First U.S. school named after Filipino/American heroes

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Gym class at Alvarado Middlle School reflects the school's diversity.

WHEN LABOR LEADERS Larry Itliong and Phillip Vera Cruz instigated the 1965 Grape Strike in California, more than likely, they never envisioned that one day, a school would be named after them.

This Friday, Dec. 18, Union City's Alvarado Middle School will officially transition to its new name of Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School in honor of the history-making Filipino/American heroic figures.

The New Haven Unified School District in the eastern side of San Francisco Bay will have the distinction of being the first district in the country to recognize the efforts and contributions of Filipino/Americans by naming a school in their honor. This historic change highlights the work of the labor movement and the spirit of the United Farm Workers.

It is fitting in that the district’s other middle school is named in honor of Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez, Larry Itliong, and Phillip Vera Cruz, together, worked in collaboration to radically change this country’s labor policies when they formed the United Farm Workers and worked for improved working conditions for farmworkers.

The name change did happen without a struggle. Honoring the labor leaders was first proposed in 1992. The neighborhood surrounding the school is predominantly Filipino/American.

Members of the Latino community protested the name change since the school was named after Juan Bautista Alvarado was a 19th-century Mexican governor when California was part of Mexico.

Supporters of the Itliong-Vera Cruz name pointed out that there was already an elementary school, two streets, a neighborhood and a park named after Alvarado.
Among the speakers on behalf of the name change was Erica Viray-Santos, a San Leandro teacher and former New Haven teacher: “We are not just trying to rename a facility, we are trying to instill a strong sense of self … This is not just Filipino history, it’s American history.”

“This renaming does not divide us but unites us," said a student from James Logan High, where the middle school's students go for 9th grade. "This is history in the making. We are part of this history. I say ‘we’ even though I am not Filipino. I am the people. I am Itliong, I am Vera Cruz.”

The school district finally agreed to the name change but said proponents had to pay the $60,000 cost even though when Chavez was similarly honored the school district footed the bill.

Local political representatives, led by Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle, along with donations from state Sen. Bob Wieckowski and Assemblymembers Bill Quirk and Rob Bonta came up with the funds to pay for the name change.

The dedication ceremony will be held in the school’s gymnasium at 31604 Alvarado Boulevard, starting at 1 p.m. The program will include performances from the school’s Ballet Folklórico dance group, band and choir, Alvarado Elementary School’s Anak Ng Bayan dance group. Members of the Itliong and Vera Cruz families are expected to speak as well as Assemblymember Bonta, a Filipino/American and who sponsored a bill last year declaring every Oct. 25 as Larry Itliong Day in California.

In anticipation of a large community turn out, off-site parking has been arranged in the lot of St. Anne’s Church located at 32223 Cabello St. According to a district press release, a shuttle will transport community members between the parking lot and the school site starting at 12:15 pm with the final shuttle to the ceremony leaving the lot at 1:05 p.m. Shuttles will also be transporting attendees back to the lot after the ceremony.

The ceremony will also be broadcast live, on-line at go.mynhusd.org/icvmsceremony

Visitors are invited to a small celebration after the ceremony in the school’s Multipurpose Room.

The district asks that community members not arrive on site in anticipation of the ceremony before 12:15 pm as school will still be in session.

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