October is Filipino American History Month. For this month's Member Spotlight, we chose to interview Shaira Cruz – a longtime New Jersey grassroots activist who has recently made the switch to a full-time position at AAPI New Jersey. Since February, we've watched Shaira thrive in her role at AAPI-NJ; keep reading to find out what brought her to this moment.
Can you tell me a little bit more about yourself? What do you like to do? Where did you grow up?
I'm a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines. I moved here in 2004, and I came straight to New Jersey. It was a pretty white area, but fortunately, I was surrounded by a strong Filipino community at my church. I took up a lot of leadership roles there, and I’m still a Youth Director for the church. Being in a predominantly white neighborhood influenced a lot of my choices in the future – you could count the amount of people of Color on your hands. There were, like, 10 people of color. And out of those 10 people of color, there were maybe 3 Filipinos. So I gravitated toward that group.
In my senior year of high school, I tried to start an Amnesty International club, but the administration didn't want that because it was ‘too radical.’ So we made up a club, that was essentially still Amnesty International but called it “Multicultural Advocacy Club” or MAC, where we’d talk about advocacy and celebrate multicultural day. Right off the bat, I knew I didn't want to be in a space that did not welcome this type of diversity or that type of conversation, so I went to NJCU.
Aside from all the “gung-ho warrior stuff,” I was always drawn to art. I was part of a traditional dance troupe through the church. I also did contemporary, hip-hop, and choreography. In a distant life, I would have been in musical theater. I got a bunch of scholarships for it, but then I decided not to go because I felt that I started too late. The joke is that everyone else came out of their mother’s womb with their jazz hands. So I guess I felt the imposter syndrome.
What was your first experience in advocacy?
I started when I was in an honors program at NJCU, where I met organizers from Cosecha. Together, we started a DREAMers or Undocumented Immigrants club in NJCU in 2016, after Donald Trump was elected. We organized to get NJCU to be a sanctuary campus and create an Undocunites program, which educates students about undocumented immigrants and what it means to be a DACA recipient. All that was on top of being a student. That’s when I started doing more Filipino organizing, and I met Ruthie Arroyo who is with Migrante; at the time it was called the Filipino Immigrant Workers Organizing Project. But all that was more grassroots and volunteer-based, so I guess professionally, it wouldn’t be until I joined AAPI New Jersey that I was able to use the skills that I've learned over the years of doing grassroots organizing and get paid for it.
When did you start at AAPI New Jersey?
February of this year. Before AAPI-NJ, I was a teacher and was organizing Filipino women, focused on gender-based violence – all of our members were single parents. I was balancing that with teaching. It was only this year that I decided to be in AAPI-NJ. It was sort of an accident – I left teaching abruptly due to getting sick, and then I had to find a more convenient job that would allow me to take care of myself. Teaching was burning me out. I have a lot to say about how systemically, education spits out teachers. It's rough out there. So… check in with your teacher friends!
What were you teaching?
History. High school and middle school, so U.S. History. It was rough because it was, as you already know, very whitewashed, very, heteronormative, and very Eurocentric. I was definitely – I'm going to humble brag – a favorite teacher because I was kind of unorthodox. I would still follow the curriculum, but then I would ensure that there would be perspectives of people of Color, which was challenging.
I taught a senior elective that was often very popular, called Social, Political, and Cultural Movements of the 20th Century. One of my units was called ‘Student Power,’ where we’d talk about the Tinker v. Des Moines case, but then I had the students look at the school handbook and check for violations of their rights. I would preface it with, “Guys, don't tell anybody that we're doing this.” For the disability rights unit, we did a field trip around the school to see violations of ADA. That kind of thing.
Do you think that your time teaching has impacted your work as an activist?
I do. I think the biggest thing is the love for learning and sharing space with different types of people. I don't particularly like when people – especially younger organizers – say, “Oh, you're a veteran.” I'm like, no. I'm not. I'm still learning, like you. Every single moment is always new to me. I think that's something that I take a lot from teaching.
Sort of pivoting to the advocacy world, what has it been like starting at AAPI-NJ?
It's been a whirlwind, and NJAIJ’s Advocacy Academy helped so much. Not to plug!
Up until now, I have been on the grassroots side of organizing, which oftentimes lacks resources and connections. AAPI-NJ has allowed me to access these resources, these people, and this learning that I have been bringing back to my grassroots side. I have been learning a lot when it comes to things like what it means to pass legislation, to lobby, to talk to other nonprofits about collaborating or bilateral meetings, really just the nitty-gritty things. I feel immensely blessed that the large impact we've made isn't just because of us, but the community support. That’s why I feel happy, even though I have just left teaching and still have a lot of grief about that. This feels worth my time and energy.
Has there been any particular memory or exciting event at AAPI New Jersey that has made you feel like you're a part of the movement?
Organizing the Victoria Lee rapid response has been heartwarming. Her murder has been kind of close to home because I have a sister who has had a mental health crisis, and we called mental health professionals and the police came. I can't imagine what would have happened if it was the same situation as Victoria.
So the most memorable part has been the intimacy of building the rapid response with Victoria’s family. There was a moment at our most recent virtual healing circle with the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA). Among the attendees was Victoria Lee's best friend, and they felt vulnerable enough to share something they made: a video compilation of Victoria Lee. The background music of the video was Victoria Lee playing guitar. I felt amazed that a community member trusted us enough to show this to us, something they made in confidence. I felt proud. We eventually posted this video on our social media. Until then, we’d only been using this standard picture of Victoria Lee that doesn't feel quite three-dimensional and doesn’t capture her vibrance. But seeing the video that they made, I was like, wow. I could tell how loved Victoria was by her family and friends.
How has your experience been as part of NJAIJ? How has it been to see the community rally around immigrant rights in NJ?
I get goosebumps. When we did the press conference for the Immigrant Trust Act, and I saw the NJAIJ members list, I was like, wow, look at all these immigrant rights organizations. I feel really happy – that’s too simple of a word – I feel overjoyed and empowered having all of these people come together to champion immigrant rights. The taste that I got from Advocacy Academy sold me. The resources, knowledge, and love I felt from y’all made me grateful. I think it’s such a great resource that it makes me sad to think that other states might not have such a coalition.
Why do you feel it's important for organizations like AAPI New Jersey, focused on a specific group of immigrants, to be in coalition with other groups?
It helps build collective power. Not to plug Advocacy Academy again, but it’s about learning from others’ experiences. It's the United Front. We may not have the same principles and values, but when we agree on a thing to champion, we have more influence and more capacity to push for this thing that we want together. I also feel that it allows us to hear from other types of immigrants because the immigrant experience is very diverse.
It's Filipino American History Month this month. What does that mean to you?
This year's theme is History of Struggle, Resistance, Solidarity, and Resilience, of fighting back and leaning into the heritage that Filipinos have, which is to confront injustice and build power. What it means to me is to remember the Filipino Americans before me and those who are standing next to me, elevating and empowering voices that are often unheard.
More presently, it means pushing forward Justice for F15, 15 trafficking survivors who came back and revived their campaign because their trafficker was arrested and is trying to escape justice. It's awesome because they often say, “Oh, thank you so much for your time.” I'm like, “No. Thank you for fighting. They embody the Filipino American spirit of fighting and persevering despite all challenges and obstacles.
I just have one last question. You said you feel that you are ‘still learning’ when it comes to advocacy. But you do have, I think, a close to unique experience of being someone who's been doing grassroots and professional advocacy for a long time and has seen many different facets of advocacy. Is there any advice you would give to a younger person who wants to see change but doesn't know how to create it?
The first thing is to know who they're doing it for. Often, people feel burnt out and leave the movement, or they leave organizing and pursue a professional life. I think that's just an important question to answer. Like, who were you doing this for?
The second thing is to find your community. As you said, professional advocacy is just another facet of community organizing. If you can't find that community, it's important to build that community for yourself and find a support system.
And the third thing is to know that you are building towards something.
Activism is often, unfortunately, in confrontation with systemic enemies, and to fight them, it's important to understand why you’re doing it in the first place, to have that community support, and to know what you're building towards – whether it's a community center, a sanctuary city, or just a petition. Understanding that trajectory is so important.
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