Dorothy (Laigo) Cordova (b. 1932) and Frederic Pilar “Fred” Cordova (1931-2013), both second-generation Filipino Americans, met and married in Seattle, where they devoted their lives to their family, to championing social justice issues, preserving Filipino American history, and empowering youth. In 1957, the couple founded the Filipino Youth Activities of Seattle (FYA) to engage young people in activities that instilled cultural awareness, such as sports, dance, drama, language, and job placement. Their community service work led them in 1982 to found the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), a community-based organization whose mission is "to preserve, document, and present Filipino American history and to support research and artistic works which reflect a rich past."
In this image Dorothy Cordova teaches a weekly Filipino folk-dancing class to about a dozen three- to eight-year-olds at Immaculate Conception School in Seattle.
Caption information source: "Fred Cordova remembered as a legendary leader," Northwest Asian Weekly, January 9, 2014, retrieved from https://nwasianweekly.com/2014/01/fred-cordova-remembered-legendary-leader Caption information source: "The Cordova Family," The Seattle Times, July 8, 1990, retrieved from http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19900708&slug=1081093 Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 8 x 10 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.041.21.01, photo by Dave Ekren
