I call Larry Itliong a classic H.O., as in “historical omission.”
If you talk about the farm labor movement in California and don’t mention Itliong, you have a hole in your soul.
Itliong is the Filipino American who actually began the Delano grape strike in 1965 that Chavez later joined and used as his platform to international fame.
But it wouldn’t have happened without the spark of Larry Itliong.
That’s why Itliong is one of the reasons why October is Filipino American History Month.
What? Isn’t it Latino something too?
Concurrently, since Sept. 15 to October 15, it’s also been National Hispanic Heritage Month, which double dips into two months and broadens its 30 days not unlike Imperial Spain.
