Dr. Kevin Nadal will speak about his latest book, Filipinos in New York City. With the generous assistance of local Filipino American community members and organizations, particularly the Metropolitan New York chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), Dr. Nadal has collected over 200 images that capture a century of Filipino American presence in New York City and its surrounding areas.
After the Spanish-American War in 1898, many Filipinos immigrated to New York City, mostly as students, enrolling at local institutions like Columbia University and New York University. Some arrived via Ellis Island as early as 1915, while Filipino military servicemen and Navy seafarers settled in New York after both World Wars I and II. After the Asian Immigration Act of 1965, many Filipinos came as professionals (e.g., nurses, physicians, and engineers) and formed settlements in various ethnic enclaves throughout the five boroughs of New York. Over the years, Filipinos have contributed significantly to New York arts and culture through Broadway theater, fashion, music, film, comedy, hip-hop, poetry, and dance. Filipino New Yorkers have also been successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, community leaders, and politicians, and some, sadly, were victims of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.
Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Graduate Center at the City University of New York. He received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Columbia University in New York City and is one of the leading researchers in understanding the impacts of microaggressions, or subtle forms of discrimination, on the mental and physical health of people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people; and other marginalized groups.
He has published over 100 works on multicultural issues in the fields of psychology and education. A California-bred New Yorker, he was named one of People Magazine's hottest bachelors in 2006 and one of NBC's Pride 30 in 2018.
He is the author of 14 books including Filipino American Psychology ( 2011, Wiley); That's So Gay: Microaggressions and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community (2013,
APA); Microaggressions and Traumatic Stress (2018, APA); and Queering Law and Order (2020, Lexington).
He has delivered hundreds of lectures across the United States, including the White House and the U.S. Capitol. He has won numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association 2017 Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest; the 2019 Richard Tewksbury Award from the Western Society of Criminology, and the Thought Leadership Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
