09/23/2026
On September 22, 2020, Dillon Delvo, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Little Manila Rising, delivered these remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Flora Arca Mata Elementary School.
More than the naming of a school, this moment honored a Filipina educator whose story reminds us why the humanities matter.
Flora Arca Mata’s legacy teaches us about representation, allyship, the power of education, and the courage to challenge exclusion. This school exists because students, educators, historians, families, and community advocates worked together to ensure her story would not be forgotten.
By preserving and sharing stories like Flora’s, we help future generations understand who they are, where they come from, and how they can help shape a more just future.
Because when we preserve our stories, we strengthen our community’s ability to imagine, organize, and build a better future together.
📣Does anyone know if there’s another school in America named after a Filipino woman?
✨ Follow along as we explore stories that connect us, teach us, and inspire us to build a more just future. Share your memories and help carry these stories forward.
Note: This video was captured via Zoom, so you may hear slight compression or remote-delay artifacts.
