"Your Asian Wasn't Quiet"

Philip Vera Cruz & Larry Itliong, Forgotten Heroes of the UFW

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:02:13 -0400

Philip Vera Cruz & Larry Itliong, Forgotten Heroes of the UFW:

Philip Vera Cruz and Larry Itliong were the forgotten Pilipino heroes of the United Farm Workers (UFW) Union. They were both leaders in the battle for farm workers rights.

When you open a textbook on U.S. History, the 1960’s was the decade of change. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. walked for Civil Rights and the banning of Segregation for the betterment of society. Cesar Chavez led the United Farm Workers Chicano Movement, which fought for workers rights. But, where do the names Philip Vera Cruz and Larry Itliong fit in? People think that the Farm Workers movement was only a chicano/latino movement that made it to the history books. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know that it was also a movement lead by Pilipinos.

Philip Vera Cruz

Philip Vera Cruz was a Pilipino-American labor leader; he was a farm worker and a leader/Activist for the Asian American civil rights movement. Vera Cruz was one of the founders of the Agriculture Worker Organizing Committee (AWOC), which later merged with Cesar Chavez’s NationalFarm Workers Association (NFWA) and gave birth to the United Farm Worker (UFW). Philip Vera Cruz was long-time vice president of the UFW.

Larry Itliong

Larry Itliong was a Pilipino labor leader that founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union (FFLU) and was the President of AWOC. Larry was a self-taught labor leader who handled protests in California and Alaska. Along With Philip Vera Cruz, he convinced Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta’s predominantly Mexican/Latino National Farm Workers Association to join the Grape Strike and Boycott of 1965 demanding better pay and benefits. Together the Pilipinos and Mexicans formed the United Farm Workers. Larry Itliong became a high ranking member of the UFW, becoming the second vice president.

Philip Vera Cruz and Larry Itliong, along with other Pilipino-American farmers, were the people who started the 1965 Grape Strike and Boycott. One week later Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Richard Chavez joined the strike that eventually brought an end to the unfair wages and benefits with a 300 mile pilgrimage from Delano to Sacramento.

During this year’s Pilipino-American History Month, let us continue to honor Philip Vera Cruz and Larry Itliong for playing their important roles in the fight for farm labor rights.

Photo

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:48:28 -0400

This is honestly, such an amazing blog. Thank you so much for posting such diverse forms of material, and supporting the Asian/Asian American identity. Really, I can't emphasize how much I love this blog! :)

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:47:28 -0400

Thank you! I really love running this blog and I hope to keep posting wonderful material. :)

Hi, is this site still active? I think its great!

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:45:50 -0400

Yes, it’s still active. I’ve currently been involved in other projects so I haven’t had the time to update this blog consistently, but I’ll always come back to it.

Everything about this blog is perfect, please continue posting! Maybe have a submit option?

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:45:44 -0400

Thank you, sorry for the lack of posting lately, the college life is very stressful! I am thinking of having a submit option but we’ll see.

Where are the South Asian Americans?

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:45:37 -0400

Hello, sorry, I haven’t had the time to study any South Asian American activism so I don’t really know much, but I would definitely like to learn more and have them represented on this blog. If I find something, I’ll be sure to post. :)

becauseofthiswoman: Name: Patsy Matsu Takemoto MinkDates:...

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:18:48 -0500

becauseofthiswoman:

Name: Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink
Dates: 1927-2002

Why she rocks: Patsy Mink was an American politician in Hawaii, and served in the US House of Representatives for 12 terms. She was the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected into Congress. She was also the first Asian American to seek the presidential nomination for the Democratic Party in the 1972 election. She also authored the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act, thus having it named after her: “The Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act”
Quote: “We have to build things that we want to see accomplished, in life and in our country, based on our own personal experiences… to make sure that others do not have to suffer the same discrimination.”

Because of this woman… we have equal opportunities amendments for higher education, and a multi-cultural presence in politics for women and Asian Americans.

Is that Anonymous for real? Seems someone needs to read "Global Hierarchy of Race".... also, thank you for creating this Tumblr.

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:57:09 -0500

You’re welcome! Also, look up “coloniality of power.” ;)

YELLOW POWER

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:55:43 -0500

YELLOW POWER

Grace Lee Boggs’s message to Occupy Wall...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:44:13 -0500

Grace Lee Boggs’s message to Occupy Wall Street.

“Thank you for breaking through the silence.”

Thank you for your blog. I am 50% Korean and 50% white, someone who has been told that she is not Korean and not White. I have had "internet discussions" about whether or not Asians truly did fight for equality back during the times of change. It wasn't until I took an Intro to Asian American lit/culture class that I found out Asian Americans helped create change. BTW, "Asian American Dreams" is an amazing book.which has helped me understand the fight for equality.

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:36:14 -0500

You’re welcome! Thank you so much for your feedback—it gives me the motivation to keep this blog going! And I have heard of “Asian American Dreams,” but I haven’t had the time to read it yet! Will make sure to do so soon! <3

Black countries for the blacks, asian countries for the asians --- BUT white countries for EVERYONE!!!!!!!!? america was built by whites, it is a white country, and people should stick to their own countries if they don't want discrimination. being white or black in an ASIAN countries is infinitely worse than being asian or black in a white country.

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:35:18 -0500

First of all, America was not a white country. It was an INDIGENOUS COUNTRY at first, and then settlers from Europe came and completely invaded and took over North America and the rest of the Western Hemisphere. Secondly, being white in an Asian country is so not worse than being Asian or black in a white country. No matter where whites go, they will always have privilege—white privilege—over everybody. They are viewed higher, treated more favorably, and have more advantages and opportunities than any other race in the world—these privileges follow them wherever they go, no matter what country they are in.

Yuri Kochiyama, a song about one of the most inspiring and one...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:18:00 -0400

Yuri Kochiyama, a song about one of the most inspiring and one of the most badass Asian American activists ever.

Thank you Blue Scholars.

Angel Island, wow... I'm Asian American and, I didn't even know anything about it. I travel past that place on a trip to San Francisco just last week, I was asking my friend who was with me about it just because of the name, it sounded pretty and because we were talking about S.F. history, and she didn't know anything either. I feel so ignorant. Thank you for helping to get this history shared!

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 02:07:36 -0400

No problem! Hopefully you’ll be able to visit Angel Island next time you’re in SF! :)

I am SO glad I found this blog. <3

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 02:07:01 -0400

And I’m glad you found it! <3

Philip Vera Cruz (center) at a United Farm Workers (UFW) boycott...

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 02:05:00 -0400

Philip Vera Cruz (center) at a United Farm Workers (UFW) boycott meeting.

(Source: Walter P. Reuther Library)

We will not be movedTake us to the brink, call us chinks and...

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 03:28:00 -0400

We will not be moved
Take us to the brink, call us chinks and gooks
We will not be moved
I refuse to live my life so confused

—

We Will Not Be Moved - Magnetic North

Redefining, educating, empowering, and dismantling stereotypes through music.

Thank you! I don't think many young Asian Americans know much about their own history of activism (for a very strategic reason in terms of racial divide-and-conquer). So yes, thank you for this blog :)

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 03:15:13 -0400

You’re welcome! Sorry for the lack of updates recently—just started my third year of college! But this blog is still going strong! :)

Why Asian Americans Are Not Your "Model Minority"

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 03:12:00 -0400

Because 14% of Asian Americans live in poverty.
Because we still face blockades and discrimination in the job market, a.k.a. the “bamboo ceiling.”
Because America still looks at us like we’re “perpetual foreigners.”
Because America still looks at us like we we’re the “yellow peril.”
Because Asian American men are emasculated.
Because Asian American womyn are exoticized and fetishized.
Because a significant number of Asian American youth attend public schools that are under resourced and under privileged.
Because gang violence plagues Asian American communities.
Because Asian Americans lack representation in politics.
Because a significant number of Asian Americans are undocumented.
Because Asian Americans do more than get good grades.
Because Asian Americans are not quiet, passive-aggressive, or submissive.
Because Asian Americans raised hell during the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF).
Because Asian Americans like Yuri Kochiyama and Richard Aoki were part of the Black Power Movement.
Because Asian Americans had their own movement, the Asian American Movement.
Because Asian Americans fought for workers’ rights during the United Farm Workers (UFW) Movement.
Because Asian Americans stood in solidarity when there was no justice for Vincent Chin.
Because Asian immigrant garment workers fought for equal rights when Jessica McClintock tried to deny them fair wages and a safe work environment.
Because we have artists like Magnetic North and Blue Scholars.
Because we are active in the LGBTQQIA community.
Because we fought and are still fighting for a valid education.
Because we are reclaiming our hystory and redefining our identities.
Because Asian Americans are continuously organizing, mobilizing, and fighting for their communities and for our rightful place in this country.
Because Asian Americans can fucking kick white supremist, nativist, racist, sexist asses.
Because “model minority” is just a stereotype that attempts to cover the truth and use us as tokens.

"Our ultimate objective in learning about anything is to try to create and develop a more just..."

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:48:34 -0400

“Our ultimate objective in learning about anything is to try to create and develop a more just society.”

- Yuri Kochiyama