Scope and Content Note
The papers of Arturo G. Pacho (1942-) span the years 1945-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1994 to 2005. The collection documents Pacho's active involvement and affiliation with Filipino American organizations and his research interests as an author and educator. The collection consists of agendas, articles, brochures, conference programs, correspondence, flyers, meeting notes, memoranda, newsletters, organizational articles and bylaws, pamphlets, photographs, publications, and research material. The collection is organized into three series: Organizations, Subject Files, and Publications.
The Organizations series provides insight into Pacho's involvement with Filipino American organizations while also helping to document the mission, goals, initiatives, and events of organizations such as the An Taclobanon Association of Southern California, the Filipino American Educators Association (FAEA), affiliated with the statewide Filipino American Educators Association of California, Inc. (FAEAC), the Filipino American Public Affairs Council (FAPAC), and the Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI).
In 1998, Pacho was hermano mayor of An Taclobanon, a nonprofit organization in Southern California that promoted and organized peoples with ties to Tacloban, Leyte Province in the Philippines. Its mission was to maintain religious, civic, social, and family ties between the Philippines and the United States. Pacho's papers includes a copy of the articles of inclusion and bylaws, brochures, correspondence, meeting notes, memoranda, minutes, newsletters, reports, and other documents. Each year, the organization hosted a Saint Nino De Leyte Fiesta and Miss An Maglipayon USA pageant. Programs and notes from both events are also in the collection.
Pacho was also involved in various capacities with FAEA, a chapter of FAEAC. While with the organization, he was vice president of community affairs and eventually became the president. Originally founded in 1974 by Filipino American teachers in the Los Angeles area, FAEA evolved into a professional organization that served the community. Pacho was part of the planning for the FAEA-sponsored FAEAC statewide conference held October 14-15, 2015, in Anaheim, California. Correspondence and conference planning material documents Pacho and FAEA's efforts to bring together teachers to discuss the future of education. Also included are newsletters, pamphlets, brochures, a list of duties of FAEA officers, and bylaws.
From 2003 to 2005, as FAEA president, Pacho worked closely with FILMEDA, the San Diego chapter of FAEAC, as Filipino American teachers struggled to be credentialed in Tagalog. Due to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, teachers had to be credentialed in a subject in order to teach. However, at the time of this federal act, California did not offer exams to teach Tagalog. Pacho petitioned assembly members and members of Congress regarding this issue, and the collection includes copies of this correspondence. In addition, the collection includes a presentation slide, notes, articles, and other documents about teaching Tagalog in schools.
FAPAC, a nonprofit founded in 1988, served as a forum for issues affecting Filipino Americans. Serving in various capacities throughout the years as a member, treasurer, and executive director of FAPAC, the collection includes planning notes for a 1991 conference about the Filipino community and its future. Additionally, there are articles of inclusion from 1988, documents pertaining to establishing the organization's nonprofit status, and photographs. Cassette recordings of the November 16, 1991, conference have been transferred to the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.
The collection also includes meeting notes, agendas, memoranda, correspondence, program events, bylaws, and reports documenting FASGI, an organization founded in 1981 as a provider of hot meals to the elderly. In 1998, its mission evolved to empower Filipino Americans and others through gender, age, culture, and linguistically sensitive advocacy, social services, and social action and leadership. The organization also received a project grant from the United States Department of Justice to focus on trafficked Asian women. The collection includes material related to FASGI's Trafficked Women Project.
The Subject Files series consists of articles, correspondence, newspaper clippings, newsletters, and other research material relating to Pacho's interests in the Chinese population in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, the Filipino American community, immigration, and naturalization. Some material was used for Pacho's thesis, such as newsletters in Tagalog and Chinese published by the Filipino Chinese Amity Club.
The Publications series contains articles by Pacho and others and reflects his research interests in the Chinese population in the Philippines. Also included are monographs on this topic published in the 1960s and 1970s. Pacho's 1966 report for the School of Public Administration at the University of the Philippines titled The Public Health of Davao is also found in this series.