California exhibit honors labor leader Larry Itliong
SACRAMENTO — It is Filipino American Heritage Month and on Wednesday, Californians honored the work and accomplishments of labor leader Larry Itliong.
A proclamation was made official by the governor just two years ago. Itliong's work resulted in the changes we now see today in the fields of the Central Valley and beyond.
A new exhibit honoring Itliong was recently unveiled at the Filipino American National Historical Society Museum (FANHS) in Stockton.
While most people recognize Cesar Chavez as the face of the farm workers' movement.
Historians and museum officials say Itliong was instrumental in bringing together Filipino and Mexican farmworkers at a time when farm owners pitted both groups against each other.
"He was one of the biggest social justice icons for field workers and one of the biggest things that he was able to do is unify," said Irwin Mina, the FANHS board president.
Through his work and social justice, he became an inspiration to the Filipino community.
"He was someone that basically allowed us, Filipino Americans, the idea that maybe we, we're the same," Mina said.
Before coming together as one united front labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, recalls the time she turned to him for help.
"Larry is a man of a few words," Huerta said. "He listened to what I had to say, and he said, 'OK, I'll help you. ' "
His efforts resulted in the successful 1965 Delano grape boycott and strike that gained national and international support.
The five-year strike ended with farmworkers receiving fair wages, benefits and protections.
Itliong's leadership would be pivotal in helping form the United Farm Workers and solidify his name in history.
Itliong was part of the first major wave of Filipino immigrants arriving in the United States in the early 1900s.
Even though he had a sixth-grade education, he served as a U.S. Army sergeant in World War II and later in life was committed to defending the rights of the poor.
