Coauthors and couple Florante and Roselyn Ibanez, Carson residents, have sought out family albums, organizational records, and personal stories to present this evocative history of their community. Florante is a library manager at Loyola Law School and adjunct professor at Loyola Marymount University. Rose serves as the board chair for the Filipino American Library and works for the City of Los Angeles.
Title: Book Highlights History of Pinoys in Carson
Author: Karla Maquiling
Publisher: Pinoy Centric
Date: 7/27/09 Fil-Am authors Florante Peter Ibanez and Roselyn
Estepa Ibanez sought out family albums, organizations records,
personal stories, and more than 200 vintage images to write
Filipinos in Carson and the South Bay. Printed by Arcadia
Publishing, the book ($21.99) traces the history of the Filipino
community in this California city, where many Pinoys settled in the
1920s as farm workers, US military recruits, entrepreneurs, medical
professionals, and laborers, to fill the economic needs of the Los
Angeles region. Florante, a library manager at Loyola Law School,
and Rose, who chairs the board of the Filipino American Library,
hope that the book will give readers "a more multidimensional view
of Filipinos in America" and recognize them as "an eager,
hardworking, and talented community that is proud to be part of the
rich American tapestry." In the seventies, Filipino-American
students in Carson organized to gain college admissions, establish
ethnic studies, and foster civic leadership. Similarly,
Filipino-owned businesses have flourished in Carson, as well as in
surrounding communities in San Pedro, Wilmington, and Long Beach.
The vibrant Pinoy community in Carson is strongly connected to its
homeland and celebrates the Festival of Philippine Arts and
Culture. It has produced local heroes, such as "Auntie Helen"
Summers Brown, who founded the Filipino American Library, and
"Uncle Roy" Morales, a scholar and community activist who taught
the "Pilipino American Experience" course at the UCLA Asian
American Studies Center. Meet the authors of Filipinos in Carson
and the South Bay on August 8, 1 p.m., at the Carson Community
Center, Carson Dominguez Room, 801 Carson St., Carson, CA
90745.
Title: Community comes out for Filipinos in Carson and the South
Bay
Author: Staff Writer
Publisher: Asian Journal
Date: 8/22/09 Last Saturday, August 8, the new Arcadia pictorial
history book Filipinos in Carson and the South Bay, authored by
Carson couple Florante and Roselyn Ibanez, was introduced for the
first time to a capacity audience of over 200 at the City of Carson
Town Hall meeting entitled "Presentation on the History of Carson
and the South Bay". The lively and entertaining event, presented by
the Filipino American Library (FAL), was held at the Carson
Community Center . It was hosted by Carson Mayor Jim Dear and
Councilwoman Julie Ruiz Raber. Also in attendance was Councilman
Elito Santarina, past Councilwoman Lorelie Olaes, as well as
various city commissioners. Assemblyman Warren Furutani of the 55th
District talked about his Assembly Joint Resolution 65,
"Preservation of Filipinos/Filipino American Communities", which
recognizes the history, cultural heritage, and role of Filipinos in
the development of California . Eloisa Borah, a UCLA librarian and
Filipino American community historian, introduced the book's
subject matter and noted that a major reason early Filipinos
settled in the South Bay area was that in order to get to Los
Angeles they mainly arrived by ship at the ports of San Pedro and
Long Beach. Talented performance artist Alison De La Cruz performed
a spoken word piece on being a Pinay from Carson . Following a
local history presentation using photos from their book, the
authors joined a group of "activists from the 1970s" to lead the
audience in singing "Profits Enslave the World" from a poem written
by former United Farm Workers Vice-President Philip Vera Cruz.
Before the book signing, everyone was invited to attend the next
major book launch of Filipinos in Carson and the South Bay on
Saturday, September 12 at 1:00-3:00pm at the Festival of Philippine
Arts & Culture in Point Fermin Park, San Pedro. To close the event,
Florante and Roselyn urged the audience to continue their own
family history discussions and to produce more community resources
that preserve our collective memory for future generations. Copies
of the book are still available through FAL for $20 each. Please
contact filamlibrary@sbcglobal.netThis e-mail address is being
protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or
213-382-0488. Founded on October 13, 1985 by Helen Agcaoili Summers
Brown ("Auntie Helen"), FAL is the earliest and largest Filipino
library in the country with a collection of over 6,000 titles. Its
mission is to provide access to information and knowledge through
the collection, preservation, and dissemination of a unique
collection of Filipino American and Filipino reading material to
those that seek knowledge. Through this collection and its
community involvement, FAL seeks to provide access to cultural
information and enrich America 's diverse cultural tapestry. It is
located at 135 N. Park View St., Historic Filipinotown, Los
Angeles, CA 90026-5215 . From June 15 to September 15, FAL will be
open for Summer Hours: Thursdays-Fridays 1:00-5:00pm . To visit
outside these hours, please schedule an appointment. Also, please
visit FAL's website at www.filipinoamericanlibrary.org.
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