New Exhibit at California Museum Honors Filipino-American Community, Stories

“California is in the Heart” features material from library’s Archives and Special Collections

Explore the critical role Filipino Americans have played in our state’s history at the California Museum’s new exhibit, California is in the Heart. 

The exhibit, which includes historical photographs from the library’s Archives and Special Collections, will run October 29, 2022 through April 9, 2023. The exhibit is presented in partnership with the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies at UC Davis, with support from the Filipino American National Historical Society Museum and the UC Davis Library.

California is in the Heart highlights the influence of Filipino Americans in the Golden State from their first landing at Morro Bay in 1587, through the labor and civil rights movements of the 1960s, to current leadership in local and statewide office.

Exhibit highlights include:

• archival photographs from the library’s Archives and Special Collections representing historic California Filipinotowns
• the unique perspectives and contributions of Filipino American artists to the state
• celebration of the lifesaving work of Filipino nurses during the pandemic
• women’s role in the Fil-Am community
• efforts to combat AAPI hate

This exhibit was curated primarily by Bulosan Center staff, including Jason Sarmiento, who also serves as an archivist at the UC Davis Library, Stacey Salinas, Manny DeLeon, Edgar Wong-Chen, Jennifer Nguyen Bernal, Dr. Jason Perez, and Dr. Robyn Rodriguez. The exhibit was made possible through the generous support of the California Museum, California Nurses Association, UC Davis Library, and Filipino American Educators Association of California.

Exhibit Preview

Rising Above the Hate
In 1930, racial tensions between white farmworkers and migrant Filipino laborers exploded, seeing race riots in Filipino Towns across California. In Stockton, California, the headquarters of the Filipino Federation of America was bombed.  Shortly after the bombing, the federation refused to move and rebuilt the headquarters. 

Steffi San Buenaventura Collection, UC Davis Library Archives and Special Collections

Filipinotowns: Delano
Delano continues to be a hallmark town of Fil-Am farm labor history in California. The Manang and Manong (terms meaning “Older Brother” and “Older Sister”) Generation of Delano organized against racially discriminatory wages and working conditions throughout the 1960s-1970s. 

United Farm Worker strikers outside of Filipino Community Hall, 1967
Hub Segur Collection, UC Davis Library Archives and Special Collections

The Manang and Manong Generation
Manang/Manong are terms of endearment drawing from the Ilokano dialect, translating to “older sister/older brother” or “revered female elder/male elder.” The Manang and Manong Generation (1903-1934) were the Filipino Americans known as the “first generation” to immigrate to the United States in significant numbers. 

“Speedy Dado” Diosdado Posadas, 1933
Philippines Star Express, Courtesy of UC Davis Library, Archives and Special Collections