PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER (MANILA) -- While the book celebrates Itliong, it also highlights Mabalon’s life work as cofounder of Little Manila Rising (formerly Little Manila Foundation), FANHS scholar and trustee, San Francisco State University professor and author of multiple books, including Little Manila Is in the Heart: The Making of the Filipina/o American Community in Stockton, California.
Through Journey to Justice, the first of a planned series about Filipino American historical figures for students ages 10 and up, co-author Gayle Romasanta aims to further Mabalon’s work to spread Filipino American history.
“Dawn saved the remaining Filipino neighborhood Little Manila buildings in her hometown of Stockton and named the area ‘Historic Little Manila,’” Romasanta says. “She traveled the country speaking and connecting with the community and spreading her wealth of knowledge about American history, Filipino American food history and more.”