About this exhibit

This evolving online exhibit is part of the University of California, Berkeley, campus celebration of Filipinx American History Month in October of 2022. For the full citation of each item, consult the bibliography.

This exhibit delves into difficult histories of racism and colonialism. In it, you will also encounter multiple terms including Filipino, Filipinx, and communities from the Philippines, among others. This exhibit embraces a multiplicity of terms, recognizing that communities are multifaceted and that identities are not static. We also acknowledge that these terms have deeply personal and collective meanings. Terminology and history are not neutral, and we invite you to send us your comments using the comments form below.

Please also note that this exhibit quotes from sources that employ racist and derogatory language. We acknowledge the harm that such language has caused and continues to cause and do not include these materials lightly. We are using these sources to demonstrate that some of the same professors who built the University of California were also instrumental in building the colonial education system in the Philippines that was premised on the racial inferiority of non-whites.

Special thanks to Tor Haugan, Christine Hult-Lewis, Sine Hwang Jensen, Lorna Kirwan, Susan McElrath, Lee Anne Titangos, Lisa Weber, and the Library Imaging Services unit.

Philippine languages consultant: Ramon “Bomen” Guillermo

Advisers: Alex Mabanta, Dr. Fritzie de Mata

The Bancroft Library is a special collections library located within the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. It is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you'd like to learn more about scheduling a visit, please consult their Guide to Visiting The Bancroft Library.

The Bancroft Library acknowledges that Berkeley sits on the territory of xučyun (Huichin), the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, the successors of the historic and sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. This land was and continues to be of great importance to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and other familial descendants of the Verona Band.

We recognize that every member of the Berkeley community has benefited, and continues to benefit, from the use and occupation of this land since the institution’s founding in 1868. Consistent with our values of community and diversity, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the university’s relationship to Native peoples. By offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold the University of California, Berkeley more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.

This land acknowledgement was borrowed from the Native American Student Development office. To learn more, please visit: cejce.berkeley.edu/ohloneland

Send us your comments about this exhibit.