Little Manila Rising Center set to open by year's end in Stockton's historic Filipino neighbourhood
Little Manila Rising plans to open its Little Manila Rising Center by the end of the year in the heart of Stockton's historic Little Manila, a four-block area once home to the largest Filipino population outside the Philippines, CBS Sacramento reported on 21 October.
The Little Manila Rising Center is set to open its physical location by the end of the year in the heart of Stockton's historic Little Manila neighbourhood, CBS Sacramento reported on 21 October. Little Manila Rising is a community-based organisation focused on preserving the historical footprint of Little Manila.
CBS Sacramento described Little Manila as a four-block section of Stockton that was once home to the largest Filipino population in the world outside the Philippines. It said the area began as a safe place for Filipino migrants in the early 1900s, who faced racism as they tried to integrate into the city. "There were signs that said, literally, 'positively no Filipinos allowed,'" said Hannah Divino of Little Manila Rising.
According to CBS Sacramento, construction of the Crosstown freeway in the late 1960s led to an exodus of Filipino residents, with more than 1,000 people forced out of their homes. Divino learned the neighbourhood's history through the Little Manila After School Program, as one of the first high school students to go through it.
The organisation's capital campaign page says Little Manila Rising is running a $5 million capital campaign, beginning with the rehabilitation of the historic Legionarios Del Trabajo Grand Lodge into the Little Manila Rising Center at 2154 South San Joaquin Street, Stockton, California. It says the centre will ground Little Manila Rising's role as Stockton's first Community Development Corporation, focused on cultural and historical preservation, climate resiliency, youth services and economic development.
CBS Sacramento said the centre will serve as a community hub advocating for both the Filipino community and other marginalised communities.
Key facts
- Little Manila Rising plans to open the Little Manila Rising Center in Stockton's historic Little Manila by the end of the year.
- The centre is a rehabilitation of the historic Legionarios Del Trabajo Grand Lodge at 2154 South San Joaquin Street, under a $5 million capital campaign.
- Little Manila was once home to the largest Filipino population in the world outside the Philippines, before freeway construction in the late 1960s displaced more than 1,000 people.
Official sources
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