October is Filipino-American History Month. On October 18, 1587, in what is now Morro Bay, men of indigenous Philippine ancestry — acting as scouts for their Spanish masters — first set foot on what is now U.S. mainland soil.
The Filipino-American National Historical Society chose October not only because of this event in 1587 but also because it’s the birth month of Larry Itliong, the Filipino-American who initated the historic United Farm Workers strike in Delano, CA in 1965.
Some U.S. cities began officially proclaiming October Filipino-American History Month in 1992. Others followed, and eventually the U.S. Congress first officially proclaimed this special month in 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama would make the first-ever proclamation of it from the White House, in 2015.
Oxnard and Ventura have officially proclaimed the month. In 2022 the latter sponsored the painting of a mural in Montalvo that prominently features the former Montalvo branch of the Philippine Islands Market (a.k.a. “the P.I.”), a Filipino-owned grocery chain founded in Pismo Beach, CA in 1945 – the first year Filipinos were allowed to own property in California, despite being U.S. colonial subjects since 1900.
This September 29, the Santa Barbara City Council will meet, and possibly one of the agenda items will be the re-naming of Calle Cesar Chavez. In these pages two months ago, I penned an opinion piece suggesting naming it after the aforementioned labor leader Larry Itliong. In the spirit of October being Filipino-American History Month, I continue to hope enough Santa Barbarans — including Mayor Rowse and members of the council — agree Larry Itliong would be an appropriate choice.
