The University of California, Davis has a long-standing connection with the Filipino community. The Department of Asian American Studies at UC Davis originated from the efforts of students who fought for Ethnic Studies programs in California colleges while supporting Filipino immigrant farmworkers in the Central Valley. The University of California has a historical association with educational institutions in the Philippines and has archived extensive research on the country due to its former status as a U.S. colony from 1899 to 1946. In 2018, what was formerly known as the Welga Project was officially established as the Bulosan Center for Filipinx Studies in honor of Carlos Bulosan, a notable Filipino American author, activist, and cultural icon. The center aims to continue Bulosan’s legacy by amplifying marginalized voices within the Filipino community in America and the broader diaspora.
In October of 2021, the Bulosan Center published a digital history exhibit for Filipino American History Month which featured the personal family narratives of twenty Filipino American families. Filipina/o/x American academics, media figures, and thought leaders came together to create a cohesive educational resource for the grade-school level curriculum that seeks to make Filipino American history more accessible to youth programs affiliated with the University of California, Davis.
This project gave Nani a unique opportunity to work collectively with her family to craft an accurately representative story of her grandfather’s migration from the Philippines and the life he created, together with her grandmother, for their family today living in America. In doing so, Nani’s family was able to get an inside look into the impact this important work has on the Filipino American community. The writing format used in this project is the kind Nani enjoys doing the most, as it allows her to both honor and share her family’s legacy as a formal educational resource for Filipino American history.
