Jacqueline R. Agtuca, Esq., is organizing four groups of Filipina American activist women to meet in four cities this year. They will use her novel, The Spirits of the Mango Grove, "as a starting point for the conversation," she explains. "It reflects my experience as a second generation Filipina. Part of Filipina Americans' being rendered invisible is based on minimal literature written about the Filipino American experience, so a lot of the civil rights cases are unheard of...There was an alienation in my father's generation. My parents weren't allowed to buy the first house they wanted to live in because he was Filipino. Many of my people still don't think, 'This is my country, my White House, my Congress.'"

One of Jacqueline's goals is to encourage the participants, many of whom are writers, to write more. She hopes her groups do for these women what the Leadership Program did for her. She explains, "There is a common experience we have as women leaders. We are challenged by the living conditions of our people; we feel compelled to act. We often feel so alone in the work that we do. The program gave me the time to reflect on the direction of my life, and what contribution I want to make. It was incredibly inspirational to share with my sisters."

Jacqueline's first group will meet in Washington, D.C. in May, to be followed by groups in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. She is a senior associate at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Assistant Attorney General, Violence Against Women Grants Office.

"There was an alienation in my father's generation. My parents weren't allowed to buy the first house they wanted to live in because he was Filipino. Many of my people still don't think, 'This is my country, my White House, my Congress.'"
-Jacqueline R. Agtuca, Esq.