Hanapepe Massacre and the Delano Grape Strike anniversaries fit theme for FilAm Hhistory Month

On September 8 in 1965, Filipino agricultural workers in California began the strike that became known as the Delano Grape Strike.

September 9, marks the 100-year anniversary when16 Filipino sugar cane striking workers were killed in Hawaii in the Hanapepe Massacre.  

The Filipino American National History Society (FANHS) is urging that this October, emphasis be put on the long history of resistance, struggle, solidarity and relisiance exhibited by Filipino Americans throughout US history.

FANHS statement:

"Throughout Filipino American history, there have been instances of struggle, resistance, solidarity, and resilience. Struggle and resistance are defined as the ways that the Filipino American community has persisted through various types of systemic oppression and violence - ranging from discriminatory laws that treated Filipino Americans as second-class citizens to the hate violence Filipino Americans endured because of their race, ethnicity, and other identities.

"Solidarity includes the ways that Filipino Americans have organized to fight against injustice - either within their own communities or alongside other racial and ethnic groups. Resilience involves the ways in which Filipino Americans have successfully overcome adversity throughout history - despite the systemic and interpersonal obstacles they have endured.

"From the painful to the triumphant, all of these moments contribute to a cumulative Filipino American history. We encourage our communities to reflect on our history and celebrate our collective love and joy."

If the plantation owners in Hawaii and the big business owners of the California vineyards thought by importing workers from the Philippines tthey were bringing in a bunch of docile workers, they were mistaken.

On September 9, 1924, 16 Filipino sugar workers and four civilian deputies were killed in the Hanapepe Massacre. The next day the National Guard came in to oversee the arrest of 76 more workers, effectively breaking the Filipino-led strike in Hanapepe, Kauai,i Hawaii. 

Filipino and Mexican farm workers joined together to form the United Farm Workers.

On September 8, 1965, over 800 Filipino farmworkers affiliated with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) struck ten grape vineyards around Delano, California.

Filipino strike leaders, led by Larry Itliong, were able to convince the prdominantly Mexican and Mexican American union, National Farm Workers Association (NFWA)) led by Cesar Chavez, to join the Delano Grape Strike the following week. The joining of the two unions gave birth to the United Farm Workers.

Perhaps the earliest example of Filipinos offering resistance, organizing and resliance occurred cmore than a century earlier.

During the Galleon trade bringing goods from the Philippines to Mexico and onward to Spain, Filipino sailors, either as slaves or crew were used extensively. Many of the Filipino sailors left their cruel masters and integrated themselves with local communities in Mexico. 

Some of the sailors, known as Manilamen,  escaped the Spanish ships in New Orleans and formed communities in the Louisiana bayous ias early as 1763 according to some historians. Communities such as Manila Village and St. Malo were among the two earliest known Asian American communities in the United States. 

October 1992 was the first time that Filipino American History Month (FAHM) was celebrated in the United States initiated by the Filipino American National History Society. The month was chosen because the first recorded Filipino to set foot in North America occurred on Oct. 18, 1587 when two Filipino crewmen from the Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de Buena Esperanza, part of the busy galleon trade, were sent on a scouting expedition in what is now Morro Bay, California.

In Spanish records, they were called "Indios Luzones," natives of Luzon, one of the  main islands of the Philippines, then under Spanish rule. The scouting party met with resistance from indigenous people during which one of the Filipinos was killed.

Since the the first observance of FAHM, several states have declared October as Filipino American History Month and occasionally, there is a proclamation from the White House noting the role of Filiipino Americans in the US. Last year, the month was noted in a social media post from President Biden.

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