Filipinos in Stockton

by Dawn B. Mabalon Ph.D., Rico Reyes, Filipino American National Historical Society

Overview

The first Filipino settlers arrived in Stockton, California, around 1898, and through most of the 20th century, this city was home to the largest community of Filipinos outside the Philippines. Because countless Filipinos worked in, passed through, and settled here, it became the crossroads of Filipino America. Yet immigrants were greeted with signs that read "Positively No Filipinos Allowed" and were segregated to a four-block area centered on Lafayette and El Dorado Streets, which they called "Little Manila." In the 1970s, redevelopment and the Crosstown Freeway decimated the Little Manila neighborhood. Despite these barriers, Filipino Americans have created a vibrant ethnic community and a rich cultural legacy. Filipino immigrants and their descendants have shaped the history, culture, and economy of the San Joaquin Delta area.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738556246
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	02/18/2008
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	640,040
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

Historian Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, a third-generation Stockton native, and artist Rico J. Reyes, who was raised in nearby Manteca, partnered with the Stockton Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the Little Manila Foundation to pay tribute to the enduring presence of Filipinos in Stockton. With powerful images culled from family albums and archival collections, their book chronicles the rich history of the Filipino American community in Stockton and in San Joaquin County, from its earliest pioneers at the beginning of the 20th century to the present day.

Editorial Reviews

Title: Pinoys' photographic book
Author: Staff Writer
Publisher: Manila Mail
Date: 2/21/2009

"Filipinos in Stockton," is a compendium of archival photographs which forms part of the Images of America series which "celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns and cities across the country" are a few familiar and once-familiar faces in Lathrop and even Manteca. It includes the face of the late Rev. Apolinar Sangalang, former Lathrop mayor who is believed to be the first Filipino-born politician to hold that post. Also in the book are group photos of the '70s, induction of officers, the Galicinao family, the medical profession, and the Stockton Chapter of Filipino American National Historical Society. Among those in the photograph is Maria B. Vea of Lathrop who contributed the photograph. The introduction to the softcover book's contents gives a historical snapshot of the Filipino community in Stockton, from the first Filipino settlers who came to Stockton around 1898 through the 20th century when the city founded by Captain Charles Weber became home to the largest Filipino community in the United States. It skims through the historical highlights through the decades of the Filipino experience in Stockton, including the evolution of historic Little Manila and the founding of the Stockton Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS). The book, in fact, was put together through the cooperative effort of FANHS, Dawn B. Mabalon, Ph.D., Rico Reyes, and the Little Manila Foundation.

From the Publisher