Filipino American History Month

Filipino Americans are the second largest Asian American group in the nation and the third largest ethnic group in California, after Latinas/os and African Americans. The celebration of Filipino American History Month in October commemorates the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the continental United States, which occurred on October 18, 1587, when “Luzones Indios” came ashore from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Esperanza and landed at what is now Morro Bay, California. In 2009, U.S. Congress recognized October as Filipino American History Month in the United States. Various states, counties and cities in the U.S. have have established proclamations and resolutions declaring observance of Filipino American History Month. The late Dr. Fred Cordova, along with his wife, FANHS Founder Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, first introduced October as Filipino American History Month in 1992 with a resolution from the FANHS National Board of Trustees.

Filipino American National History Month

FILIPINX @ UCSF

United Filipinx Association

United Filipinx Association (UFA) is an organization that is grounded in the value of ‘kapwa’ - “interconnectedness” – a core Filipinx value. UFA serves as a reference to all Filipinx at UCSF, forming a community where no one is left behind. UFA commits itself to be a stakeholder in representing the Filipinx voice and in shaping the culture of belonging, equity, and diversity at our institution. This aim is realized through open sharing of resources, social gatherings, and various workshops to foster personal and professional development.

Tambayan: A place for hanging out

Wednesday, October 18 | 5 pm - 6:15 pm

Multicultural Resource Center, 500 Parnassus Avenue, MU102

The United Filipinx Association invites you to celebrate Filipino American History Month with Tambayan, which means "a place for hanging out" in Tagalog. Tambayan is a space where UCSF staff, faculty learners of Filipino descent and allies can gather to socialize, network, and support each other. Food and refreshments will be provided. Tambayan is both inperson and virtual.

HISTORY OF FILIPINO AMERICANS

50 Years Since the First Young Filipino People’s Far West Convention

The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the First Young Filipino People’s Far West Convention, a meeting that took place at Seattle University in 1971 and brought over 300 young Filipino American participants from the West Coast of the US. The convention is hailed as the beginning of the Filipino American Movement.

The first convention theme was “A Quest for Emergence” and was hosted primarily by the Filipino Youth Activities, Inc. (FYA) under the leadership of then-FYA Youth Director, Dorothy Laigo Cordova and convention chair, Anthony Ogilvie. This initial meeting would result in a series of conferences that would later become known as the Filipino (or Pilipino) People’s Far West Conventions (FWCs), which were held annually between 1971 and 1982, in places like Seattle, Los Angeles, Stockton, and Berkeley.

Filipino American National Historical Society

St. Malo, Louisiana

St. Malo was the first permanent Filipino settlement in the U.S. in 1763. In the first half of the 19th century, Filipino sailors established a village on the southern shore of Lake Borgne on a site previously settled by Native Americans and Maroons. By the mid-19th center, St. Malo was the largest fishing village on the lake and a symbol of the growing Filipino presence in Louisiana.

Remembering American's First Filipino Settlement Before It Vanishes Into the Sea - Huffington Post

Library of Congress
Composite of five wood engravings of drawings by Charles Graham after sketches by J.O. Davidson, from the 1883 Harper’s Weekly article by Lafcadio Hearn.

FILIPINO AMERICAN DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Sources: Data from U.S. Census Bureau 2010 and 2021 American Community Surveys (ACS), and Campbell J. Gibson and Kay Jung, "Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000" (Working Paper no. 81, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, February 2006), available online.