You Can’t Evict People Who Know How to Build

Written By Socials One Down

You Can’t Evict a People Who Know How to Build

By One Down

Filipinos were the first Asians to settle in the U.S. So why do we keep getting pushed out?


In 1763, Filipino sailors fleeing the Spanish galleon trade built a small stilt village in the bayous of Louisiana. They called it St. Malo. It became the first recorded Asian American settlement in what would become the United States. Nearly 300 years later, Filipino Americans remain one of the largest Asian populations in the US, but across the country, they’re still being priced out, pushed aside, or erased.


In San Francisco, families fight off evictions. In Los Angeles, cultural memory clings to strip malls and street names. And now, from SoMa Pilipinas to Las Vegas’ newly designated Filipino Town, a new wave of resistance is rising—this time, through the fight for space.

SOMCAN and the Struggle to Stay in SoMa
In San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood, the battle over housing isn’t new—but it is urgent.

In 2000, as the Dot Com Boom transformed SoMa into a playground for tech startups, Filipino families began receiving eviction notices. SOMCAN (South of Market Community Action Network) was formed that same year by local organizers—from youth groups to senior advocates—to protect long-time residents and demand city accountability.


“SOMA was one of the last affordable places in the city. Suddenly, that changed overnight,” said one SOMCAN organizer. “And it wasn’t just housing—it was our culture, our people, our roots that were under threat.”


SOMCAN continues to lead efforts in tenant rights, language access, community planning, and youth leadership—centering Filipino residents and their right to remain.

Displacement Isn’t New—But the Strategies Are
A 92-year-old Filipino elder in SoMa was among those fighting eviction under the Ellis Act, a law used to remove long-term tenants in favor of market-rate turnover. For many, this is not just about losing a home—it’s about losing the network of neighbors, services, and community that make up daily life.


But Filipino communities have long found ways to stay rooted.

  • In the 1970s, aging Filipino farmworkers in Delano built Agbayani Village, a retirement home funded and constructed by the community itself .

  • In Washington State, workers built Wapato Filipino Hall during the Great Depression—a safe space that served as home, kitchen, dance hall, and organizing hub. It was officially recognized in 2023 as a historic landmark .

  • In San Francisco, the Dulalas family successfully resisted four separate Ellis Act evictions, setting a precedent for housing justice and community resilience.


These are not isolated stories. They are proof of what happens when Filipino communities decide: we’re not leaving.

What “Filipino Town” Really Means
Across the U.S., Filipino Americans are reclaiming space—not just through protests or petitions, but through formal cultural districts that anchor visibility and permanence.

  • SOMA Pilipinas (est. 2016) protects Filipino legacy in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood through arts, housing advocacy, and cultural preservation.

  • Historic Filipinotown (HiFi) in Los Angeles, officially designated in 2002, is a community hub for Filipino-owned businesses, murals, festivals, and activism.

  • And most recently, in April 2025, Clark County approved the creation of a Filipino Town cultural district in Las Vegas—spanning a 1.2-mile corridor along Maryland Parkway .


Anchored by Seafood City and dozens of Filipino-owned businesses, Las Vegas’ Filipino Town marks a historic recognition of the more than 250,000 Filipinos who have shaped Southern Nevada’s economy and culture—from hospitality to health care.


“The Filipinos make a complete and wonderful contribution to this state,” said community leader Rozita Lee during the Clark County Commission vote. “We will continue to work together to make this Filipino Town thrive.”

Place as Resistance
Cultural districts like these are more than symbolic. They offer:

  • Intergenerational safety: spaces where elders, youth, and families can gather

  • Civic leverage: visibility in local decision-making and urban planning

  • Cultural preservation: protection against displacement through formal recognition

  • Community control: the ability to define what gets built, who it serves, and why it matters


In short, Filipino towns fight gentrification not just by holding ground, but by naming it.

We’re Not Guests. We Helped Build This.
When Filipino neighborhoods vanish, we don’t just lose rent-controlled apartments. We lose karinderyas, lola’s advice, church choirs, shared childcare, and the soft power of a Tagalog-speaking neighbor.


But thanks to organizers, community elders, and cultural workers, Filipino America is refusing to vanish quietly.


We are claiming visibility. Demanding recognition. And insisting on futures where our presence is not a question, but a given.

📣 Take Action
Help protect Filipino communities in SoMa and beyond.
🔗 Learn more, donate, or get involved at www.somcan.org

🧾 Sources & References

Socials One Down
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