Larry Itliong: The Filipino who Challenged and Changed the American System

WRITTEN BY: FRANCESA JANA SANTIAGO

October is popularly known as the Halloween season but it holds an even more significant meaning for Filipinos.

Did you know that according to a 2018 study by Pew Research Center, Filipinos are among the top 5 largest immigrant groups in America? Which means you’re sure to find a kapwang Pinoy in almost every state— including Hawaii, Nevada and of course, the home of Historic Filipinotown: California! And for being a huge portion of the American population, it’s simply right for us to have an event dedicated to our community. It was in 1991 when the Filipino American National Historical Society (FAHNS) chose October as the month to commemorate Filipino American History. Reasons being that it was when the First Filipinos landed in Morro Bay as well as the birth month of labor leader Larry Itliong.

Larry Itliong giving a speech.

At only 15, Larry immigrated to the United States in 1929. Back then he was just any other teenage expat, but who would have known that for the next years of his life he would become a prominent icon to not just the Filipino community but the entire American labor movement. Poverty is what made Larry choose farming over his dreams of becoming an attorney. Still, his desire to bring justice to the poor never faded and soon he was a reputable labor leader and organizer throughout the West Coast. He was able to recruit people to join the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) and in September 1965, he convinced 2,000 Filipino farmworkers to march away from the California vineyards, now known as the Delano Grape Strike.

The Delano Grape Strike

America back then was less advanced than it is today. Racism and prejudice was so normalized, it led the St. Louis World’s Fair to put on a “human zoo” containing the Igorot tribe. But even though he belonged in a complicated era, Larry was afraid of nothing when it comes to promoting progress. By demanding for quality pay and just working conditions, Larry Itliong made himself a key figure in America’s history of labor unions and labor activism during the 20th century. And in October 2021, he was finally inducted into the California Hall of Fame. Despite being majorly excluded from the American education system or even American political discussions, Filipino American history should never be erased. Stories like Larry’s are the very foundation of what October’s purpose is for the Filipino immigrants in the United States: to remember and to remind.