#FAHM2022: FilAm history society celebrates triple anniversaries

FANHS

Dorothy Cordova and her late husband Fred Cordova founded the Filipino American
National History Society 40 years ago.

Three events that have lasting legacies for Filipino Americans are being celebrated this October as suggested by the Filipino American National History Society, the organization that launched Filipino American History Month.

Every year FANHS selects a theme to help tits chapters and any other organization who want to stage a celebration this month. 2022 marks the anniversaries of:

• 50 Years of Filipino American Studies;
• 40 Years since the founding of the Filipino American National Historical Society;
• 30 Years of observing Filipino American History Month.

First, 50 years ago, the first Filipino American Studies (FAS) classes were taught at UCLA and UC Davis. With classes previously established at San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco, 1972 was the year in which FAS began to be taught across multiple institutions and states. Over the past 50 years, college-level FAS classes became instituted at colleges and universities all over the country – from Oregon to Michigan to Virginia. More recently, FAS curricula have been established in K-12 public schools in California, Hawai’i, and Seattle. 

Second, in 1982, Dorothy Laigo Cordova founded the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) – the oldest national Filipino American organization and the only national group committed to promoting and preserving Filipino American history. For the past 40 years, FANHS has educated Filipino and non-Filipino people – through conferences, workshops, lectures, films, artwork, and other media – about the Filipino American historical experiences and contributions to the US In 2016, the FANHS National Museum opened in Stockton, California, and as of 2022, there are 42 FANHS chapters across the United States.

Finally, October 1992 was the first time that Filipino American History Month (FAHM) was celebrated in the United States – a year after FANHS passed a proclamation (spearheaded by Fred Cordova). Since then, FAHM has been celebrated annually all over the country – with initiatives by FANHS chapters, local community nonprofit groups, government organizations, and college student organizations. In 2009, US Congress declared October as FAHM, and in 2015, President Obama celebrated the first FAHM at the White House.

FAHM suggests some activities that could be implemented:

• Read Filipino American Studies books of the past and present. For example, 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the edited text Filipino Americans: Transformation and Identity, (edited by Maria P. P. Root) – regarded as a foundational comprehensive text in Filipino American Studies.

• Support arts and media that advance Filipino American Studies, such as Lumpia with a Vengeance (film) or Larry: The Musical (theater).

• Learn about the history of the Luzones Indios who first set foot in California on October 18, 1587 (435 years ago), as well as the historical oppression and resilience of Indigenous Peoples from the Philippines in both the motherland and in the United States.

• Conduct and share oral histories that highlight regional experiences of Filipino American history. For example, our newer FANHS chapters in Ohio and Georgia have uncovered untold stories of migrants, pensionados, and laborers in their states.

• Curate a panel of Filipino American artists to describe their contributions to the arts (e.g., music, dance, theater, hip hop).

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