More Than A Mural: Cementing a Filipino American Legacy Into Public Memory at San José State
By Julia Halprin Jackson Photography by Robert C. Bain
Placemaking at San José State is critical to cultivating a sense of belonging for all Spartans. The Filipino American History Mural project is just one example of how Filipinos and Filipino Americans have contributed to the labor movement in the U.S. and beyond.
Landmarks come in many forms. For retired aerospace engineer Robert Ragsac, ’54 Mechanical Engineering, the three blocks that fit inside Jackson and Taylor Streets and Fourth and Seventh streets, a stone’s throw from San José State University, is a veritable treasure trove of Filipino history. Although this neighborhood is within what is now called Japantown, Ragsac coined the term Pinoytown (“Filipino Town”) as an identifier for this unique enclave. Since 2019, he’s led interactive tours with the support of the Santa Clara Valley chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) to highlight local Filipino and Filipino American history, giving out printed guides and maps he created.
Ragsac, known to many as “Manong” or “Older Brother” Robert, is also a vocal member of the Filipino American History Mural Committee, a group of San José State alumni, students, faculty and members of the local community advocating for a permanent campus landmark that recognizes the contributions of Filipino American farm labor rights pioneers like Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz. This is especially meaningful to Ragsac who, in the mid-1940s, was a field worker in Santa Clara Valley.
The proposed mural will span a four-paneled pillar outside the Diaz Compean Student Union, a short walking distance of the iconic Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice, as soon as spring 2026. That iconic tiled archway, commissioned in 2008, depicts the contributions of the Mexican American labor leaders and civil rights leaders involved in the formation of the United Farm Workers (UFW). Created by legendary Chicana artist, scholar and activist Judy Baca, it depicts renowned UFW leaders César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, as well as Mahatma Gandhi, whose principles of nonviolent resistance laid the foundation for generations of freedom fighters. A powerful and lasting symbol of the fight for civil rights, the arch invites viewers to learn.
Ragsac is hopeful that the Filipino American History Mural will inform people of a major omission in the artwork: that it was the early activism, militancy and leadership of Itliong and Vera Cruz of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) with Huerta that initiated the Delano Grape Strike, ultimately causing the growers to agree to a union contract with AWOC. Later AWOC and the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) merged to form the United Farm Workers.
“We have to make the Filipinos’ experiences and struggles known,” Ragsac says. “Don’t wait [to collect these stories]. If you wait, you lose the essence and the emotional ties of your parents and grandparents when they came to these United States, because we’re all descendants of immigrants.”
Alan Gouig (left) and ChiChai Mateo at the site of the future mural.
Members of the Filipino American History Mural Project Committee congregated at the future site of the mural in August 2025.
The ultimate group project
SJSU organizations involved in the mural project include:
- Filipino Alumni Network SJSU
- AkbayanSJSU
- Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment (CAPISE)
- César E. Chávez Community Action Center
- Associated Students
- The Asian American Studies Department
- Students for Filipino Farmworkers
- League of Filipino Students
Community organizations include:
- Filipino American National Historical Society, Santa Clara Valley chapter (FANHS-SCV)
- Filipino Youth Coalition (FYC)
- Filipinos Acting in Community Together (FACT SJ)
- Larry Itliong Way Project
- LEAD Filipino
- Pinoytown SJ
- Bayani ng Kabataan (BNK), the Filipino American Cultural and Social Justice School
- Malaya South Bay
Partnering with the Filipino Alumni Network, led by Alan Gouig, this coalition has worked closely with SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson to establish a timeline for the mural.
“People are not moved by data; they’re moved by stories. So [it’s critical to] learn our stories and amplify the stories of other communities.”
— Angelica Cortez
Recognizing history to shape the future
The desire to see one’s culture or history artistically represented on campus is a common theme at San José State. Angelica Cortez, ’10 Political Science, recalls learning about the history of Filipino American farmworkers in a class taught by then-Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Estella Habal. Though she recognized the Arch of Dignity as a critical first step in acknowledging the work of leaders like Huerta and Chávez, Cortez wanted to build on this legacy by honoring the work of their Filipino peers and collaborators.
Together with students, professors and community members, Cortez, a student at the time, started the Filipino Memorial Project to create an artistic representation of Filipino farmworkers in San José. In 2013, the project culminated in a mural at the Milpitas Library that depicts Larry Itliong of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), alongside Filipino leaders Vera Cruz, Andy Imutan, Ben Hines and Pete Velasco, as well as Chávez and Huerta of the NFWA. The mural portrays a scene from the Delano Grape Strike of 1965, when, at the strong urgings of AWOC leaders, convinced more than 1,500 Filipino farmworkers to stop work and walk off the grape fields to protest.
Cortez explains that it’s important for people to see leaders like Itliong and Vera Cruz depicted because their efforts to protect farmworkers established an important legacy. “Seeing a mural like this makes people ask, ‘Who are these figures? How do they relate to the benefits that I have today as a worker?’ Think about the philosophy and ideology of an eight-hour workday, a prevailing competitive wage, and protection against elements like heat stroke and exhaustion. These rights to basic human decency came from people losing their lives and challenging authorities.”
When the Milpitas Library mural was unveiled, Cortez had an epiphany: “People are not moved by data; they’re moved by stories. So [it’s critical to] learn our stories and amplify the stories of other communities.”
Not long after the Milpitas project was completed, Cortez founded LEAD (Leadership, Education, Activism and Dialogue) Filipino, a nonprofit dedicated to grassroots organizing in the Filipino community. Earlier this year, she joined a growing committee of SJSU students, alumni, faculty and staff who revived her dream of seeing Filipino history depicted on campus.
Francesca "ChiChai" Mateo stands before the proposed site of the Filipino American History Mural, which she will paint in spring 2026.
“This is our story”
An untold story is an opportunity to educate. In 2023, then-graduate student Kayla Taduran, ’23 MA Applied Anthropology, walked past the Arch of Dignity on campus and experienced a familiar sense of disappointment at not seeing Filipino history represented.
“To my surprise, Filipino farmworkers weren’t depicted [on the arch], and I was surprised that a place where I’d felt such a strong sense of belonging didn't have art that was reflective of my people’s contributions to history,” Taduran says. “In spring 2023, I enrolled in Social Action, a course developed and taught by Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton. From there I learned what it meant to be an advocate.”
Myers-Lipton, then a professor of sociology and interdisciplinary studies, shared information about a student organization called Asian American Arts and Action (A4). Inspired by A4’s efforts to create a fuller picture of labor history on campus, Taduran assembled a group of like-minded classmates and they tabled in front of the Arch of Dignity. Together they gained allies in the Silicon Valley chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society, as well as community advocates Daniel Lazo, ’18 Advertising, and, of course, Manong Robert Ragsac. Their actions attracted the attention of Alan Gouig, ’19 Management, founder and president of the Filipino Alumni Network, who serves as the chair of the Filipino American History Mural Committee.
“The Filipino American History Mural is more than just a piece of public art; it’s a powerful testament to the legacy, resilience and contributions of Filipino Americans at SJSU and beyond,” Gouig says. “Having visible, permanent structures that reflect our stories and histories is vital — it affirms that we belong, that our experiences matter and that our presence is woven into the fabric of this campus and community. This legacy project is history in the making, and the passionate support of philanthropic partners has been essential in bringing this vision to life.”
Connect the Bay joins Robert Ragsac as he gives a walking tour of San Jose’s historic Pinoytown. Special thanks: Filipino-American National Historical Society, LEAD Filipino, History San Jose/Cate Mills, Curator of Research Library & Archives, Roy’s Station/Tamiko Rast.
“The mural shows our peers that ‘Hey, this is our story. This is how we got here.’ I think that’s really powerful.”
— Marc Sanna
SJSU Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies Wayne Jopanda, who is also on the committee, says that a mural’s true impact is public visibility. He hopes the piece will demonstrate the importance of coalition-building.
“Having an artistic representation of one’s culture or history is important because it creates an occasion for conversation and curiosity,” he says. “There is an enormous responsibility to honor this legacy of not just community organizing with the United Farm Workers movement and folks like Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz, but also the legacy of collaboration, of coalition-building. I’m already thinking of it as a space to host open mics, cultural events and bring people together.”
Jopanda’s research encompasses many aspects of the Filipino American experience, including the complicated history of Filipino migrant workers. As he sees it, a mural that honors multiple perspectives of the Filipino American experience could offer healing and insight for faculty and students alike.
“We will show the importance of leaders like Philip Vera Cruz and Larry Itliong, but we will also show all the other ways Filipinos and Filipinas have contributed as organizers, as teachers, nurses and leaders pushing back against the pressure to assimilate,” he says. “By having the Filipino American mural at SJSU, we are creating a place for people to pause, reflect and learn [about some of these stories].”
Marc Sanna, ’26 Aerospace Engineering, served as the 2024-25 president of AkbayanSJSU, a student organization on campus that celebrates Filipino heritage and culture, and supports Spartans in their academic, social and professional pursuits. Sanna explains that the mural offers a physical point of pride for Filipinx and Filipino American students, alumni and members of the community.
“We have the chance to highlight many different stories and many different experiences of Filipino Americans,” he says. “Having that physical representation on campus makes it not only a meeting place, but a sign that shows people we are here. [Akbayan] is one of the largest student groups on campus, and the mural shows our peers that ‘Hey, this is our story. This is how we got here.’ I think that’s really powerful.”
Introducing ChiChai Mateo
Freelance and teaching artist Francesca “ChiChai” Mateo, ’13 Global Studies, was selected this year to paint the Filipino American History Mural at SJSU in 2026. She is honored to return to her alma mater for this opportunity.
“For fellow Filipinos in the diaspora, I want them to feel a sense of pride for our history and our culture, and also a sense of home and a sense of belonging, knowing that we are part of American history,” she says. “So many people before us have paved the way for us to be here. And for those not in the Filipino community who pass by the mural, I hope it inspires curiosity about history. I hope they see some ties between this mural and the [Arch of Dignity], and they understand that they’re connected. When people of different backgrounds come together, we can make movements. These two groups [Chicano and Filipino farmworkers] proved it.”
ChiChai Mateo
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