Spotlight

Delta College Board of Trustees Renames the West Forum the DAWN MABALON FORUM

By Debra Panaganiban Louie, Part-time Counselor Professor, San Joaquin Delta College, FANHS National Trustee, Little Manila Board Member

Debra Panaganiban Louie

On October 22, 2022, Delta College’s Asian Pacific Islander American Staff Association (APIASA), Faculty Caucus of Asian Pacific Equity (FCAPE), and Empowering Positive Initiatives for Change (EPIC) Programs was the venue host for a celebration of Filipino American History Month – “FAHM FEST 22”. The event was dedicated to the memory and life’s work of Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon.

This event was sponsored by several local community non-profits, led by Kommunity Hub, FANHS Stockton Chapter, Little Manila Rising, Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities (EMAC), Healing Pilipinx Uplifting Self and Others (P.U.S.O), and 209 Asian Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC). FAHM FEST 22 drew nearly 3,000 attendees and began with a dedication ceremony to the late Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, a Delta College Alum, revered historian, San Francisco State University Professor, social justice activist, author of Little Manila is in the Heart: The Making of the Filipina/o Community in Stockton, California, and co-founder of the Little Manila Foundation, now known as Little Manila Rising.

Notable in the dedication ceremony was the announcement that on October 4th, the Delta College Board of Trustees voted to officially rename the West Forum, the largest lecture hall on campus, the DAWN MABALON FORUM. This was a historic event in that Dr. Mabalon is the first Filipina and one of only a handful of women to have a Delta College building named in her honor.

The dignitaries involved with the FAHM FEST 22 dedication ceremony paid glowing tributes to this remarkable woman who grew up in South Stockton and rose to become widely regarded as the premier historian of her generation. Delta Trustee Janet Rivera, U.S. Congressman Josh Harder, Stockton City Councilwoman Christina Fugazi, and Chief of Staff (for Board of Supervisor Miguel Villapudua) Chris Rouppet, among others, recognized Dr. Mabalon with Official Proclamations that were received by Dr. Mabalon’s husband Jesse Perez Gonzales, and members of Dawn’s family, along with conference organizers Mariah Taloah, Linda Claramo, Darleen Mabalon, and Debra Louie.

The Dawn Mabalon Forum renaming was an initiative over a year in the making and began with a Resolution by the Faculty Caucus for Asian Pacific Equity (FCAPE), an organization formed along with the Black Faculty Task Force and the Chicanx Latinx Faculty, to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that would spur a transformation of the Delta College campus into a beacon of hope and belonging for all. These organizations worked collectively and were also successful in renaming the North Forum the TONY FITCH (Long-time African American Delta College Professor) FORUM and renaming the South Forum the CAMPESINO FORUM, in honor of the farm workers movement. The efforts were endorsed by the faculty, classified and management unions, and the Associated Student organization.

Central to the year-long effort to rename the West Forum the DAWN MABALON FORUM which began in earnest by gathering letters of support from the local Stockton community, as well representatives of various organizations throughout California, and across the country, who were were familiar with Dr. Mabalon’s groundbreaking research and social Justice work. They knew first-hand, the positive impact her work has made upon thousands of her students and community members in the Filipino American diaspora.

Leaders who submitted written letters of support were received from Dillon Delvo, Executive Director of Little Manila Rising; Linda Claramo, President of FANHS Stockton Chapter; Dr. Richard Tenaza, President & CEO FANHS Museum; Phillip Merlo, Executive Director of the San Joaquin County Historical Society & Museum; Aldrich Sabac, Social Justice Committee Chair, Stockton Teachers Assn. and ELA Dept. Co-Chair, EDISON High School; Lorraine Doria, Associate Professor of History, Delta College; Dr. Sarah Seekatz, Co-Chair of History Department, Professor of Mexican American and U.S. History, and Coordinator of the Cultural Awareness Programs; Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, City University of New York & FANHS National President; Emily Lawsin, President Emeritus, FANHS National; Gayle Romasanta, Executive Director, Filipino-American Development Foundation & FANHS National Trustee; Maria Amen, President of Association of Filipino Americans in Education; Nkauj lab Yang, Executive Director, CA Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs; Brian Batugo, teacher, San Diego Unified School District and Little Manila Rising Board Member; Dr. Rowena Tomaneng, VP of San Jose City College and Board Officer for Asian and Pacific Americans in Higher Education.

October 2022 Dedication of Dawn Mabalon Forum, San Joaquin Delta College

We were fortunate to have so many well-articulated and passionate speakers who presented their justifications and arguments, convincing both Delta’s Heritage Committee and the Board of Trustees to vote in favor of the naming of the Dawn Mabalon Forum. The speakers included Dillon Delvo, Dr. Allyson TintiangcoCubales, SFSU Professor of Ethnic Studies and Dawn’s best friend and frequent collaborator, Robert Teczon, Delta Alum and Graduate Student at the University of Hawaii, Manoa; Phillip Merlo, Executive Director of SJC Historical Society & Museum; Delta faculty members and FCAPE Steering Committee Chairs Dr. Cirian Villavicencio, Professor of Political Science, and Janice Takahashi, Professor of Counseling; Debra Louie, FCAPE Campus Facilities Committee Chair and Retired Professor of Counseling, and Dr. Kevin Nadal, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, City University of New York.

October 2022 Filipino American History Month Fest Volunteers

Support for the Dawn Mabalon Forum also came in the form of monetary donations. Over $2000 was raised online to help pay for new signage on the Lindabuilding, erecting a bronze plaque, and installing Dawn’s portrait in the lecture hall. An additional $2,500. was raised at the FAHM FEST 22 event, which will be used toward the Dr. Dawn Bohulano Scholarship that benefits students transferring to a four-year university, just like Dawn did when she attended Delta College and then transferred to UCLA, earning her first two degrees, a BA cum laude in History and a MA in Asian American Studies. Dawn furthered her studies by becoming the first Filipina to earn a Doctorate in American History at Stanford University.

Dr, Mabalon wrote, “I am a historian dedicated to building bridges between the communities about whom I write (Filipino Americans, Asian Americans, immigrants, workers) and the Academy. I have devoted my life’s work to sharing stories of people and communities at the margins of the American story.” Dr. Mabalon left us far too soon, but she leaves with us a legacy of bridges that we must continue to build.

If you would like to make a donation in Dawn’s memory, please go to this link: https://paybee.io/quickpay html?handle=deltacollege&ppid=20#donationConfirm

Or, if you want to help continue the work that Dawn started, please contact EPIC at Delta College (Empowering Positive Initiatives for Change (EPIC) Learning Community) or Little Manila Rising: https://littlemanila.org/ or FANHS Stockton Chapter: http://fanhsstockton.com/

Linda Claramo, President

Membership applications can be requested by sending an email to: STOCKTONFANHS@outlook.com

@fanhsstockton

www.fanhsstockton.com