Antonio Somera discovered 26 steamer trunks belonging to early 20th-century Filipino migrants in a Stockton, California basement in 2005. The trunks' contents, including a pillowcase embroidered with the phrase "HOW CAN YOU FORGET ME," form the core of the exhibition "How Can You Forget Me: Filipino American Stories" at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington DC, offering an intimate look at the lives of the Manong Generation of laborers.
The exhibition, curated by Sam Vong, moves beyond a narrative of pure labor history to showcase the full humanity, community, and dignity of these migrants. It reveals personal artifacts like three-piece suits and Stetson hats that contradict their meager economic status, highlighting their efforts to assert respectability and build vibrant communities in the face of racial exclusion laws, thereby reframing a significant chapter in Asian American history.