Member of the National Board of Trustees, Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, a professor of history at San Francisco State University, has just published a history of the heart of Filipino America, Little Manila Is in the Heart: The Making of the Filipino American Community, with Duke University Press.
Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon spent more than 20 years conducting oral history and archival research in the San Joaquin Delta area for the book, which narrates a history of the community that spans almost a century, from the first Filipino settlers in Stockton in 1898 to the struggle to preserve the Little Manila Historic Site in downtown Stockton in the first decade of the 21st century. The book features more than 60 photos, and includes detailed maps of the Little Manila area. The book covers such themes and topics as Filipino settlement in downtown Stockton, racial violence and segregation, labor in the local agricultural fields and the role of Filipino Stocktonians such as Larry Itliong in the founding of the United Farm Workers, World War II, women, families, local organizations, and the destructive impact of urban redevelopment and the Crosstown Freeway on the Little Manila community.
In an early review, Dr. Catherine Ceniza Choy, professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, called the book a “triumph of Filipina/o American history.” Stockton was home to the largest Filipino community outside of the Philippines through the 20th century. Most importantly, Filipino Americans are still the largest Asian American group in San Joaquin County and in the state of California, and the second largest Asian American group, after Chinese Americans, in the United States.
The author, a third generation Stockton native, has a B.A. in history and an M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in American history from Stanford University. The signed book can be ordered from the Little Manila Foundation.
Link: www.littlemanila.org
Little Manila Foundation