Larry Itliong

Oct 25

I have been participating in the Inktober challenge, and day twenty-five's prompt is "Dangerous."

Larry Itliong was a Filipino-American labor organizer, and depending on who was answering and the type of question, some might describe him as "dangerous."

The state of California celebrates "Larry Itliong Day" on October 25, which was his date of birth.

I first heard of Larry Itliong just last year [2022], also during my work with the Inktober challenge, and due to my interest in incorporating Filipino-American topics, I was exposed to his story and others. I'm embarrassed to admit that I only became aware of Filipino-American History Month at this time as well.

This year, I made a point of creating a drawing about Larry and, along the way, educating myself about the history of labor activism in California at that time.

Below are the dates highlighted in the drawing and links to other websites to learn more about Filipino-American history.

1913

On October 25, Modesto "Larry" Dulay Itliong was born in San Nicholos, Pangasinan Province, in the Philippines.

1929

Larry arrived in the United States, first in Seattle, Washington. He bounced between Alaska, Montana, and California during those early years along with the other Manongs or "elder brothers."

1965

September 8 began the Delano Grape Strike, first started by the Agricultural Workers Committee [AWOC] led by Manong Larry. Two weeks later, he convinced Cesar Chavez and the National Farm Workers Association [NFWA] to join the strike. These two groups merged and became the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee [UFWOC].