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![I-Hotel Commemoration [at] CHS-SF [cosponsored by Chinese Historical Society and Manilatown Heritage Foundation] (EH)](images/fileicons/nodigital.png)
I-Hotel Commemoration [at] CHS-SF [cosponsored by Chinese Historical Society and Manilatown Heritage Foundation] (EH)
Date: 7/18/1997Call Number: IH 008Format: Cass A & BCollection: The International Hotel struggle and the Filipino community
Recording of a symposium of the following speakers Etta Chung, Estella Habal, and Harvey Dong (40 min of speakers; 50 min of open discussion). Speakers delve into the basic struggle formed from the I-Hotel: private property over human rights. The struggle was to prove that dignity and decency takes higher precedence. The Vietnam War, Anti-colonial struggle, and the strong movement to search for one's identity were touched upon as influences for the large community support. The open discussion has several comments from the audience about the I-Hotel's legacy, as a true story that has changed reality, merged generations to fight for one cause, and the need to push this information into schools for the youth to know of the events in history from their own communities.
Mrs. De la Cruz Oral History (1) [Part 1] (EH)
Date: 3/8/1993Call Number: IH 019Format: Cass A & BCollection: The International Hotel struggle and the Filipino community
Informal oral history interview of Mrs. de la Cruz conducted by Estella Habal. During the interview, Mrs. de la Cruz recalls her family history and her experience living in the I-Hotel. Part 1 of the interview contains Mrs. de la Cruz recollecting her family history, which includes their experience during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II. Mrs. de la Cruz also recalls how she became involved with the I-Hotel and the relations amongst the tenants and the volunteers or activists of the I-Hotel. One highlight of the interview is her recollection of the fire that broke out at the I-Hotel.
Conversation with Emil De Guzman (EH)
Date: 5/2/1989Call Number: IH 021Format: Cass A & BCollection: The International Hotel struggle and the Filipino community
Estella Habal and Emil de Guzman discuss politics and social dynamics of activism around the I-Hotel. [D]e Guzman explains how he first got involved through a sociology community fieldwork class (SF State '69). In order to assist the struggle, his class would go to work at the I-Hotel every day of the semester. Bringing the Asian American community together, it fostering a deep sense of political identity. With few Filipino Americans involved in the struggle, de Guzman makes a connection to class background. Unlike the Chinese, Filipinos didn't have as much community resources to fund community events. There were also generational gaps within the Filipino community between first, second, and third "waves". Emil explains the working relationship between the young students and elder manongs. In result, the media falsely assumed that the young activists were manipulating the old. Finally he and Estella explore various political aspects that divided the movement and the support alliances that were formed from it.
Jeanette Lazan Interview [part 1] (EH)
Date: 5/2/1989Call Number: IH 022Format: Cass A & BCollection: The International Hotel struggle and the Filipino community
Estella Habal interviews Jeanette Lazam on her background, development as an activist, and involvement with the I-Hotel. Once living in Manhattan, she experienced living in a predominantly Black and Puerto Rican neighborhood. Growing up as a product of the civil rights movement, she developed her social consciousness as a person of color and gained a antiracist framework. It wasn't until she moved to California she began to identify proudly as Filipino. She learned in college that there was more to being Asian than just food and dance. They discussed the generation gap of political awareness. While the third generation was more working class, greater economic hardships surpassed the second. Consequently, the third generation tended to have a greater class-consciousness, which tended to aspire towards assimilation and economic mobility. In result of the I-hotel's history and struggle, generations were brought together, even though there were language barriers. As Jeanette worked with the UFA, she provided social services and companionship to the tenants.
Jeanette Lazan Interview [part 2] (EH)
Date: 11/13/1990Call Number: IH 023Format: Cass A & BCollection: The International Hotel struggle and the Filipino community
Part 2 of interview between Estella Habal and Jeanette Lazam begins with the internal dynamics of the I-Hotel struggle. Lazam started with the UFA, which got her involved with the IH. Still a student at SF state, Lazan participated in a program that connected students with social service agencies. At that time, the UFA represented the tenants of IH as well as all housing issues in Manilatown. After spending a year Philippines, Lazan returned to San Francisco with a greater sense of cultural sensitivity. With motivation to continue activist work, she joined the KDP in '74. As her work became more politicized, Lazam moved into the hotel and befriended many of the tenants. With age and gender differences between her and the tenants, Lazan and the tenants still shared a working class identity that provided unity. Lazam describes the Roosevelt Hotel plan to pressure Moscone's declaration for eminent domain, and the plan for a buyback. Lazam ends with saying Cultural nationalism and its role in the movement creates tension between seeing the goal of saving the ethnic community of Manilatown and protecting all people's right to obtain housing.
Bruce Occena Interview [Tape 1] (EH)
Date: 11/16/1990Call Number: IH 025Format: Cass A & BCollection: The International Hotel struggle and the Filipino community
Estella Habal interviews Bruce Occena, a former U.C. Berkeley student activist and volunteer of the International Hotel (60s-70s). Bruce Occena talks about his interactions with prominent figures in the struggle for residents to keep their homes. Occena also describes the issues facing the Filipino American student activists of UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Issues such as the inter-ethnic tension between activists groups such as Filipino Americans, Chinese Americans, and Japanese American activists. Finally Occena touches on the relationship between the Shorenstein corporation and United Filipino Association (UFA) and the appointment of a UFA supporter as property manager.
Conversation about Liz DelSol's experiences with I-Hotel and ManilaTown (EH)
Date: 10/30/1996Call Number: IH 007Format: Cass A & BCollection: The International Hotel struggle and the Filipino community
Estella Habal interviews Liz Delsol about her experiences with the movement. She explains how she joined as a UC Berkeley student in the late 60s. Being third generation Filipina, her roots go back to her Grandparents living in Oakland. Liz's grandpa even worked on building the bay bridge. When Liz became involved and moved into the hotel, her parents looked down upon her because Manila Town was considered the "red-light district". Because her father was once part of the wild crowd of Manila Town, he knew of the seediness and didn't want his daughter around those men. However, Liz had an organic link with the old men due to her being in and around the area as a little girl. Liz has memories of Tino the barber and visiting many businesses. Liz reminiscences about a well-known manong named Lugasby. He was educated, stylish and many looked up to him. Being part of the beatnik generation, Lugasby had published work. Manila Town used to be ten blocks long down Kearny Street, but by the time of the International Hotel struggle it shrunk to just one block. The interview ends with the two reminiscing about differences of activism and politics.
I-Hotel Commemoration [at] CHS-SF [cosponsored by Chinese Historical Society and Manilatown Heritage Foundation] (EH)
Date: 7/18/1997Call Number: CD 498Format: Cass A & BCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Recording of a symposium of the following speakers Etta Chung, Estella Habal, and Harvey Dong (40 min of speakers; 50 min of open discussion). Speakers delve into the basic struggle formed from the I-Hotel: private property over human rights. The struggle was to prove that dignity and decency takes higher precedence. The Vietnam War, Anti-colonial struggle, and the strong movement to search for one's identity were touched upon as influences for the large community support. The open discussion has several comments from the audience about the I-Hotel's legacy, as a true story that has changed reality, merged generations to fight for one cause, and the need to push this information into schools for the youth to know of the events in history from their own communities.
I-Hotel Commemoration [at] CHS-SF [cosponsored by Chinese Historical Society and Manilatown Heritage Foundation] (EH), Estella one (EH), WILD 94.9 Aug.03 1997 EH [Estella Habal] interview IH week (EH),
Date: 7/18/1997Call Number: CD 499Format: Cass A & BCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Recording of a symposium of the following speakers Etta Chung, Estella Habal, and Harvey Dong (40 min of speakers; 50 min of open discussion). Speakers delve into the basic struggle formed from the I-Hotel: private property over human rights. The struggle was to prove that dignity and decency takes higher precedence. The Vietnam War, Anti-colonial struggle, and the strong movement to search for one's identity were touched upon as influences for the large community support. The open discussion has several comments from the audience about the I-Hotel's legacy, as a true story that has changed reality, merged generations to fight for one cause, and the need to push this information into schools for the youth to know of the events in history from their own communities.
Recording of a KNBR radiobroadcast interview of Estella Habal, then vice president of the Manilatown Heritage foundation, and Linda Wang, then chair of the International Hotel Citizens Advisory Committee and president of the Kearny Street Housing Corporation. Radio host Kimmy Park Lai interviews both Estella and Linda Wang on past and present issues relating to the International Hotel. Emphasized in the interview are the experiences of Estella during the night of the eviction, the effect the International Hotel incident had on issues such as low income housing or housing for the elderly, community versus private development and the change of views on urban planning from the 1970s to the late 1990s. Both Estella and Linda also discuss the development plans of the I-Hotel site such as the inclusion Manilatown museum and cultural center, the low income housing units for the elderly and an elementary school. Estella also announces the upcoming events for that week as part of the 20th commemoration of the International Hotel eviction. Side B of tape has no recording.
Jeanette Lazan [part 2] (EH) cont., Jeanette Lazan [part 3] (EH)
Date: 11/13/1990Call Number: CD 509Format: Cass A & BCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Interview between Estella Habal and Jeanette Lazam begins with the internal dynamics of the I-Hotel struggle. Lazam started with the UFA, which got her involved with the IH. Still a student at SF state, Lazan participated in a program that connected students with social service agencies. At that time, the UFA represented the tenants of IH as well as all housing issues in Manilatown. After spending a year Philippines, Lazan returned to San Francisco with a greater sense of cultural sensitivity. With motivation to continue activist work, she joined the KDP in '74. As her work became more politicized, Lazam moved into the hotel and befriended many of the tenants. With age and gender differences between her and the tenants, Lazan and the tenents still shared a working class identity that provided unity. Lazam describes the Roosevelt Hotel plan to pressure Moscone's declaration for eminent domain, and the plan for a buyback. Lazam ends with saying Cultural nationalism and its role in the movement creates tension between seeing the goal of saving the ethnic community of Manilatown and protecting all people's right to obtain housing.
Interview between Estella Habal and Jeanette Lazam on external social-political forces. As a self-examination of the struggle is made, identification of different group involvement are examined. An example is groups such as whites with weak political ties (Anarchists, Maoists). However, whites joined the movement with prevalent ideologies, which were politically tumultuous of the time. There were also artists, the white working class and farm workers who wanted affordable housing as well. Within the left sphere, Lazam analyzes the political spectrum from the range of "radical/ultra-extreme left" to liberal. These groups often clashed and made it difficult to work together. Finally, she looks into the city forces, specifically Hongisto. She believes that a lot of the activists' weaknesses had to do with lack of experience and lack of coalition work with others. The struggle came from all sides. (11/13/1990)
