Feb 28, 2023
Nearly 100 years ago, the stretch
of Kearny Street from Jackson south all the way down to Market was
filled with Filipino shops, restaurants, and SRO hotels. Perhaps
most notably, the International Hotel (I-Hotel) was located at the
intersection of Kearny and Jackson.
Today, that space is occupied by a residence for older folks, some
of whom have connections to the last of the mostly immigrant
population who were evicted in the middle of the night from their
homes at the I-Hotel in 1977. It's also home to
the Manilatown Heritage
Foundation.
In Part 1 of our podcast, our guest, foundation Executive
Director Caroline Julia Cabading, guides us
through her own fourth-generation Filipina history in San
Francisco. Caroline lays out the history of U.S. imperialism and
capitalism that sought cheap Asian labor and therefore brought
Filipinos, mostly men, to this country for migrant work in Northern
California. As they aged, those young men later settled in the
I-Hotel, forming a community and chosen families until they were
unjustly thrust from their homes by a real estate developer (sound
familiar?).
Check back next week for Part 2 and more of our chat with Caroline
Cabading.
We recorded this episode at the Manilatown Heritage
Foundation in February 2023.
Photography by Michelle Kilfeather
Sound design by Kayla Anchell