Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP)

A TIME TO RISE 

A Snapshot of the Life and Times of the KDP: Introduction By Rene Ciria Cruz

It may not be readily apparent in the very personal stories in this collection that a dispassionate “revolutionary consciousness” made the KDP (Katipunan ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino or Union of Democratic Filipinos) a unique political phenomenon in the Filipino American community in the ‘70s and ‘80s. The secret to the organization’s viability was its constant, detached analysis of the conditions that defined its community, in order to change them through progressive political activity. Marxist theory shaped the KDP’s collective consciousness. It was the lifeblood that sustained it for nearly two decades, through times both inspiring and dispiriting. With this consciousness, the young KDP activists were able to move in concert nationwide, wage and actually win political battles for reform and establish an undeniable “left” presence in what was a conservative postwar Filipino American community.

Favorable Conditions   READ MORE