San Jose students push for recognition of Filipino farm workers in UFW movement
SAN JOSE -- Unlike most of the kids he grew up with in San Jose, 91-year-old Robert Ragsac never looked forward to the day when school would let out in June.
"When summertime came, everybody would say, 'Oh we're going to get out of school! We're going to go out and do a lot of fun things,'" Ragsac said. "My brother and I didn't like it because that meant we would have to go work in the fields."
Robert, his brother, and father were some of the thousands of Filipino farmworkers who harvested crops throughout California beginning in the 1920's.
"We picked string beans, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes. And that was 6 to 6 everyday, except for Sunday, never on Sunday," Ragsac said.
These farmworkers — known as Manongs — played a crucial role in the early days of the farmworker movement, right alongside Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.
And although they endured anti-Asian hate and violence, the Manong farmworkers have been all but forgotten.
"Probably the only thing that gets written in history are the mobs, riots, the killings against Filipinos," Ragsac said. "But what the Filipinos did in the harvests or having families who's kids like me went to college and became part of the American mainstream, doesn't make headlines. It didn't become a part of history."
But that could be about to change thanks to a new generation of Filipino-American students at San Jose State University.
They protested the lack of Filipino recognition in front of a monument to farmworkers on campus.
"Incredibly, there is no reference to the Filipino farmworkers anywhere on the arc even though it was the Filipino farmworkers who first went out on strike," said graduate student Kayla Taduran.
Robert also attended the protest and as a former farmworker, had strong words.
"It's an awesome arch. But it's a damn insult," he said.
The monument was installed in 2008 and includes large mosaics of farmworkers, and portraits of Chavez, Huerta and Mahatma Ghandi, who inspired the movement's nonviolent ethos.
"In no way do students want to disregard the contributions of Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta or the many Chicano farmworkers behind this movement," said Filipino leader Daniel Lazo. "But we wanted Filipino American farmworkers to be recognized for their catalyst, and contributions as well."
The students are demanding the university also build a tribute to their leaders like Larry Itliong, who first organized the Delano grape strike in 1965.
Later, Filipinos and Mexican Americans later came together to form the United Farmworkers Union or UFW.
Chavez supporters are backing the students.
"Anytime we tell the story of the farmworkers, it is incomplete without adding the story of the Filipino farmworkers," said Dr. Joel Herrera. "It's either untold or it's under told. And these students are seeking recognition of their history, rightfully so."
The students now have a meeting with the university's president to discuss ideas to recognize Filipino farmworkers.
"The students have brought a compelling case to our student affairs folks and we're willing to talk about it," said Michelle Smith McDonald, an SJSU Spokesperson.
But the city of San Jose is already one step ahead.
Last year, the city opened Delano Manongs park in the Berryessa neighborhood.
It includes a marker with words and photos about Filipino farmworkers.
"If not for Larry Itliong and his 20 years of organizing workers, I believe there would be no United Farm Workers," Ragsac said.
Itliong passed away in 1977, but some of the elder Filipino farmworkers like Robert are still here to bear witness and help tell the whole story of the California farmworker movement.