Just got word about this great documentary, Little Manila: Filipinos in California’s Heartland from our Contributing Editor Kristine. This documentary is great because I was informed that Chavez did not start the United Farmers Association. He was actually influenced by Filipino farmers to join them in the demand for better wages. This knowledge definitely got sidelined in history. Filipino farm workers staged the first successful union asparagus protest. They were so successful that the companies they were protesting agreed to ALL their demands. With the benefits of the Internet and this blog, I urge all of you to inform everyone about this documentary in order to have a broader audience to get this message across. For more info: http://www.littlemanila.org/.

From Little Manila Foundation:

The nationally televised PBS documentary “Little Manila: Filipinos in California’s Heartland” is now available in our online store for just $20. The DVD is a great Filipino American history resource for your family, class or organization. Click here to purchase. From the DVD: Filled with chop suey houses, gambling dens, and dance halls, Little Manila was the area in Stockton notoriously called, Skid Row, but it was also the closest thing Filipinos had to a hometown. In its heyday in the 30s, this lively area had the largest population of Filipinos outside of the Philippines. We tell the story of Jimmy Ente, Jr., a longtime Stockton resident recruited to work in the asparagus fields. Jimmy, and many others like him, faced backbreaking work, low wages, and at times extreme racism to fulfill their dreams. Narrated by famed Filipino-American producer, Dean Devlin (Independence Day, The Patriot) this documentary tells the story as Filipinos experienced it. DVD includes Producer’s Comments. Available now in the Little Manila Online Store. Click here to purchase.