We are rooted in history.
When Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon wrote “Little Manila Is In the Heart,” she revived the history of a community in Stockton, California, that was the largest population of Filipinos in the world, outside of the Philippines, from the 1920s to the 1960s. A community that faced a culture of hate, racist public policy, and stifling poverty. They remained resilient until their homes and businesses were destroyed and their people displaced by the building of the Crosstown Freeway. Their stories join the stories of other marginalized communities and are the roots of ours.
We are rising in power.
We are immigrants and the descendants of immigrants who stand in the shadow of history. We understand the lasting trauma and sacrifices of the past, and rise in power to heal those wounds.