The Explosion of Pil-Ams in the United States

Bakitwhy primarily serves the Pilipino-American demographic, a potentially enormous force in the United States. Pilipino-Americans make up the third largest Asian group in the United States.  We span multiple locations, generations, and backgrounds; however, that diversity also makes it difficult to connect Pil-Ams nationally.  We hope that BakitWhy can serve to bring together our disparate communities across the United States in order facilitate discussion, cooperation, and create action in the Pil-Am population.

The 2007 United States Census shows that over 4 million citizens of Pilipino descent reside in the country.  Pil-Ams account for more than 1.5% of the entire population of the United States, which is a significant amount when compared to the populations of the many other ethnicities represented in the country. In fact, the United States is the largest home for those of Pilipino descent of any country in the world--one-third of which are in Southern California.  Beyond Southern California, major Pilipino-American centers are located in Northern California, New Jersey/New York, Texas, and Hawaii, among many other states.

The numbers are staggering.  Pilipino-Americans are an important slice of the proverbial American pie, however there has been questionable media and political portrayal of the community.  The question to our readers is this: how do you think your community is portrayed in your area, and do you feel your community has a disconnect from the rest of the Pil-Ams in the United States?

One of the more positive stereotypes of Pilipinos is the inclusive sense of family. Let's extend our family across the nation to the 4 million others who are waiting to be connected.

US demographic census [Census.gov]