Cultural Spotlight
Filipino American National Historical Society (FAHNS)
The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) was created out of a need to document Filipino American history for succeeding generations. Before FANHS, there was a paucity of information available about the Filipino American community's history in the United States.
Founded on 26 November 1982 in Seattle, Washington, the FANHS is a community-based organization whose mission is “...to preserve, document, and present Filipino American history and to support scholarly research and artistic works which reflect that rich past...” The national office and archives is housed in Seattle, operating year-round to lend expertise and support to twenty-seven chapters across the United States and is recognized as the primary informational resource on Filipino Americans.
FANHS sponsors biennial national conferences where community folks of all ages and from all walks of life gather to share and present research, network, and honor those who have produced ground-breaking innovative work in the field of historical research and analysis. Locally, the FANHS Sacramento-Delta Chapter starts each monthly meeting with a 30-minute history presentation.
Like FANHS, Chi Rho Omicron, Inc.’s (XPO) purpose is to “…promote the understanding, enrichment, and appreciation of the Pilipino culture, history, and heritage…” The seven chapters of XPO hold several cultural events each year at various campuses as well as serve their local and global communities through various activities such as volunteering, donating resources, or providing staffing. Just this past Saturday (March 10th), the brothers of XPO presented the Chi Rho Omicron, Inc. Philippine Diaspora Award at the Sacramento County History Day Competition to five young scholars from Genevieve Didion K-8 School for their project entitled “World War II: The Philippines.”
XPO has long been involved with FANHS in various capacities, primarily because of their overlapping purposes. XPO’s Founding Father, Oscar Gonzales (XPO 1), is a former President of the San Francisco chapter of FANHS. Bobby G. Roy (XPO 125), a former student at UC Davis, presented his research on Filipino World War II Veterans at the 2006 FANHS Conference in Hawaii and is a lifetime member through the FANHS Sacramento-Delta Chapter.
To find our more about FANHS, please visit the FANHS Sacramento-Delta Chapter Web site at http://fanhsac.tripod.com/index.html.
