PRESS RELEASE
SFPCG-PR-112-2021
Fil-Am Civil Rights Leader Larry Itliong Inducted into California Hall of Fame
25 October 2021 – Filipino-American civil rights leader Larry Itliong was inducted into the California Hall of Fame by California Gov. Gavin Newsom as Filipino American History Month is commemorated in the whole month of October in the U.S.
Gov. Newsom also declared 25 October as “Larry Itliong Day” in the State of California. https://www.californiamuseum.org/inductee/larry-itliong. The Governor also issued a Proclamation declaring October 25, 2021, as “Larry Itliong Day” in the state of California.
“The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco joins the Filipino American community in celebrating Filipino American History Month. Larry Itliong’s induction into the California Hall of Fame is a milestone that every Filipino American should be proud of,” Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer said in a statement.
Itliong worked as a migrant labor in the fisheries and canneries of Alaska, where he helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union, and in Stockton, and Central Valley in California, where he helped organized various major agricultural strikes along with fellow labor leader Philip Vera Cruz and the “Delano Manongs.”
Itliong and the Delano Manongs fought for agricultural workers’ rights and joined forces with labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to begin a nationwide boycott of grapes that lasted five years and resulted in the first farmworker union contracts. The Delano Grape Strike of 1965 brought about the creation of the United Farm Workers Union.
In his labor organizing days, Itliong introduced the Tagalog quip, “Isang bagsak,” which translates to “one down.” It was meant to rally fellow farmworkers — both Filipino and Latino migrant workers — behind their common fight for labor rights. Based on historical anecdotes, Itliong and Chavez used the phrase to create the “unity clap,” which would join Filipino and Latino farmworkers together after a long day in the fields.
Filipino-Americans make up one of the biggest Asian-American groups in California, numbering to more than one million in the state. END
Fil-Am civil rights leader Larry Itliong inducted into California Hall of Fame
California Governor Proclaims October 25 as “Larry Itliong Day”