HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2024-4676, by Representatives Chandler and Sandlin
1 WHEREAS, The National Park Service on January 3, 2024, placed the
2 Filipino Hall of the Yakima Valley on the National Register of
3 Historic Places, following the Washington State Department of
4 Archaeology and Historic Preservation placement of the Hall on the
5 Washington State Register of Historic Places in September 2023; and
6 WHEREAS, The Filipino American National Historical Society has
7 declared that the Filipino Hall of the Yakima Valley is the first
8 such community hall built "from the ground up" expressly for the
9 purpose of being a Filipino Community Hall; and
10 WHEREAS, The Filipino Hall of the Yakima Valley located in Wapato
11 continues to be a place for gathering, a place for safety, and a
12 beacon for organizing, for families of the Yakima Valley, the State
13 of Washington, and the Pacific Northwest; and
14 WHEREAS, Filipinos first entered the Yakima Valley in the 1910's,
15 arriving in the United States seeking opportunities in "the land of
16 milk and honey" and faced institutional and personal hardships; and
17 WHEREAS, The first anti-Filipino riots in the United States
18 occurred in the Yakima Valley in 1927, and Filipinos were challenged
19 by hostility: Anti-Alien Land and Anti-Miscegenation Laws, little
20 immigration of Filipino women, the beginning of the Great Depression,
21 and other obstacles; and
22 WHEREAS, The Filipino Hall of the Yakima Valley was started in
23 1948 and had its Grand Opening on March 22, 1952; and
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 1 WHEREAS, The Yakima Valley was the home of legendary Filipino
2 American Washingtonians including Roy Baldoz, Harry Bucsit, Julius
3 Ruiz, Carlos Bulosan, Pedro Batin, Lorena Bucsit Silva, and Reynaldo
4 Pascua; and
5 WHEREAS, The State of Washington has permanently declared October
6 as Filipino American History Month;
7 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State House
8 of Representatives recognize with pleasure the designation of the
9 Filipino Hall of the Yakima Valley on the National Register of
10 Historic Places; and
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Washington State House of
12 Representatives call upon all citizens of the State to join in
13 celebrating the said designation; and
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be
15 forwarded to the Filipino American Community of the Yakima Valley, to
16 Rey Pascua, Trustee of the Filipino American Historical Society and
17 Emeritus Commissioner of the Commission on Asian Pacific American
18 Affairs, to Maricres Castro of Tacoma, Immigration and Refugee
19 Affairs Commissioner for the City of Tacoma, and Allen Acosta of
20 Olympia, Veterans Affairs Advocate, for distribution to Asian
21 American and Pacific Islander organizations, governmental agencies,
22 historical and higher education institutions, and the Superintendent
23 of Public Instruction.
24
25 I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of
26 Resolution 4676 adopted by the House of Representatives
27 February 20, 2024
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32 __________________________
33 Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk
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