The Philippines has been colonized for over 380 years—333 years by Spain and 47 years by the United States. 

18th Century:  Spain claimed territory in the Archipelago and consolidated over 150 ethnocultural groups. Indigenous people who were caught practicing pagan rituals were punished; local histories written on bamboo were burned, and cultural artifacts were destroyed. 

1898, US Imperialism: The U.S. purchased the Philippines for 20 million dollars for the purpose of North American expansion and "heroism". However, Filipino historians address these violent acts of false liberation brutally shaped by education systems flooded with colonial propaganda, military presence to feed into the U.S. war machine, and genocide. These notions of structural violence contributed to forced migration, shared trauma, and internalized oppression. 

20th Century, Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965: Subsequent waves of Filipino immigration to the U.S. and San Francisco are directly rooted in the colonial and neo-colonial relations of the two countries. 

"They don't want more black and brown people to live in the U.S. unless they were there to be exploited as cheap and dispensable workers who were placed in the worst living and working conditions with barely any rights to protect them from abuses" -Kirby Araullo

I-Hotel Struggle, August 4, 1977:  400 riot police confront 3,000 protesters forming a human barricade to protect the International Hotel, sparking a tenant's rights movement across the U.S. 

The fall of the I-Hotel as the last stand of Manilatown also signals the shift of the Filipino community to the South of Market neighborhood (SOMA Pilipinas, 2023).

The 2010 U.S. Census states that more than 5,000 Filipino-Americans call the SoMa area their home. With the Filipino population in SoMa being cut in half over the last 10 years due to being priced-out and displaced from redevelopment, the formation of the Filipino Cultural Heritage District in 2016 was a proactive initiative effort to protect our communities, preserve our cultural assets, and continue to advocate for racial recognition.

SOMA Pilipinas is a movement made possible because of our community's struggle and resilience to make a home here along with the leadership of women, workers, artists, youth, seniors and immigrant families. SOMA Pilipinas continues to develop strategies in the areas of technology, urban design, land use, economic & workforce development, arts & culture and neighborhood services & action- all meant to serve and strengthen SoMa’s culture and community (SOMA Pilipinas, 2023).