JOANNA TOLOSA KIRBY
PROFILES
JOANNA TOLOSA KIRBY
she/her
IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY AND FOUNDER
TAGALOG WITH KIRBY
FAMILY ORIGIN
ANGELES CITY, PAMPANGA
EDUCATION
JURIS DOCTOR
DILLARD UNIVERSITY, BROOKLYN LAW SCHOOL
The Filipino community in New Orleans continues to surprise and inspire me. I’m always so happy to discover young Filipinos who are organizing, creating their own communities, and finding ways to connect simply because they are proud to be Filipino. There is something really special about seeing younger generations intentionally seek each other out and create spaces to celebrate our culture. They aren’t necessarily waiting for an established organization or an older generation to bring them together. They are finding one another and building community themselves.
Food is probably the easiest and most consistent way I identify with Filipino culture in my everyday life. It’s something tangible that keeps me connected to home, family, and the traditions I grew up with.
My mother is also my cultural anchor. Outside of her, I don’t have a lot of tangible Filipino connectedness in New Orleans, so much of that everyday connection to our food, language, traditions, and culture comes through her.
Teaching Tagalog is another huge part of how I connect with Filipino culture every day. I’m constantly engaging with the language, talking about our culture, and helping other people reconnect with that part of themselves. In many ways, teaching has also created a Filipino community around me that I might not otherwise have had.
It also helps that organizations like Bayou Barkada and PAWAL are active in New Orleans. They give me opportunities to connect with other Filipinos and experience those cultural touch points locally.