Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS)

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Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS)

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The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) was founded in 1982.

FANHS Mission: “To promote understanding, education, enlightenment, appreciation and enrichment through the identification, gathering, preservation and dissemination of the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the United States.” 1982, 1985 Its mission is “to promote understanding, education, enlightenment, appreciation and enrichment through the identification, gathering, preservation and dissemination of the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the United States”. FANHS is a volunteer-run organization with a National Office and National Pinoy Archives in Seattle, Washington, a National Museum in Stockton, California, and 42 Chapters across the United States.

10/08/2026

James Beni Wilson is a documentary filmmaker. His film, BINITAY: Journey of a Filipino Adoptee,” tells the story of his journey as a Filipino adoptee in search of his birth story and birth family.

Born in Cebu, Philippines, James Beni Wilson was adopted at age three by a white American family and raised in Michigan. Growing up, he encountered questions about his appearance and experienced racial harassment. At the same time, he was growing up thousands of miles from the culture and family into which he had been born. At 18, he contacted the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development to begin searching for his biological family. In 2013, he returned to Tabogon, Cebu – the first time he had been back since his adoption.

What he discovered changed his understanding of his own story. His mother had died several months before he arrived in the Philippines, so their reunion could only happen through the records, relatives, places, and stories she left behind. Wilson turned his search into a documentary about growing up as a transracial adoptee, reconnecting with Filipino culture, and searching for his birth family.

His journey also became part of his work with other Filipino adoptees. Wilson served as a counselor with Filipino Heritage Camp for Filipino adoptees in Colorado, where he connected with other people navigating questions of identity and adoption.

Filipino American identity is not one experience. For some, it is inherited at the dinner table, in a family language, or through grandparents. For a transracial adoptee, the path can look very different. Adoption can create one family without erasing another. And returning to the Philippines can raise new questions rather than simply providing easy answers.

💛 How can we better honor the experiences of transracial adoptees in the Filipino American story?

James’ story reminds us that sometimes finding your place in Filipino American history begins with asking a very personal question: Where did I come from and what does that history mean to me now?

10/07/2026

We call them the Manong Generation – the Filipino men who were the migrant workforce in California’s agricultural valley including Stockton, Delano, and Salinas. We tell the stories of how they built foundations for Filipino communities in America. What about the Manangs?

Due to restrictive immigration laws and deliberate labor recruitment policies, Filipina women were outnumbered by Filipino men during the early decades of labor migration. But being fewer in number did not make their contributions smaller. Filipina women were essential to transforming these migrant settlements into lasting communities. They worked. They taught. They organized. They opened their homes, raised families, and helped create churches, lodges, celebrations, and vital social networks.

In Stockton, women established organizations such as the Teodora Alonzo Lodge in 1935, named for José Rizal’s mother. Filipinas organized dances, cultural performances, sporting events, and gatherings that forged deep connections among workers who had arrived from different regions of the Philippines. Women like Mary Arca Inosanto also crossed into labor organizing, becoming active with the Filipino Agricultural Laborers Association after moving to Stockton in 1923, alongside her work as a teacher.

These pioneering Filipinas did something fundamental. They transformed a transient population of migrant workers into a lasting community – supporting the infrastructure that sustained generations of farmworkers and, eventually, the historic labor movement. When this history is told, the Manangs can sometimes disappear behind the shadow of the Manongs. Now, we widen the frame. It’s time we center their stories in the way we celebrate this history.

📷 Image: The Filipina Women’s Club of Salinas, circa 1930s. Courtesy of FANHS Monterey Bay Chapter.

📚 Historical Source: Little Manila Is in the Heart by Dr. Dawn Mabalon.

10/06/2026

His name is Jose Rizal Elfalan – and his story belongs in Filipino American history.

Born in 1926 to a Filipino father and a Black mother, Elfalan became part of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, the pioneering Black military aviators who challenged discrimination in American aviation.

Receiving his flight training at the Tuskegee Army Air Forces Base, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and graduated on November 20, 1945 (Class 45-H-TE). Though the war ended just before he could be deployed to the Pacific Theater, he achieved the remarkable and uncommon distinction of being certified as a B-25 bomber pilot during a time of immense racial barriers.

Faced with post-war bigotry that barred him from commercial aviation, Elfalan channeled his brilliance into engineering. In 1950, he earned his degree in Aeronautical Engineering and went on to a pioneering 39-year career at Boeing – designing everything from commercial aircraft and lunar orbiters. He was recognized as a Black Pioneer in Engineering by the Black Heritage Society of Washington State.

How many of us grew up knowing that a Black Filipino American was part of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen? Aligned with this year’s FAHM theme, “Beyond the Margins: Centering Intersectional Filipino American Histories,” Jose Rizal Elfalan’s life reminds us to look beyond the stories that have traditionally received the most attention.

His life proves that Filipino American history has never been one story, one migration, one region, or one identity. Black history intersects with Filipino American history. This FAHM, we remember 2nd Lt. Jose Rizal Elfalan and bring his name back into the story where it belongs.

📷 Image source: Kierra Elfalan, granddaughter of Jose Rizal Elfalan / Elfalan family collection

10/05/2026

In 1907, thousands of Americans traveled to the Jamestown Tercentenary Exposition in Virginia to celebrate 300 years since the founding of Jamestown. Among the attractions was a Philippine Reservation. Once again, Filipinos were being presented to American audiences during a period when the United States governed the Philippines as a colony. After the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, Filipino leaders strongly objected to exhibitions that emphasized Indigenous Filipinos as “primitive” and reinforced the idea that Filipinos needed American rule. Those portrayals had political consequences. At a time when Filipinos were arguing for independence and self-government, public exhibitions helped shape how Americans imagined the Philippines and its people. For Jamestown, organizers changed the exhibit. Some groups that had been displayed prominently in St. Louis were excluded, while Filipinos presented as educated, Westernized and “civilized” were emphasized. One of them was Juan Arellano, who would later become one of the Philippines’ most important architects. Think about that for a moment. A future nationally celebrated architect was once presented at an American exposition as part of a colonial display intended to explain what kind of people Filipinos were.

📌 This is why the 1907 Jamestown Tercentenary belongs in Filipino American history. It shows us that Filipino identity in the United States was not simply discovered or understood. It was being constructed, marketed, contested, debated, and displayed.

When we revisit these exhibitions, we are not just looking at old photographs. We are asking: Who got to define Filipinos in America – and who challenged that definition?

📷 Image: Philippine Reservation, Jamestown Tercentenary Exposition, 1907
📚 Historical Source: Official Jamestown Exposition souvenir publication; Wilson Library, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

09/18/2026

The official theme for Filipino American History Month 2026 is…

BEYOND THE MARGINS: CENTERING INTERSECTIONAL FILIPINO AMERICAN HISTORIES.

From the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Board of Trustees:

We recognize the contributions, struggles, and lived experiences of Filipino Americans whose stories have been typically overlooked, underrepresented, or excluded from traditional historical narratives. As you are thinking about how you will celebrate Filipino American History Month this October, we encourage you to incorporate this theme of centering intersectional histories. We look forward to celebrating, learning, and connecting as a community this FAHM!

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For the Resolution established by and recognized by the United States Congress, see: https://www.fanhs-national.org/resolution

09/14/2026

The official theme for Filipino American History Month 2026 is…

BEYOND THE MARGINS: CENTERING INTERSECTIONAL FILIPINO AMERICAN HISTORIES.

We recognize the contributions, struggles, and lived experiences of Filipino Americans whose stories have been typically overlooked, underrepresented, or excluded from traditional historical narratives. As you are thinking about how you will celebrate Filipino American History Month this October, we encourage you to incorporate this theme of centering intersectional histories. We look forward to celebrating, learning, and connecting as a community this FAHM!

08/06/2026

The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) made history in Washington, D.C., bringing together 400+ scholars, educators, artists, students, veterans, and community leaders from across the country for its biennial conference, “PiNoise on the Potomac: Monuments to Change.” 🇵🇭🇺🇸

As we celebrate the close of an incredible conference, we also welcome a new era of leadership dedicated to preserving, documenting, and sharing Filipino American history for generations to come.

Congratulations to our newly installed National Board of Trustees and Executive Committee! Thank you to every volunteer, chapter leader, and community member who continues to keep our stories alive.

Next stop: Stockton, CA 2028!

07/22/2026

Let’s get it started for !

Thank you Inquirer for the article on our conference!

Link to article in bio.

06/08/2026

Join us for the FANHS 21st Biennial National Conference, hosted by FANHS DMV Chapter July 22-25, 2026, in Washington DC/Arlington, VA. Register by June 8 to avoid late registration fees! https://fanhsdc.regfox.com/fanhs-2026-conference-and-gala

06/07/2026

SAT-SUN 6/6-6/7: 40th Annual Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival at Seattle Center Armory! Stop by the FANHS Booth to see our exhibits and enter a raffle to win the book FILIPINOS: FORGOTTEN ASIAN AMERICANS by FANHS Founding President Dr. Fred Cordova. Enjoy the indoor performances, films, art exhibits, vendors, and outdoor food booths today 11AM until 7PM. Thank you to the packed crowd who attended the literary session yesterday on Filipino Americans in the Central Area & Rainier Valley of Seattle featuring FANHS Founder Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, FANHS National President Emerita Emily P. Lawsin, FANHS Charter Trustee Emeritus Dr. Andres Tangalin, and FANHS National & Seattle members Dr. Robert Francis Flor, Prof. Peter Bacho, and Efren Edwards.

Address

810 18th Avenue
Seattle, WA
98122

Website

http://www.fanhs-national.org/

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