SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — In the South Bay, a new opportunity to dedicate a visual marker is renewing a push for more representation. Filipino American students and alumni at San Jose State University, along with community groups across the region, are leading an effort to memorialize the legacy of Filipino-American farmworkers.
There are other monumental moments in time already memorialized on campus. The Olympic Black Power Statue depicting Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ brave protest at the 1968 Olympics stands tall. The Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice, commemorating the United Farm Workers Movement is hard to miss.
However, according to many, the contributions of Filipino American farmworkers is missing from the arch.
“Right now, our part of history is left out,” Ariana Lacson said. “And I’m just grateful that our university recognizes that and is trying to make amends basically. And make sure that we’re represented as Filipino students.”
Lacson is the President and CEO of the university’s Associated Students. A senior, she’s also a proud Filipino American, Fil-Am for short.
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Lacson joins a coalition of students, alumni, community groups and more, reigniting the push for representation.
The collaborative effort will put a permanent mural across four panels, outside the main entrance of the SJSU Student Union. It’s a high-visibility spot that will soon amplify and preserve parts of the important and historic contributions of Filipino Americans.
“I think the possibilities are endless. We have the ability to uplift various parts of Filipino American history on each panel. Maybe we want to incorporate it into one cohesive design,” Alan Gouig said. “I think the dialogue and the discourse of the committee that’s stewarding this will still have that conversation. But we really want to make sure that whatever element- we want to expand more than just the Filipino contribution of the United Farmworkers movement – and see how we can really highlight all of those elements.”
Gouig with SJSU’s Filipino Alumni Network (FAN) said the new partnership and mural project with the university will be the focus of the September 7th Inaugural Alumni Legacy Gala. The goal is to complete the mural installation by October 2025. October marks Filipino American History Month.
Joining FAN on Saturday will be SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson, who will be announcing the beginning of this collaborative project to commemorate Filipino American history, including the contributions of Filipinos in the United Farmworkers movement.
“San José State’s history of social justice and recognition of the history of our community is one of the most important parts of our legacy as an institution,” Teniente-Matson said in a release. “Taking collaborative steps forward to create this mural, an artistic representation of the contributions of Filipinos in the United Farmworkers movement, is a vital addition to our campus. I have deep appreciation for all who have contributed to get us here.”
“There is an enormous responsibility- a tremendous responsibility to honor this legacy of not just community organizing, whether it’s the united farmworkers movement and folks like Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz, but also the legacy of collaboration and coalition building,” Asian American Studies Assistant Professor Dr. Wayne Jopanda said.
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He addressed the themes of Filipino Farmworkers, which are sure to be included in the installation. The empty panels present endless possibilities.
“In the current arch, there’s no mention of the Filipinos themselves,” Manong Robert Ragsac shared. “And I think that that is what I call an incomplete story of the United Farm Workers.”
This is a message, many behind this renewed push feel was missing from the Arch of Dignity. Manong Robert, the founder of Pinoytown San Jose and a former farmworker himself said it’s about time.
Manong is an Ilocano term, meaning, “older brother,” and with age comes important advice.
“Don’t wait,” he said. “If you wait, you lose the essence and the emotional tie of your parents and your grandparents, when they came here. Because we’re all immigrants. We’re all descendants of immigrants.”
“What I learned was, don’t wait,” Manong Robert added.
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More than just a mural, he said it’ll lift the often-forgotten Fil-Am farmworkers of the past and leave a lesson for future generations.
SJSU organizations serving on this committee include Filipino Alumni Network (FAN) SJSU, AkbayanSJSU, Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment (CAPISE), César E. Chávez Community Action Center, Associated Students, The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, The Asian American Studies Department, Students for Filipino Farmworkers.
Community organizations serving on this committee include Filipino American National Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley (FANHS-SCV), Filipino Youth Coalition (FYC), Filipinos Acting in Community Together (FACT SJ), Larry Itliong Way Project, Pinoytown SJ, Bayani ng Kabataan (BNK), the Filipino American Cultural and Social Justice School, Malaya South Bay, The City of San Jose’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs.
For more information on the mural project, visit SJSU’s Filipino American History Mural website.
For additional information on the gala, visit SJSU’s Filipino Alumni Network website.
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