Larry Itliong

{{Short description|Filipino-American union organizer (1913–1977)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Larry Itliong

| image = Larry Itliong.jpg

| birth_name = Modesto Dulay Itliong

| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|10|25}}

| birth_place = San Nicolas, Pangasinan, Philippine Islands

| death_date = {{death date and age|1977|2||1913|10|25}}{{efn|name = death}}

| death_place = Delano, California, U.S.

| nationality = Filipino, American

| other_names = Seven Fingers

| occupation = {{cslist|Labor organizer|farmworker}}

}}

Modesto "Larry" Dulay Itliong (October 25, 1913 – February 1977{{efn|name = death|Sources disagree as to whether Itliong died on February 8 or 10, 1977; February 8 is the date that was inscribed on his gravestone.}}), also known as "Seven Fingers",{{cite news |title=Forgotten Hero of Labor Fight; His Son's Lonely Quest |author=Patricia Leigh Brown |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/us/larry-itliong-forgotten-filipino-labor-leader.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |newspaper=New York Times |date=October 18, 2012 |access-date=May 5, 2013 |archive-date=March 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326025500/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/us/larry-itliong-forgotten-filipino-labor-leader.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |url-status=live }} was a Filipino-American union organizer. He organized West Coast agricultural workers starting in the 1930s, and rose to national prominence in 1965, when he, Philip Vera Cruz, Benjamin Gines and Pete Velasco, walked off the farms of area table-grape growers, demanding wages equal to the federal minimum wage, that became known as the Delano grape strike.Hurt, R. Douglas. American Agriculture: A Brief History. Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, 2002. {{ISBN|1-55753-281-8}}Weber, Devra. Dark Sweat, White Gold: California Farm Workers, Cotton, and the New Deal. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-520-20710-6}}Feriss, Susan; Sandoval, Ricardo; and Hembree, Diana. The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998. {{ISBN|0-15-600598-0}} He has been described as "one of the fathers of the West Coast labor movement."{{cite news|title=Out From the Shadows – Filipino Americans Replanting Roots|author=Stephen Magagnini|date=May 19, 1996|publisher=Sacramento Bee|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:SCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB045ED35FC3D6F&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D663DC0A81A15EA}}

Biography

Itliong was a native of San Nicolas, Pangasinan, Philippines (then a territory of the United States).{{cite book |last=Cordova |first=Dorothy |editor1-first=Hyung-Chan |editor1-last=Kim |author-link=Dorothy Cordova |title=Distinguished Asian Americans: a biographical dictionary |series=Ethnographic Reference Bks |url=https://archive.org/details/distinguishedasi00kimh |url-access=registration |quote=Larry Itliong died 1977. |access-date=May 7, 2013 |year=1999 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-28902-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/distinguishedasi00kimh/page/138 138]–139}}{{cite news |title=Calif. city puts off naming school for Fil-Am heroes |author=Harvey I. Barkin |url=http://globalnation.inquirer.net/69901/calif-city-puts-off-naming-school-for-fil-am-heroes |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=March 22, 2013 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-date=March 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326050532/http://globalnation.inquirer.net/69901/calif-city-puts-off-naming-school-for-fil-am-heroes |url-status=live }} One of six children of Artemio and Francesca Itliong, he only had a sixth grade education. He immigrated to the United States in 1929 and joined his first strike in 1930;{{cite news|title=New Light Shed on Pioneering Filipino American|author=Stephen Magagnini|date=December 28, 1996|publisher=Sacramento Bee|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:SCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB0462FD7DD0B67&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D663DC0A81A15EA}} Itliong was only 15 when he came to the United States.{{cite web |url=http://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=1733_0_3_0 |title=UFW, ALRB, Unions |author= |date=January 2013 |work=Rural Migration News |publisher=University of California, Davis |access-date=May 8, 2013 |archive-date=April 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419195030/http://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=1733_0_3_0 |url-status=live }} Itliong was an excellent card player, and avid cigar smoker, who spoke multiple Filipino languages, Spanish, Cantonese, Japanese, and taught himself about law. Itliong married six times, had seven children,{{cite web |url=http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2009/09/old-news-larry-itliong-and-delano-grape-strike |title=Old News: Larry Itliong and the Delano Grape Strike |author=Lisa Ko |date=September 10, 2009 |work=Hyphen: Asian America Unabridged |publisher=Hyphen Magazine |access-date=May 6, 2013 |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927012751/http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2009/09/old-news-larry-itliong-and-delano-grape-strike |url-status=live }} and raised his family in the Delano area and in the Little Manila community of Stockton, California.{{cite book|last=Mabalon|first=Dawn|title=Little Manila is in the Heart|year=2013|publisher=Duke University Press|location=Durham and London|isbn=978-0-8223-5339-3|page=259|url=https://www.dukeupress.edu/Little-Manila-Is-in-the-Heart/|access-date=September 22, 2013|archive-date=September 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926202422/https://www.dukeupress.edu/Little-Manila-Is-in-the-Heart/|url-status=live}}

As a farmworker, Itliong worked in Alaska; where he organized cannery and agricultural unions, Washington, and up and down California; he also worked in Montana and South Dakota. While living in Alaska, he helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union (which later became Local 7 of the United Cannery and Packing and Allied Workers Union, then Local 7 of the International Longshoreman's and Warehouse Workers Union). He lost three fingers in an accident in an Alaskan cannery, which earned him the nickname, "Seven Fingers."

Some of the labor organizers whom Itliong met in his early days had ties to the Communist Party.{{cite book |last=García |first=Matt |title=From the Jaws of Victory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FRBus7hLnq4C&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA37 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |year=2012 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25930-0 |page=37 |archive-date=July 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702234741/https://books.google.com/books?id=FRBus7hLnq4C&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA37 |url-status=live }} Filipinos in California led the way in unionization efforts among farmworkers in the 1930s and 40s.{{cite book |last=Juan Jr. |first=E. San |title=The Philippine Temptation: Dialectics of Philippines—U.S. Literary Relations |series=Asian American History and Culture Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpdK1bBQ3oEC&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA81 |year=1996 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-56639-418-5 |page=81 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702211931/https://books.google.com/books?id=fpdK1bBQ3oEC&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA81 |url-status=live }} During World War II, Itliong served on a U.S. Army transport ship as a messman. After the war, he settled in the city of Stockton in California's Central Valley. In 1948, Itliong (along with Rudy Delvo, Chris Mensalvas, Philip Vera Cruz, and Ernesto Mangaoang) became involved in the 1948 asparagus strike,{{cite book |first1=Dawn Bochulano |last1=Mabalon |first2=Rico |last2=Reyes |others=Filipino American National Historical So, Little Manila Foundation |title=Filipinos in Stockton |series=Images of America Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ckpjRPYfEk8C&q=Asparagus+strike+1948+itliong&pg=PA38 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |year=2008 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-5624-6 |page=38 |archive-date=July 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703023152/https://books.google.com/books?id=ckpjRPYfEk8C&q=Asparagus+strike+1948+itliong&pg=PA38 |url-status=live }} which was the first major agriculture strike after World War II.{{cite journal |year=2007 |title=Filipino Labor Leaders |journal=Labor Archives and Research Center |issue=17 |page=1 |publisher=San Francisco State University |url=http://www.library.sfsu.edu/about/depts/larc/pdfs/LARCnewsletter_17.pdf |access-date=May 7, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215031314/http://www.library.sfsu.edu/about/depts/larc/pdfs/LARCnewsletter_17.pdf |archive-date=December 15, 2013 }} Itliong served as the first shop steward of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 37, in Seattle,{{cite web |url=http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/local_7.htm |title=The Local 7/ Local 37 Story: Filipino American Cannery Unionism in Seattle 1940–1959 |author=Micah Ellison |year=2004 |work=Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-date=January 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109082503/http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/local_7.htm |url-status=live }} and was elected its vice-president in 1953. He served as secretary of the Filipino Community of Stockton from 1954 to 1956. In 1956, Itliong founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union{{cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Neil A. |title=American Social Leaders and Activists |series=American biographies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKxOpAh78IsC&q=Itliong+%22Filipino+Farm+Labor+Union%22&pg=PA213 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |year=2002 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-0808-7 |page=213 |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107091901/https://books.google.com/books?id=tKxOpAh78IsC&q=Itliong+%22Filipino+Farm+Labor+Union%22&pg=PA213 |url-status=live }} in Stockton. In 1957, he was elected president of the Filipino Voters League in Stockton. By 1965, Itliong was leading the AFL–CIO union Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee;{{cite news|title='65 strike set stage for farm labor cause|author=Leezel Tanglao|date=September 4, 2005|publisher=The Press-Enterprise|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:ENTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10C79339BAB68480&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D663DC0A81A15EA|access-date=November 7, 2021|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107091912/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news%2F10C79339BAB68480&f=basic|url-status=live}} the majority of members of the committee were Filipinos who had in the 1930s arrived in the United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/cesarchavez1.html |title=Cesar Chavez & the UFW |author=RIck Tejada-Flores |year=2004 |work=The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers' Struggle |publisher=Paradigm Productions and Independent Television Service (ITVS) |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-date=May 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524221909/http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/cesarchavez1.html |url-status=dead }}

A vote was held on May 3, 1965, in which the committee voted to strike against Coachella Valley grape growers. Although the strikers weren't able to negotiate a contract with the growers, they did succeed in winning higher wages. Following the success in Southern California, on September 8, 1965, the Agriculture Workers Organizing Committee voted to strike against grape growers in Delano, California, where the grape season starts in September. This strike became the first time Mexican workers, due to the decision of Cesar Chavez, did not break a strike of Filipinos; later, on September 16, 1965, Chavez's National Farm Workers Association joined the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee on the picket lines.{{cite news |title=The birthplace of labor rights becomes a historic landmark |author=Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz |author2=Enrique Delacruz |url=http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-usa/15-dateline-usa/9084-the-birthplace-of-labor-rights-becomes-a-historic-landmark.html |newspaper=Asian Journal |date=February 26, 2011 |access-date=May 6, 2013 |archive-date=September 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909061318/http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-usa/15-dateline-usa/9084-the-birthplace-of-labor-rights-becomes-a-historic-landmark.html |url-status=live }} These strikes occurred around the same time when younger Filipino Americans began a period of political self-reflection and awakening.{{cite book |last=Juan Jr. |first=E. San |title=The Philippine Temptation: Dialectics of Philippines—U.S. Literary Relations |series=Asian American History and Culture Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpdK1bBQ3oEC&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA129 |access-date=May 8, 2013 |year=1996 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-56639-418-5 |pages=129–130 |archive-date=July 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702234646/https://books.google.com/books?id=fpdK1bBQ3oEC&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA129 |url-status=live }}

The Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and National Farm Workers Association merged to form the United Farm Workers;{{cite news |title=40th Anniversary of Historic Farm Workers Strike |author=Rodel Rodis |url=http://www.asianweek.com/2005/09/23/40th-anniversary-of-historic-farm-workers-strike/ |newspaper=Asian Week |date=September 23, 2005 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307152742/http://www.asianweek.com/2005/09/23/40th-anniversary-of-historic-farm-workers-strike/ |archive-date=March 7, 2013 |url-status=dead }} Itliong was skeptical of the merger, as he believed that Mexicans would become dominant over the Filipinos when the organizations merged, and that improving work conditions would come at the expense of Filipino farmworkers, but Itliong kept those feelings to himself at the time.{{cite book |first1=Craig |last1=Scharlin |first2=Lilia V |last2=Villanueva |title=Philip Vera Cruz: A Personal History of Filipino Immigrants and the Farmworkers Movement |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=52PrdUKTUxgC&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA48 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |year=2000 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-80295-4 |page=48 |archive-date=July 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703000852/https://books.google.com/books?id=52PrdUKTUxgC&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA48 |url-status=live }} In 1966, the California Rural Legal Assistance was founded as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty,{{cite book |last=Madrick |first=Jeff |title=Age of Greed: The Triumph of Finance and the Decline of America, 1970 to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWxQyDfh24oC&q=%22California+Rural+Legal+Assistance%22+%22War+on+Poverty%22&pg=PA8 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |year=2011 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc. |isbn=978-0-307-59671-0 |page=8 |archive-date=July 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703044521/https://books.google.com/books?id=sWxQyDfh24oC&q=%22California+Rural+Legal+Assistance%22+%22War+on+Poverty%22&pg=PA8 |url-status=live }} with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Itliong sitting on the founding board.{{cite web |url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c82z169p/ |title=Guide to the California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. records M0750 |author= |year=2009 |work=Online Archive of California |publisher=The Regents of The University of California |access-date=May 8, 2013 |archive-date=June 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619084509/http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c82z169p/ |url-status=live }} Itliong served as assistant director of the United Farm Workers under Cesar Chavez, and in 1970 he was appointed the United Farm Workers' national boycott coordinator.{{cite web |url=http://sd08.senate.ca.gov/news/2006-03-31-yee-honors-late-ufw-co-founder-and-filipino-farm-labor-organizer |title=Yee Honors Late UFW Co-founder and Filipino Farm Labor Organizer |author= |date=March 31, 2006 |work=Senator Leland Yee, PhD |publisher=California State Senate |access-date=May 8, 2013 |quote=In January of 1970, he was appointed as National Boycott Coordinator of the UFWOC. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327220102/http://sd08.senate.ca.gov/news/2006-03-31-yee-honors-late-ufw-co-founder-and-filipino-farm-labor-organizer |archive-date=March 27, 2014 |url-status=dead }} In 1971, Itliong resigned from the United Farm Workers because of disagreements about the governance of the union;{{cite news|title=Wapato man honors a forgotten hero|author=Ross Courtney|date=April 27, 2006|publisher=Yakima Herald-Republic|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:YHRB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11145119C7D0E678&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D663DC0A81A15EA|access-date=November 7, 2021|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107091912/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news%2F11145119C7D0E678&f=basic|url-status=live}} another reason for resigning from the United Farm Workers, was that Itliong felt that the union was not willing to support aging Filipinos.{{cite book |last=García |first=Matt |title=From the Jaws of Victory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FRBus7hLnq4C&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA120 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |year=2012 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25930-0 |page=120 |archive-date=July 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703015707/https://books.google.com/books?id=FRBus7hLnq4C&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA120 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Guillermo |first=Emil |date=September 8, 2015 |title=Eclipsed by Cesar Chavez, Larry Itliong's Story Now Emerges |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/eclipsed-cesar-chavez-larry-itliongs-story-now-emerges-n423336 |work=NBC News |access-date=February 25, 2020 |archive-date=January 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123213704/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/eclipsed-cesar-chavez-larry-itliongs-story-now-emerges-n423336 |url-status=live }} Alex Fabros, a doctoral candidate at University of California, Santa Barbara, called the merger "devastating for the Filipinos who participated in the UFW."

File:Grave Marker of Larry Itliong (ea998581-9243-4313-b03e-96687de2cf9c).jpg

After leaving the United Farm Workers, Itliong assisted retired Filipino farmworkers in Delano and was a delegate at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. Together with Vera Cruz, Itliong worked towards building a retirement facility for UFW workers, known as Agbayani Village.{{cite web |last=Rast |first=Raymond W. |title=National Historic Landmark Nomination: The Forty Acres |url=http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/samples/CA/FortyAcres.pdf |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=May 7, 2013 |author2=Gail L. Dubrow |author3=Brian Casserly |date=February 2007 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029225904/http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/samples/CA/FortyAcres.pdf |url-status=dead }} Although no longer in the United Farm Workers, Itliong continued to support others in the organized labor movement, such as helping others plan a strike against Safeway supermarkets in 1974.{{cite book |first1=Dawn Bochulano |last1=Mabalon |first2=Rico |last2=Reyes |others=Filipino American National Historical So, Little Manila Foundation |title=Filipinos in Stockton |series=Images of America Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ckpjRPYfEk8C&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA40 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |year=2008 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-5624-6 |page=40 |archive-date=July 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702232251/https://books.google.com/books?id=ckpjRPYfEk8C&q=%22Larry+Itliong%22&pg=PA40 |url-status=live }} Itliong also served as President of the Filipino American Political Association, a bipartisan lobbying organization. He died in Delano in February 1977,{{efn|name = death}} aged 63, from Lou Gehrig's disease.

Legacy

Most history books mention Chavez and the United Farm Workers, but do not include a mention of Itliong or other Filipinos.{{cite news |title=Fil-Ams lack awareness on Itliong, 'manongs' of the farm worker movement |author=Joseph Pimentel |url=http://www.asianjournal.com/fil-am-news/3-filamnews/17932-fil-ams-lack-awareness-on-itliong-manongs-of-the-farm-worker-movement.html |newspaper=Asian Journal |date=October 26, 2012 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |quote=Unfortunately, when speaking or reading about the farm worker movement, Larry Itliong's name and other Filipinos have mostly vanished in mainstream history books. Even the UFW's website, says the union was created by Cesar Chavez. |archive-date=November 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101222424/http://asianjournal.com/fil-am-news/3-filamnews/17932-fil-ams-lack-awareness-on-itliong-manongs-of-the-farm-worker-movement.html |url-status=live }} Speaking about Chavez and his father, Johnny Itliong said, "Larry was militant. Cesar was non-violent. Cesar had handlers. Cesar had lawyers. Cesar was a dictator."

The first public art memorial honoring Filipino American farmworkers was unveiled on June 24, 1995, in LA's Historic Filipinotown with Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz as its most prominent historical figures.{{cite web|last1=Fuentes|first1=Ed|title=10 Monumental Murals of LA|url=http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/writing-on-the-wall/10-monumental-murals-of-los-angeles.html|website=KCET|date=October 10, 2013|access-date=April 21, 2015|quote="The mural is the first memorial to honor the 1,500 Filipino American farmworkers that ignited the 1965 Delano Grape Strike, who converged with César E. Chávez to form the UFW," says the artist, Eliseo Art Silva.|archive-date=April 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419102845/http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/writing-on-the-wall/10-monumental-murals-of-los-angeles.html|url-status=live}} Itliong was posthumously honored in 2010 by inclusion in a mural at California State University, Dominguez Hills.{{cite news|title=CSU Dominguez Hills to unveil mural during celebration – Mural celebrates diversity, historical social accomplishments|publisher=The Compton Bulletin|date=September 8, 2010|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:CMBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=13218FECEA0EA5B8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D663DC0A81A15EA|access-date=November 7, 2021|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107092000/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news%2F13218FECEA0EA5B8&f=basic|url-status=live}}

In 2011, Los Angeles County recognized Itliong with Larry Itliong Day on October 25;{{cite news |title=Obama honors Cesar Chavez but not Delano Manong |author=Lounn Lota |url=http://www.asianjournal.com/community/community-news/18773-obama-honors-cesar-chavez-but-not-delano-manong-.html |newspaper=Asian Journal |date=December 25, 2012 |access-date=May 7, 2013}} this follows the City of Carson which became the first city in the United States to recognize Larry Itliong Day in the United States in 2010.{{cite news |title=Who is Larry Itliong? |author=Steve Angeles |url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/10/07/10/who-larry-itliong |newspaper=ABS-CBN News |date=October 7, 2010 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702024232/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/10/07/10/who-larry-itliong |url-status=live }} In 2015 Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to establish Larry Itliong Day in the State of California.{{Cite web |last=Guillermo |first=Emil |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/larry-itliong-day-celebrated-honor-filipino-american-laborer-leader-n450046 |title=Larry Itliong Day Celebrated in Honor of Filipino-American Labor Leader |website=NBC News |date=October 23, 2015 |access-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025204547/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/larry-itliong-day-celebrated-honor-filipino-american-laborer-leader-n450046 |url-status=live }} It was proclaimed in 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom.{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/25/governor-newsom-issues-proclamation-declaring-larry-itliong-day-10-25-19/ |title=Governor Newsom Issues Proclamation Declaring Larry Itliong Day 10.25.19 {{!}} California Governor |date=October 25, 2019 |access-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025204547/https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/25/governor-newsom-issues-proclamation-declaring-larry-itliong-day-10-25-19/ |url-status=live }}

In mid-April 2013, the New Haven Unified School District renamed Alvarado Middle School as the Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School in honor of Vera Cruz and Larry Itliong; this school is the first school in the United States to be named for Filipino Americans.{{cite news |title=Union City school is nation's first named after Filipino-Americans, but acrimony over decision remains |author=Chris De Benedetti |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23065812/union-city-school-is-nations-first-named-after |newspaper=Mercury News |date=April 19, 2013 |access-date=May 5, 2013 |archive-date=June 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620011311/http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23065812/union-city-school-is-nations-first-named-after |url-status=live }} There was a vocal opposition to the name change, some of whom waved Mexican flags, who said that the name changing disrupts the neighborhood's tradition.{{cite news |title=Opposition to renaming Union City school growing more vocal |author=Chris De Benedetti |url=http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22900870/opposition-renaming-union-city-school-growing-more-vocal |newspaper=Contra Costa Times |date=March 29, 2013 |access-date=May 8, 2013 |archive-date=April 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419103318/http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22900870/opposition-renaming-union-city-school-growing-more-vocal |url-status=live }} The middle school was originally named for Juan Bautista Alvarado, and the name change did not take effect until 2015.{{cite news |title=Union City police investigate racist graffiti as hate crime |url=http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/hate-graffiti/nXcym/ |newspaper=KTVU |date=April 30, 2013 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206105448/http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/hate-graffiti/nXcym/ |archive-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=dead }} This occurred after a 13-year effort to rename a school for the Filipino American leaders, after several other schools had been named to reflect the city's diverse population, including Cesar Chavez Middle School, where 20% of the population is Filipino American.{{cite news |title=Plan to rename Union City school sparks controversy |author=Chris De Benedetti |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22751152/plan-rename-union-city-school-sparks-controversy |newspaper=Mercury News |date=March 9, 2013 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-date=April 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419102840/http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22751152/plan-rename-union-city-school-sparks-controversy |url-status=live }}

In late April 2013, a Filipino business and a Filipino Community Center were targeted with graffiti vandalism; the graffiti was investigated as a hate crime.{{cite news |title=Union City: Graffiti scrawled on Filipino businesses investigated as hate crime |author=Natalie Neysa Alund |url=http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_23140464/union-city-graffiti-scrawled-filipino-businesses-investigated-hate |newspaper=Contra Costa Times |date=May 1, 2013 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-date=May 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506123812/http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_23140464/union-city-graffiti-scrawled-filipino-businesses-investigated-hate |url-status=live }}

In 2014, an overpass over the Filipino American Highway in south San Diego was designated as the "Itliong-Vera Cruz Memorial Bridge".{{cite web |url=http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140ACR156 |title=ACR-156 Itliong-Vera Cruz Memorial Bridge. |author= |date=September 2, 2014 |website=California Legislative Information |publisher=State of California |access-date=December 23, 2014 |archive-date=April 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419102341/http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140ACR156 |url-status=live }}

A documentary titled The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW was made to highlight the role of Filipinos in the farm labor movement, including Itliong;{{cite news |title=The forgotten history of the Filipino laborers who worked with Cesar Chavez |author=Leslie Berestein Rojas |url=http://www.scpr.org/blogs/multiamerican/2011/04/01/7203/the-asian-american-farm-worker-legacy/ |newspaper=KPCC |date=April 1, 2011 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-date=August 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805021535/http://www.scpr.org/blogs/multiamerican/2011/04/01/7203/the-asian-american-farm-worker-legacy/ |url-status=live }} the documentary was released in 2013. Itliong was portrayed by Darion Basco in the 2014 film about Cesar Chavez; the film did not include other Filipino American farm labor leaders such as Vera Cruz.{{cite news |title=Actor talks about playing Fil-Am labor leader in Diego Luna film |author=Ruben V. Nepales |url=http://entertainment.inquirer.net/62776/actor-talks-about-playing-fil-am-labor-leader-in-diego-luna-film |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=October 13, 2012 |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-date=November 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114084215/http://entertainment.inquirer.net/62776/actor-talks-about-playing-fil-am-labor-leader-in-diego-luna-film |url-status=live }}

In 2018, a children's book was published which highlighted Itliong's life and his role in the agriculture labor movement.{{cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/larry-itliong-delano-grape-strike |title=The Forgotten Filipino American Activist Behind the Delano Grape Strike |last=Mejia |first=Paula |date=May 17, 2018 |website=Atlas Obscura |access-date=May 28, 2018 |archive-date=May 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529053853/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/larry-itliong-delano-grape-strike |url-status=live }}

The Filipino Hall in Delano, California houses a collection of memorabilia.{{Cite web|title = Grapes Of Wrath: The Forgotten Filipinos Who Led A Farmworker Revolution|url = https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/16/440861458/grapes-of-wrath-the-forgotten-filipinos-who-led-a-farmworker-revolution|access-date = September 19, 2015|date = September 15, 2015|website = The Salt – Weekend Edition Saturday – NPR|last = Morehouse|first = Lisa|archive-date = September 21, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150921004900/http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/16/440861458/grapes-of-wrath-the-forgotten-filipinos-who-led-a-farmworker-revolution|url-status = live}} The Larry Itliong Papers are housed at the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University in Detroit.{{cite web |url=http://www.reuther.wayne.edu/files/LP001325.pdf |title=Larry Itliong Collection |author= |work=Walter P. Reuther Library |publisher=Wayne State University |access-date=May 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404142445/http://reuther.wayne.edu/files/LP001325.pdf |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |url-status=dead }}

A musical{{Cite web|title=Larry The Musical|url=https://www.larrythemusical.com/|access-date=October 23, 2021|website=Larry The Musical|language=en-US|archive-date=October 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023051837/https://www.larrythemusical.com/|url-status=live}} based on Itliong's life, titled Larry the Musical, debuted in San Francisco in 2024, with original compositions by Bryan Pangilinan.

Notes

References

External links

{{cite AV media |author1=Johnny Itliong |author2=Fe Koons |year=2012 |title=Larry Itliong's Vital Contributions to the Farm Labor Movement |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLxmwKbVdgA |publisher=Kababayan LA }}
{{cite AV media |author1=Johnny Itliong |year=2010 |title=BA100610 Larry Itliong Day |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5LfKnzGJqI |publisher=TFCBalitangAmerica }}
{{Facebook|DelanoUncles|Delano Manongs}}
[https://californiarevealed.org/do/2f9d49a2-76ab-4d41-ae83-6e321ae05a55 Digitized Interview with Larry Itliong on California Revealed]