Smithsonian: Professor Mabalon's Book Tells Important Story of Filipino American Labor Leader Larry Itliong

Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Drawing of Larry Itliong wearing hat and plaid shirt standing in front of a bush
Drawing of Larry Itliong by Andre Sibayan. Courtesy of Bridge and Delta Publishing.

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE -- As the late and great Filipino American historian Dawn Mabalon and author of Little Manila Is in the Heart: The Making of the Filipina/o American Community in Stockton, California, always said about her own research: “All roads lead to Stockton.”

Sadly, Mabalon died on August 10, 2018. But her final project, a children’s book called Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong, which I co-authored, and is illustrated by Filipino-American artist Andre Sibayan, is based on her research and curated historical photographs.

The book has made its way into curricula at UCLA, San Francisco State University, the University of Michigan and school districts in California for the fall of 2020. Locally, Little Manila Rising has worked it into their after-school program and donated a copy to every school in Stockton.

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