Lillian Mae Faxon is a seventh generation Filipina in Louisiana. Her family represents a chapter in American history that’s often overlooked. Few have heard the story of the Manila Men, the first Filipino explorers in America. When we think of Asian history in the New World, the Chinese laborers who built California’s railroads usually come to mind. That was in the early 1860s. But there’s evidence America’s first contact with Asians was much earlier than that.
Acknowledgments:
Fred and Dorothy Cordova of the Filipino American National Historical Society, Nestor Enriquez, Marina Espina, Gary Okihiro, Isabel Gedoria Welch, Lillian Mae Burtanog Faxon, Joyce Burtanog Pascual, Rhonda Richoux Fox
