BILL NUMBER: SCR 48	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 27, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 20, 2009
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 25, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Yee
   (Coauthors: Senators Liu, Wiggins, and Wolk)

                        JUNE 8, 2009

   Relative to Filipino American History Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 48, Yee. Filipino American History Month.
   This measure would designate the month of October 2009, and every
October thereafter, as Filipino American History Month.



   WHEREAS, The earliest documented proof of Filipino presence in the
continental United States was the date of October 18, 1587, when the
first "Luzones Indios" set foot in Morro Bay, California, as
published by Lorraine Crouchett in her book, Filipinos in California
(1982), which annotated John Walton Caughey's book, California
(1953); and
   WHEREAS, The Filipino American National Historical Society
recognizes the year of 1763 as the date of the first permanent
Filipino settlement in the United States in St. Malo Parrish,
Louisiana, which set in motion the focus on the story of our nation's
past from a new perspective by concentrating on the economic,
cultural, social, and other notable contributions that Filipino
Americans have made in countless ways toward the development of the
history of the United States; and
   WHEREAS, Efforts must continue to promote the study of Filipino
American history and culture, as mandated in the mission statement of
the Filipino American National Historical Society, because the roles
of Filipino Americans and other people of color have been overlooked
in the writing, teaching, and learning of United States history; and

   WHEREAS, It is imperative for Filipino American youth to have
positive role models to instill in them the importance of education,
complemented with the richness of their ethnicity and the value of
their legacy; and
   WHEREAS, California is home to over half of the Filipino
population in the United States and the location of historic Filipino
communities such as in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Stockton,
Vallejo, Delano, San Diego, and Salinas among others; now, therefore,
be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes October 2009, the
422nd anniversary of the presence of Filipinos in California, as a
significant time to study the advancement of Filipino Americans in
the history of California and the United States, as a favorable time
of celebration, remembrance, reflection, and motivation, and as a
relevant time to renew more efforts toward research, examination, and
promulgation of Filipino American history and culture in order to
provide an opportunity for all Californians to learn and appreciate
more about Filipino Americans and their historic contributions to
California and the United States; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature designates October 2009, and every
October thereafter, as Filipino American History Month; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.