the Asian Resource Gallery in Oakland Chinatown until Oct. 27.
A reception and talk will conclude “Imperial Dreams—Racist Images to Colonize the Philippines” on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Asian Resource Center Gallery, 317 Ninth Street, Oakland Chinatown.
Many of the images printed in national newspapers and magazines such as Puck, Judge and Life alternately satirized or supported the advent of US imperialism abroad. But they invariably employed offensive racist stereotypes of Asians, Africans, Latinos, Arabs and Pacific Islanders to prop up the notion of a “White Man’s Burden” to civilize the dark savages of the Third World.
Political cartooning dates back to the invention of printing, and its messaging primarily reflected the interests of US mainstream media and big business. The military campaigns for overseas conquest and US expansion came at the end of the Indian Wars and the post-Reconstruction era, so the blatant racist caricatures of Indians and Africans were used to portray Filipino peasants and soldiers. The drawings of Filipinos became “Africanized” to de-humanize them and justify the American military occupation.
This timely exhibition goes far in explaining the origins, source and functions of political cartooning and controversial imagery in the mass media. It also lends an understanding of the deep racial polarization and xenophobia that saturate the national elections and international news today.
The exhibition is co-sponsored by East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, Filipino Advocates for Justice, Filipino American National Historic Society and EastSide Arts Alliance. The historical material and text are on loan from the original collection of curator and librarian Abe Ignacio.
For more information, contact Greg Jung Morozumi eastsidearts@yahoo.com 510/ 533-6629