Why Little Manila Rising does this work
The freeway that destroyed our historic community is still destroying people today.
Little Manila Rising began as a historic preservation organization, fighting to save what was left of the Little Manila Historic Site in Stockton. Little Manila was once the heart of Filipino America. During the urban redevelopment era, freeway construction tore through it and destroyed most of the neighborhood.
In 2018 we lost our co-founder, Dr. Dawn Mabalon. Dawn grew up in historically redlined South Stockton. She died of an asthma attack at the age of 46.
South Stockton is surrounded by freeways, one of the largest sources of the fine-particle pollution known as PM2.5. It also borders the Port of Stockton and rail lines, and it holds most of the land Stockton has zoned for industry. Over time we came to see Dawn's early death as something not so coincidental.
The California Endowment once hosted a tool like this one, and its message that your ZIP code shapes your health helped us understand our own story. That tool is no longer online. We believe this story is too important to lose, so we are carrying it forward.