Filipinx American History Month in October

“Know About Larry Itliong, Even If You Know About Cesar Chavez” Film wins in BEST DOCUMENTARY in the IVIE Student Film Festival

Teaching moments can be inspired by students learning biographies of people from their culture.  It could be from primary sources like interviewing a relative or from a secondary source, such as a book.

The Authors, Illustrators, and Journalists (AIJ) Academy students at Walker Elementary School read the book, JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE:  THE LIFE OF LARRY ITLIONG by Dr. Dawn Mabalon and Gayle Romasanta, and were motivated to create a film.

“KNOW ABOUT LARRY ITLIONG, EVEN IF YOU KNOW ABOUT CESAR CHAVEZ,” was awarded BEST DOCUMENTARY at the IVIE Film Festival. It shows the empathy and collaboration of two important farm labor /civil rights leaders Larry Itliong and Cesar Chavez.

The students were still in the film making process just as the COVID 19 pandemic closed schools nationwide in America in March 2020.  Then, later on as we transitioned to online learning, incidents in our nation addressed social injustice.  So, the timing of creating the film was coincidental.

We learned many lessons during this time, such as courage, humanity, humility, love, team spirit, kindness, and hope. Our film addresses a time of courage back in history between two leaders to peacefully voice change. It deals with the past …and the present time of students who are learning how to do a biography on historical figures using several resources, including primary sources.

Larry Itliong was a Filipino-American Farm Labor Hero who helped to organize the Delano Grape Strike in 1965 with about 2,000 Filipino grape workers. Itliong was the leader of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), an affiliate of the AFLC-CIO. He convinced Cesar Chavez, leader of the National Farm Workers Association, to have the Mexican farm workers join them. Their united effort in the Delano Grape Strike led to better working conditions for farm workers. This event led to a historic nation-wide boycott. The two unions later joined together to form the United Farm Workers. Since 2011, October 25 is celebrated as Larry Itliong Day.

Here’s the link to the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8KzYvy3aSg

The Authors, Illustrators, and Journalists (AIJ) Academy students, with NBCT Teacher/Advisor Grace Nall, at Walker Elementary School created and produced the film while learning how to research about a biography report on Larry Itliong