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Bruce Occena is a Filipino American activist and scholar involved with the Asian American movement in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1][2] He played a major part in the International Hotel as a resident, a student who renovated the hotel, and a member of the hotel's United Filipino Association (UFA).[3][4] His activism was largely built upon a Marxist–Leninist framework, addressing issues such as Anti-Marcos sentiment and those raised by the Third World Liberation Front.[2][5][6] He is a co-founder of the Union of Democratic Filipinos, also known as Kapatirang ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP).

Early life and education

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Occena grew up in New York City.[7] His father originally emigrated from the Philippines in pursuit of education in the United States, but ended up staying and marrying a white woman.[3] Both of his parents worked various factory jobs as well as in canneries.[6][8] The three of them lived in tenement housing together throughout Occena's childhood.[6][8]

Occena was first introduced to higher education after transferring to a Catholic school in New York, and was later accepted to several colleges on the east coast as well as the University of Hawaii.[6][8] However, he later ended up attending the University of California, Berkeley, where he and many of his fellow Filipino students owed their access in part to the "Equal Opportunity Program or went to college through special admissions as disadvantaged students".[3] From his time at the University of California, Berkeley, Occena began to become deeply interested in Marxism and Communism. [8][9]

Activism

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Occena was a student at University of California, Berkeley, where he was involved in the 1968 Third World Liberation Front strikes, commonly understood as essential to the establishment of Ethnic Studies in higher education.[4] He was a major member of the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) and was one of its few Filipino members alongside Emil de Guzman, Trinity Ordona, and Lillian Fabros.[9] He later was an educator at Berkeley, teaching a Philippine studies class.[10] AAPA's work centered on national and international solidarity against imperialism, basing their political views on Maoism.[11][12] The students of AAPA worked to emphasize the importance of collective unity and understanding their community's needs, which in turn allowed their political power to grow substantially.[12]

He was part of the KDP's National Executive board.[13]

Following the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) strikes for ethnic studies at San Francisco State College in 1968, young student activists at the University of California, Berkeley, were moved to support the cause.[14] The core issue that solidified the Asian American Movement was diverse access to universities, particularly, the University of California. The question of representation in the curriculum, especially for Asians, and if the institution was responsive to this issue sparked student activists, such as Occena, to meet with chancellors, and organize walk outs and issues forums on campus. The TWLF was a vehicle for AAPA's activism, as it heavily influenced a strong sense of solidarity for other communities of color and identification with Third World struggles in the resistance against institutionalized racism.[14]

Occena is notable as a founding member of the Katipunan ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP), and his participation in the Alaska Cannery Workers Association (ACWA). Additionally, he was part of the original team for the International Hotel struggle, a member of the Line of March (LOM), and was one of the first Americans who participated in the Venceremos Brigade to Cuba, where he began to develop Marxist-Leninist politics.[15][14][3] Occena's influence continues to shape the present state of Asian American and multinational activist organizing.

The International Hotel Struggle

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The International Hotel (I-Hotel) in San Francisco, California, was a residential building in Manilatown, housing primarily low-income Filipino and Chinese residents.[16] Plans to demolish the building were set in June 1968, however, the tenants did not receive an eviction notice until October of that year.[16] Its elderly residents, especially, had very few options, leaving many of them at risk of homelessness, along with losing their place in a vital community.

Occena was one of the AAPA Berkeley students who moved into the I-Hotel and worked to renovate the hotel while resisting the eviction of its tenants. In its early days of renovation, he worked at the I-Hotel as a student supporter, then helped found KDP and led all aspects of its work from its National Executive Board.[3] He acted in the United Filipino Association (UFA), which advocated for welfare, housing, and medical care for the elderly living in the I-Hotel.[3] He joined the association's board after an inexplicable fire cost lives, pushing the UFA to invite students into leadership positions.

Radicalization

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Occena's radical ideals were based in the relations between the United States and the Philippines, as well as the communities that his parents grew up in. His political standing originated in student activism, became transnational, then locally focused, holding the influence of Filipino liberation close to the core of his work.[17] Occena studied Marxism and joined the Venceremos Brigade.[8][9] In 1969 he traveled to Cuba among of the first groups of Americans to break the blockade of travel and goods from the United States. His name was listed as one of the potential people Congress wanted to keep on file in case there was any conflict with Cuba.[8][9] His participation in breaking the blockade contributed to Occena becoming interested in Marxism and Communism. At the University of California, Berkeley, Occena joined a study circle outside of an academic setting led by a Korean intellectual where he and other Marxists read works by Marx and Lenin in-depth.[8][9] In addition, Occena also had connections with the Black Panthers on campus, who would sell newspapers and essays to those interested in both the Black Panther Party as a whole but also Marxism-Leninism.[8][9] Being involved in both the Venceremos Brigade and Marxism helped lead to his radicalization that would later set the foundation for the Third World Liberation Front and the KDP.[8][9]

Founding the KDP

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The Katipunan ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP) had a significant international influence, as they were able to connect with the Philippines, especially during the 1972 declaration of martial law under Ferdinand Marcos.[6] The KDP was modeled after Kabataang Makabayan (Nationalist Youth) in the Philippines, supporting the political[18] work Occena referred to as the "dual line program", which simultaneously called for the struggle against racism and socialism in the US, as well as against imperialism in the Philippines.[19] The KDP had chapters across the country and were the main opposition to Marcos' dictatorship. Thus, to Occena and his chapter members' discovery, high-level operatives of the Marcos government made connections with the president of the union due to their concerns about the KDP's radical political views and worldly influence.[11]

Occena's involvement in the KDP and the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) drastically shaped and radicalized the way he and his chapter members saw themselves as equal members of Third World empowerment.

Cannery Union activism

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Occena played a key role in shaping the activities and strategy of the Alaska Cannery Workers Association (ACWA) in the 1970s. The ACWA was established to address racial discrimination and labor exploitation in the Alaskan salmon canning industry, particularly as it affected Filipino and other Asian American workers. During his involvement, Occena contributed to both legal actions against discriminatory employers and political engagement with labor unions.[citation needed]

One of Occena's main areas of focus within the ACWA was supporting the organization's legal efforts, which included class action lawsuits against major seafood processing companies, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuits targeted discriminatory practices in hiring, promotions, and housing. Filipino workers were frequently assigned the lowest-paid and most physically demanding jobs and were often housed separately from white workers in inferior conditions. These cases aimed to eliminate racial segregation in employment and worker housing within the canneries.[20][21]

As the lawsuits progressed, Occena supported a shift in the ACWA's strategy from relying solely on legal remedies to incorporating union reform. He advocated for direct engagement with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 37, which represented many of the cannery workers. At the time, leadership within Local 37 had been criticized for a lack of responsiveness to the needs of rank-and-file members, particularly younger and more progressive workers. Occena was involved in organizing efforts to elect new leadership within the local and to increase worker participation in union governance.[20]

Occena worked with other ACWA members to develop internal educational initiatives that encouraged political involvement and leadership among Filipino-American cannery workers. These efforts included holding meetings, workshops, and election campaigns that helped challenge existing power structures within the union. Through these activities, ACWA members sought to make Local 37 more democratic and responsive to issues such as racial equity, transparency, and fair labor practices.[20]

Sexuality in KDP

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Despite the KDP's support for the Gay Liberation Movement, many of its organizations were dominated by white men at the time, which further isolated and deterred Filipino activists from joining them due to their differing cultural and political priorities.[15] Queer feminist scholar Karen Hanna emphasizes the importance of KDP's proud stature and reputation in the Asian American Movement, which she describes led to the pressing, selfless determination for leaders to prioritize centering their work on collective human rights struggles. As a result of these tireless efforts, discussions regarding personal identity, including relationships and sexuality, were often seen and remained as private matters or secondary to KDP's collective work.[22] For members like Occena, who later considered himself bisexual, this environment in KDP created a tenuous but significant pressure to avoid discussing sexual identity as a means to center the movement on broader human rights issues. This led to subtle hesitation around coming out during his time in the organization.[11]

After the KDP

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Occena was part of the Ang Kalayaan Collective, the precursor to the Katipunan ng mga Demokratokong Pilipino (KDP) that was officially formed in July 1973. In Kalayaan, he worked with Cynthia Maglaya.[2]

Max Elbaum, the leader of the Northern California Alliance close collaborator of Occena, recalls how he worked with KDP leaders Occena and Melinda Paras as well as the leader of the Third World Women's Alliance (TWWA), Linda Burnham, to found the Rectification Network.[23] The Recertification Network was the precursor to Line of March and a longer line of groups and publications associated with Marxist-Leninist movement, The Trend. He was a co-editor of Line of March: A Marxist-Leninist Journal of Rectification with Irwin Silber, and on the publication's editorial board along with Silber, Elbaum, Dale Borgeson, Linda Burnham, Melinda Paras, and Bob Wing.[5]

Occena was the chair of the Line of March's executive committee until the publication disbanded officially in the Fall of 1989.[6]

Governmental pushback

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On March 16, 1970, the Senate Congressional Record listed a report presenting the Passenger Manifest for the Venceremos Brigade in Cuba as a list of threats to potentially "return to the United States to implement the Communist purpose of causing chaos, confusion, and outright revolution in our institutions of higher learning, in the streets of our cities, and all across our Nation".[17] Because of his involvement in the Venceremos Brigade, Occena's name was on the list, thus marking him as a potential enemy of the state.[8]

The coincidence of Marcos agents' assassination of close activists to Occena, Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, and the increased vigilance by the United States Government due to the 1981 drafted–but not ratified–Extradition Treaty with the Philippines increased FBI and CIA surveillance to blacklist prominent anti-Marcos activists and members of Filipino communities such as Occena.[24]

Later career

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Occena is one of the Directors of the Tele-health and Interpreter Services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. His responsibilities lie in telemedicine and interpretive services for the city and county of San Francisco.[25] In 2018, he co-authored a study on the role of certified medical interpreters in relationship-centered care, highlighting the importance of language assistance to patients.[25] This emphasis strengthens connections across teams caring for diverse populations, thus further expanding people's access to medical care.

In 2018, Occena was interviewed for the UC Berkeley AAPA Oral History Project.[26][8]

Occena was a co-editor of A Time to Rise: Collective Memoirs of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP).[27] The book consists of a collection of documents and personal accounts that delve into the workings of the KDP during the politically turbulent 1970s and 1980s. It scopes into the revolutionary history of Filipinos in America, as well as the collective struggles for justice and democracy in the Philippines.[28] Occena's co-editors, Rene Ciria Cruz and Cindy Domingo, also played key roles in the creation of this revolutionary account.[27] Cruz was a founding member of KDP and was its East Coast Regional Coordinator throughout the 1970s, later becoming editor-in-chief in the early 1980s. Domingo joined the Seattle KDP chapter in the mid 1970s, and was eventually assigned to work in Oakland as the KDP National Secretariat.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Bonus, Rick; Tiongson, Antonio; Aguilar-San Juan, Karin; Allen, Angelica; Apostol, Gina; Balce, Nerissa; Barrios-LeBlanc, Joi; Bascara, Victor; Blanco, Jody (2022). "Filipinx American Critique: An Introduction". Filipinx American Studies: Reckoning, Reclamation, Transformation. New York: Fordham University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-8232-9960-7.
  2. ^ a b c Rodis, Rodel (2017-09-20). "Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge to start US-based opposition to Marcos". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Habal, Estella (2007). San Francisco's International Hotel: mobilizing the Filipino American community in the anti-eviction movement. Asian American history and culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-445-8.
  4. ^ a b Walsh Taylor, Kieran. Turn to the Working Class: The New Left, Black Liberation, and the U.S. Labor Movement (1976-1981). 2007
  5. ^ a b "Fall 1985". Line of March: A Marxist-Leninist Journal of Rectification. Vol. 18. Fall 1985.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Elbaum, Max (2002). Revolution in the air: sixties radicals turn to Lenin, Mao and Che. The Haymarket series. London: Verso. ISBN 978-1-85984-617-9.
  7. ^ Aoki, Andrew L. (June 2010). "The Transnational Politics of Asian Americans. Edited by Christian Collet and Pei-te Lien. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2009. 252p. $29.95". Perspectives on Politics. 8 (2): 630–632. doi:10.1017/S1537592710000538. ISSN 1537-5927.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Interview with Bruce Occena, 2018, UC Berkeley Asian American Political Alliance Oral History Project. 2018. Retrieved 2025-05-15 – via Calisphere.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Fujino, Diane (2024-04-01). "Political Asian America". Ethnic Studies Review. 47 (1): 60–97. doi:10.1525/esr.2024.47.1.60. ISSN 2576-2915.
  10. ^ Vinluan, Ermena (2017). "A Cultural Gypsy". In Ciria Cruz, Rene; Domingo, Cindy; Occena, Bruce (eds.). A time to rise: collective memoirs of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP) (1st ed.). Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780295742021.
  11. ^ a b c Fujino, Diane C. (2024-09-20). "Rhizomatic Organizing, Collective Leadership, and Community-Centered Pedagogy in the Early Asian American Movement". Journal of American Studies: 1–34. doi:10.1017/s0021875824000252. ISSN 0021-8758.
  12. ^ a b "Diasporic Struggle: Transnational Activism, Migration, and Anti-Imperialism in Filipino America, 1964-1991 - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. ProQuest 2275993312. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  13. ^ Yonn, Walter (2017). "Transfer to Paradise...Not!". A Time to Rise: Collective Memoirs of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP). University of Washington Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-295-74201-4. JSTOR j.ctvcwnsq6.
  14. ^ a b c "Third World Liberation Comes to San Francisco - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. ProQuest 207440100. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  15. ^ a b Hanna, Karen Buenavista (2023-09-20), "Delia Aguilar", She Who Struggles, Pluto Press, pp. 175–191, doi:10.2307/jj.6773405.17, ISBN 978-0-7453-4825-4, retrieved 2025-05-15
  16. ^ a b "Review: San Francisco's International Hotel: Mobilizing the Filipino American Community in the Anti-Eviction Movement, by Estella Habal". Pacific Historical Review. 78 (1): 130–131. 2009-02-01. doi:10.1525/phr.2009.78.1.130. ISSN 0030-8684.
  17. ^ a b "Congressional Record", Congress A to Z, 2300 N Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington DC 20037 United States: CQ Press, 2014, doi:10.4135/9781452287508.n92, ISBN 978-1-4522-8752-2, retrieved 2025-06-03{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  18. ^ Carlsson, Chris; Elliott, Lisa Ruth; City Lights Books, eds. (2011). Ten years that shook the city: San Francisco 1968 - 1978 ; a reclaiming San Francisco book. San Francisco: City Lights Books. ISBN 978-1-931404-12-9.
  19. ^ Valdez, Inés (January 2023). "US Law and Filipino Resistance to Racial Capitalism: Review of Michael W. McCann with George I. Lovell Union by Law". Theory & Event. 26 (1): 221–225. doi:10.1353/tae.2023.0012. ISSN 1092-311X.
  20. ^ a b c Bonus, Rick (2020). The Ocean in the School. Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/9781478007425. ISBN 978-1-4780-0742-5.
  21. ^ Suber, Peter (2004-03-13). "More on the California eScholarship Repository OA journals". doi.org. doi:10.63485/q83en-96b62. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  22. ^ Ordona, Trinity A. (2022-12-31), "19 Asian1 Lesbians in San Francisco Struggles to Create a Safe Space, 1970s–1980s", Asian/Pacific Islander American Women, New York University Press, pp. 317–334, doi:10.18574/nyu/9780814790977.003.0024, ISBN 978-0-8147-9097-7, retrieved 2025-06-03
  23. ^ Bush, Rod (2004). "When the Revolution Came". Radical History Review. 2004 (90): 102–111. doi:10.1215/01636545-2004-90-102. ISSN 1534-1453.
  24. ^ "Part 2: The Treaty of Versailles". Treaty of Versailles: 49–208. 2018. doi:10.5040/9798216027485.ch-003. ISBN 979-8-216-02748-5.
  25. ^ a b Ratanawongsa, Neda; Cardenas, Angelica; Occena, Bruce; Critchfield, Jeff; Mercer, Mary; Myers, Kara (2018-10-24). "Certified Medical Interpreters' Perspectives on Relationship-Centered Communication in Safety-Net Care". MedEdPublish. 7: 169. doi:10.15694/mep.2018.0000169.2. ISSN 2312-7996. PMC 10701798. PMID 38074532.
  26. ^ Fujino, Diane C. (2024-09-20). "Rhizomatic Organizing, Collective Leadership, and Community-Centered Pedagogy in the Early Asian American Movement". Journal of American Studies: 1–34. doi:10.1017/S0021875824000252. ISSN 0021-8758.
  27. ^ a b c Ciria Cruz, Rene; Domingo, Cindy; Occena, Bruce; Espiritu, Augusto F., eds. (2017-10-02), "A Time to Rise: Collective Memoirs of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP)", A Time to Rise, University of Washington Press, doi:10.1515/9780295742038, ISBN 978-0-295-74203-8, retrieved 2025-05-27
  28. ^ Tigno, Jorge V. (2018-09-02). "A time to rise: collective memoirs of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP)". Philippine Political Science Journal. 39 (3): 186–188. doi:10.1080/01154451.2018.1555570. ISSN 0115-4451.
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