3rd State Convention / H.R. Moncado again in Stockton / July 3, 4, 5, 6 1929 / Stockton, California [pinback button with attached ribbon which says Welcome E.F.B. Live forever Filipino Federation of America, Inc.]

Stockton, CA: Mfg. by Walter Brunt in San Francisco), 1929. 1.75 inch diameter pin, very good with original manufacturer's paper intact on the verso. This is the earliest Filipino-American pin we have handled. Hilario Camino Moncado established the Filipino Federation of America in 1925 in Los Angeles, California. It was also known at various times as the Filipino World Federation and the Filipino Crusaders World Army. As one of the fraternal organizations appealing to the small but growing Filipino immigrant community, the FFA distinguished itself from competitors by accentuating "clean living" and rules of moral conduct. Moncado earned a law degree and sought to portray the immigrant community as responsible and healthy, in contrast to the then-prevalent depictions of uneducated gamblers. Much less publicly, the FFA developed a set of religious teachings that held Moncado to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ by way of José Rizal, the Filipino patriot executed in the waning days of Spanish rule. (Moncado's birthday was changed to make him appear to have been born after Rizal's death, so that his identity as Rizal's reincarnation would be more plausible). The initials EFB on the ribbon refer to the Equifrilibricum World Religion, representing pseudo-Latin words: Equi ("I am the Way of Equality"), Frili ("I am the Truth of Fraternity"), and Brium ("I am the Life of Liberty and the Master of Equifrilibricum").