A new park being built in San Jose will honor the legacy of the Delano Grape Strike of 1965 which was led by Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Benjamin Gines and Pete Velasco, reports ABC7.
The Filipino American labor leaders joined together with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta of the United Farm Workers demanding rights for agricultural workers.
“This is gonna be the first park in San Jose that’s really representative of the Filipino American community in our history,” said Daniel Lazo of LEAD Filipino.
“The recognition of the Filipino farmworkers and especially those who stood for equality, justice, and human rights in Delano of 1965 is overdue,” said Ben Menor with the National Federation of Filipino American Associations to KRON4 News.
The city selected the name after a unanimous vote by the city council, according to San Jose Spotlight. Filipino Americans make up 5.5% of San Jose’s population and 13.6% of the zip code surrounding the park.
The Filipino Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and Chavez’s National Farm Workers Association led to what is now the United Farm Workers. The word “manong” means “elder brothers” in the Ilocano language.
“When you put a name on a building, on a facility, on a park, on a street, it acknowledges the community’s history, but it also acknowledges that we’re providing a safe space for healing, for remembrance and to memorialize their contributions,” said Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco, whose district contains the park.
