COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Filipinos have been an invisible minority in
Annapolis for more than a century. Now, researchers at the
University of Maryland are using oral histories as a way to
flesh out their life and times – documenting the incredible
challenges they faced – and successes they celebrated. After the
Spanish-American War, the Philippines became a U.S. territory.
Filipinos were brought to Annapolis – home of the Naval Academy
– to serve as desk interns, fire fighters, construction
laborers, messmen and stewards. In many cases, the Naval Academy
replaced African Americans with Filipinos leading to increased
racial tensions. For three years, University of Maryland
Archeologist Mark Leone’s Archaeology in Annapolis Summer Field
School has worked to uncover what has been described as a
surprisingly complex relationship between the ethnic communities
– that was at times marked by violence but also intermarriage
and social inter mixing. And while the archeological digs have
produced some amazing discoveries (