eBalita - a FREE service that provides you the latest news from the Philippines through the Web and E-mail

STOCKTON, California--Once home to the largest Filipino population outside the Philippines, Stockton is now reclaiming its Filipino heritage.

Filipinos are still the largest Asian minority in Stockton, with 15,219 residents, or 6.2 percent of the population.

Hundreds of local Filipino residents were joined by other Fil-Ams on Saturday to witness the unveiling of Little Manila in the city of Stockton, 80 miles east of the San Francisco bay area.

The whole day celebration started with a symposium held at the Filipino Plaza Social Hall. After the symposium, participants trooped to the center of Little Manila to witness the dedication ceremony of the historic site. Three old buildings on Lafayette Street, between Hunter and El Dorado streets, served as a backdrop
of the ceremony.

"Today, we celebrate the rich history of Filipino Americans in Stockton and honor the legacy of our manongs and manangs, the pioneers who are the
foundation of the community we know today," said Dawn Mabalon, chair of the Little Manila Foundation. The foundation is composed of community members
from Stockton who got all distressed by the destruction of the old Little Manila a few years ago.

Together with the Stockton Chapter of FANHS, they lobbied for and won historic site designation of the four blocks surrounding the intersection of
Lafayette and El Dorado Streets in downtown Stockton. All their hard work bore fruit. On Oct. 17, 2000, the Stockton City Council voted unanimously
to designate the area as the Little Manila Historic Site. Historic, because the area was once home to the largest concentration of Filipinos in the
United States for more than five decades, from 1920s to 1970s.

Before Mabalon's speech, Dillon Delvo, vice chair of the Little Manila Foundation delivered an impassioned speech that left most of the audience in
tears. Delvo recalled the painful past that the generations before them had to endure in the city that they have begun calling home.

"Racism against Filipinos in Stockton then was very intense. Filipinos were not allowed to live in areas north of Main Street until the 1960s, and other
neighborhoods posted the now infamous signs 'Positively No Filipinos Allowed' and 'No Dogs and No Filipinos Allowed,'" Delvo said.

From the 1920s to the 70s, Filipino families, community organizations, businesses and thousands of residents thrived in a four to six block area of
downtown Stockton.

"Filipinos then were second-class citizens in this city. In response, they created their own world, their own haven here at Lafayette and El Dorado street," Mabalon said. "They called the place Little Manila."

This is why Mabalon challenged the audience "to reclaim our Filipino heritage and preserve what remains of Little Manila. We won't allow our history to be bulldozed again."

Mabalon then urged city officials to help save the old homes of residents, community centers, restaurants and stores.

"So what's the big deal about these four blocks? Some see a slum filled with poor people too dangerous to traverse after dark. Some see a freeway. Some
see a 76 station, a cheap place to get gas, a McDonald's. Some see prime real estate if only the brown, poor people in decrepit buildings could be
cleared out," she said.

"We see our history, our community, our past. We see our future. As we dedicate this historic, sacred place and unveil the signs and banners for
everyone to see, we remember our long, rich, painful and beautiful history as Filipino Americans in Stockton," Mabalon added.

The foundation's campaign to remember, reclaim and preserve Little Manila coincides with ongoing efforts at Filipino American community development
and preservation nationwide. Last August, Los Angeles designated the Beverly-Temple corridor as "Historic Filipinotown." San Francisco's Manilatown Heritage Foundation broke ground on their new International Hotel on Kearny Street. by Momar G. Visaya