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Filipino farmers in California recall the 1965 Grape Strikes

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Steve Angeles | TFC News Orosi, California

With October around the corner, Filipinos are getting a head start on celebrating Filipino-American history month. While many of the Filipinos in California’s Central Valley region trace their roots to the farmlands, they commemorated the anniversary of the 1965 Delano Grape Strikes led by Larry Itliong this past weekend. While the strikes began in Delano, the effects rippled through the American farmlands including Coachella Valley --where Mary Jane Galbiso was a 15-year-old working the farms of Niland.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="1965 Delano Grape Strike" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/entertainment/09/27/20210927-delano1.png"/><figcaption>Courtesy: UFW</figcaption></figure></div>&quot;I remember my uncles saying let&#x27;s go home tonight and at first I was saying aren’t we going to fight? Aren’t we going to do something? They still don’t answer me. I think it wasn’t until later that we heard that the strike was on. It took one week because all the Filipinos are organized,&quot; Galbiso says. About 60 miles North of Historic Delano, community-based groups Filipino Farmers Cooperative and the Rural Communities Resource Center held an educational commemoration, bringing in local youth and activists to Ilokano farms--one of the last Filipino farming communities in the country. Galbiso recalled the racial tensions the farming industry tried to produce between Filipinos and Mexican workers. &quot;My brothers had a hard time. Even Filipinos, they tried to blame the Mexicans. They say it&#x27;s the Mexicans that made this problem, I said, don’t be stupid. Who hired them? Who fired us? It was the big growers. They’re not only doing it here in the valley, they’re doing it toward all the Filipino groups,&quot; Galbiso openly shares. But ultimately, through the work of Larry Itliong and the &#x27;Delano Manongs,&#x27; they managed to unite the Filipino and Mexican workers. This led to improved working conditions by the end of the 5-year-long strike.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="1965 Delano Grape Strike" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/entertainment/09/27/20210927-delano2.png"/><figcaption> </figcaption></figure></div>While witnesses to history make it a point to pass down their stories, they also remind people that the struggles of the remaining Filipino farmers continue from battles against big businesses, natural emergencies, and the battles over funding. For Galbiso, the ongoing drought has affected some of their crops, and as a smaller farm, they rarely receive any government aid. But despite these hurdles, they continue to do their community work --bringing food to the less fortunate, while promoting Filipino culture. With the legacy of the &#x27;Delano Manongs&#x27; still untold by the mainstream, Galbiso makes it a point to remind people of the rich Filipino history in America’s farm lands.

Filipino farmers in California's Central Valley region commemorate the anniversary of the 1965 Delano Grape Strike led by Larry Itliong.

Filipino farmers in California recall the 1965 Grape Strikes

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Filipino farmers in California recall the 1965 Grape Strikes

Steve Angeles | TFC News Orosi,

California

Published September 27, 2021 04:36 PM PHT

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Filipino

farmers

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Delano

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TFC News

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