A mural featuring Filipino American farm labor leaders Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz and Pete Velasco along with Cesar Chavez and Delores Huerta has been unveiled in Milpitas near San Jose.
On hand for the dedication was an emotional Johnny Itliong, Larry Itliong’s son, according to the Inquirer.
“My family has been hurting for so many years,” said Johnny Itliong, who works as a cook in Hollywood. “We were put aside by history, the government and people. Every working person in the US has been affected by my father’s work. Every person here is indebted to my father and it needs to be paid.”
The mural at the Milpitas Library features some of those who lead the Delano Farm Worker’s Grape Strike in 1965.
The story the mural depicts is not one that’s been widely told. But a new law passed in California and signed by Governor Jerry Brown requires that California students learn the role of Filipino Americans in the farm labor movement.
You can read more about the contributions of these leaders in the Inquirer.